Poker Etiquette
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Respect the game and its players.

Poker etiquette is enforced in brick and mortar casinos, but it is sure lacking on the Internet poker sites. In many games on the Internet, rudeness and ugly obscene name-calling are prevalent and would never be tolerated in a live game in a casino. The offenders do it on the Internet, as it is an anonymous act. There are rarely any consequences as the sites will usually do nothing and the other players rarely speak up when some one at the table gets out of line with another player. In a live game the pit boss would tell the player to knock it off or they will be escorted out of the building. This writer has seen that take place in western casinos since the 1960s. It all comes down to manners and showing a little class or respect. Making a horse’s ass out of yourself is not a classy thing to do at the poker table. Players who badmouth another player or their play are breaking one of the oldest rules of etiquette in poker.

The way a player plays his hand or bets his hand is his business as long as he does it without comment or delay of the game. Throwing cards at the table or verbal insults is childish and disrespectful and should not be tolerated. Online poker casinos let this happen way to often without any negative ramifications. A player doing this in a live casino would be warned and if it continued, would be banned from the poker room for a few days to a month or more. The rule should be if you have nothing good to say do not say anything. Certainly calling a player a moron or worse because they made a bad call that worked and beat you out of pot is never justified. Some players just turn off all of the chat at an Internet table so they are not bothered by some player’s ignorant comments.

Watch the TV tournaments and see how tightly they control swearing and confrontations between players. They do not tolerate either. When one of the top players is beat by a miracle card or call they let it go and stay with their game. You never see them berate another player in public. This has been ingrained in them by years of playing in live games. They have to be shocked at the lack of courtesy on the Internet. The watchword for all poker players is to practice common courtesy and keep their negative comments to themselves.

Other small rules are play in turn and quickly. If you need a few extra minutes to make a decision, ask for time. Playing in an obnoxious manner is never a good idea. It will not bother a good player and sometime during the game one of the good players is going to sand bag you on purpose just to teach you a lesson.