Poker News

James McKenna, Ph.D.

Most poker room rules are often just common courtesy and good manners. However, with the recent popularity of games like Texas Hold ‘em, many players haven’t learned some common practices that help to keep the game smooth. Some of these courtesies are written rules and others are common practices. Here are a few.

Folding or betting out of turn is a common mistake that is tolerated in some places and not in others.

“Trash talk” can be anything from talking about how another player played a hand to using foul language. Unsolicited comments on how or why a person played a hand the way they did or calling names like, “That was stupid,” are just plain low-brow behavior for which dealers need to show less tolerance.

Talking to someone while he or she is playing a hand is rude. It’s different if the player initiates conversation while in a hand. It’s another thing to interrupt a player in the middle of a hand.

It’s amazing how often players will openly discuss potential hands after a flop. Similarly, talking about the cards that you folded during play is a common lack of respect for players still in the game.

Keeping hole cards in Texas Hold ‘em in plain view is something that is often ignored by dealers who may be able to see a player’s cards and no one else at the table can. It deserves zero tolerance and after one warning a player in some rooms will have their hands mucked for concealing their cards.

Actions such as throwing cards off the table or at the dealer are again in such bad taste that penalties need to be standardized to control such childish impulses.

Doing multiple things like reading and talking to visitors is often another lack of courtesy. Such players are not focused (or pretending not to be) and often such distractions will slow the game down. Sometimes it’s like carrying on a conversation with someone who is watching TV or reading while you are trying to communicate with them. Poker, after all, is a form of communication.

Some poker rooms allow the blinds to “chop.” This means that when no other players have bet and it up to the blinds, they can agree not to play and take their blinds back. Players who chop when they have bad cards and refuse to chop when they have good ones are opportunists with low-brow manners. You can call it poker, if you wish. I call it greed.

Whenever a dealer “turns and burns” too soon, you can bet that the dealer was busy doing something besides dealing. How rooms handle such showing of cards prematurely will vary. Some rooms will declare the card dead and reshuffling it back into the deck — others will allow the players to treat the premature turn as being “all in” and be able to claim the amount put into the pot before the mistake. Again a standard rule to handle such conflicts would be a long overdue courtesy that players deserve.

How would it change things if when a player throws cards at the dealer, he or she is asked to leave for the day? Or, if a player continues to use a cell phone during active play, what would be the effect if other players and the dealer stopped all action until that player either folded, hangs-up, or moves away from the table? Better yet, what would happen if the dealer just automatically would muck the cell phone player’s hand? Like raising children, rules without consequences are usually just exercises in spoiling.

These were just a few of the table etiquette issues I’ve noticed. I’m sure you could add to the list. Let me know some of the one’s that you have noticed. I would welcome hearing from you at Dr.Jim [at] JimMcKenna-PhD [dot] com

Filed under: Poker News