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Hold em Etiquette
Believe it or not, there are etiquette rules beyond what you might think for Texas Hold ‘Em. In fact, even after quite a bit of playing either at home or in public tournaments, I realized that there were some rules of etiquette that were being broken- rules that I hadn’t even thought about. Here are a list of things you may not have thought about and how to handle each situation:
- Realize that you are still ‘in’ a hand, even when you have folded: Let’s say that you folded a 2-6 off suit, which is a good hand to fold. Then, a pair of sixes comes on the flop. Now, any normal Poker player is going to be upset at this, knowing they could have had a set of sixes, which is a good hand that can usually win. However, if you betray the fact that you could have had a good hand, that means that those still in the hand may realize that a two or six has been folded and that could help them decide how to play their hand. In other words, you basically helped them out, which is against the rules. You won’t be penalized for it since it was accidental, but you also won’t be making any friends at that table. You should wear your Poker face at all times, even when you have folded.
- Do not carry on side conversations while a game is in play: This somewhat ties into the first point. How many times have you been playing and the people who have folded start talking on the side? It is very annoying, as the people who are playing still need to concentrate. Put yourself in their shoes- if you are not sure about laying down or calling a big raise, you want to think about it- and that won’t happen if people are rudely yapping next to you. You should be observing your opponents anyways, so always keep quiet unless you are in the hand.
- Do not go all-in every hand just to steal blinds: I can understand if you are short-stacked and need the chips, but many players use this to intimidate or bully the table and steal the blinds. This is no way to play Poker. You will quickly find that someone will have a strong hand and call you- and beat you as well. Sure, the large stack can bully the table a bit, but not on every hand, especially if every hand is a bluff. It’s bad Poker strategy and bad etiquette, too.
- Do not throw your chips: There is almost nothing as rude as this at a Poker table. Throwing the chips ensures that the dealer will have to collect and count them, further delaying the game. Simply place the chips in the direction of the dealer and they will be happy to collect them.
- Do not reveal your cards: Even if you fold, never reveal your cards. Going back to the first point of this article, it can help another player out and is therefore considered cheating. In some casinos, you can be penalized for this big-time, as many people reveal cards ‘on accident’ but are really in cahoots with another player and so make it look like an accident. The casinos are all over this and will not tolerate it. Make sure when you fold, all your cards stay face-down.
- Watch your alcohol intake: The days of smoke-filled saloons where everyone is drunk off of whiskey are long gone. Today, Poker players are a little more sophisticated. You will notice when watching Poker on TV almost all of them have a bottle of water or soda, very rarely does anyone drink. This is because alcohol causes you to play looser than you normally would and can also cause you to become obnoxious. Rule of thumb: just because its free, does not mean you have to partake in it.
