10 Etiquette at the Poker Table

Poker is played and enjoyed by many, first and foremost, as a form of pure entertainment. There are some players that truly only care about how much money they can win, which is fine of course, but there are also a lot of players that are primarily interested in having fun. These players would definitely love to win some money if they could, but they don’t mind losing providing they are having an enjoyable experience. Here are 10 Etiquette at the Poker Table.

This is one reason why it’s so important to act properly and be respectful while playing poker. To some extent, you have a responsibility to ensure that other players have a positive experience. Knowing the rules of how to play is simply not enough, as you need to know the rules on how to behave too.

There’s some etiquette involved in poker. There are some unwritten rules which dictate what you should and shouldn’t do and breaking these will likely alienate your fellow players. You should be aware of these, as you don’t want to upset your opponents and ruin their overall gaming experience. There are several formal rules too, which you need to abide by in order to avoid a penalty or being asked to leave a game altogether.

Here are the top five rules for behaving “correctly” at the poker table, along with our top five taboos that you should avoid. In addition to that, we also focus in on some extra etiquette that’s worth mentioning.

Ten Golden Etiquette Rules To Follow

The following rules are what we consider to be the 10 golden rules of poker that you should always try to follow when playing it live.

1. Be Generous and Courteous

If you play live poker for long enough you’ll probably encounter plenty of players who don’t follow this rule. This is one of the 10 Etiquette at the Poker Table. It’s a very easy one to stick to yourself and there’s really no reason for not being polite and courteous to your fellow players or your dealers for that matter. You don’t have to overdo it and you can even stay quiet if you want to, but using good manners isn’t hard to do and it’ll create a more welcoming atmosphere at the table.

2. Be Attentive to the Play

You have a responsibility to pay attention to what’s happening at the poker table; while you’re playing and it’s especially important to know when it’s your turn to act. This is one of the 10 Etiquette at the Poker Table. It would not take long for other players to get frustrated; if they have to constantly remind you when to play. You should also ensure that you post your blinds; and antes in a timely manner and that you avoid acting out of turn. Don’t take an excessive amount of time while making simple decisions; and don’t keep players waiting while you order a drink or something to eat.

3. Make Your Actions Clear

Making your actions clear will not only make your life easier but your opponent’s life as well. This is also one of the 10 Etiquette at the Poker Table. Shoving a few chips into the pot and mumbling “call” or “raise” under your breath; doesn’t give you an advantage and it’ll probably just annoy your opponents. It’s not tough to slide a neat stack of chips in front of you and declare your actions with clarity. This will avoid any confusion; and it will help ensure that you don’t get accused of trying to gain an unfair advantage by misrepresenting the action you are taking.

4. If You Show One, Show All

In case you win a hand without going to a showdown, you can choose to show the table your cards. What you cannot do, though, is show them to just one player. This potentially gives that player an unfair advantage; as they are then in possession of information that no one else has access to. It may not be that helpful to them, but it’s the principle of the matter that’s the real concern. As the saying goes, “If you show one, you must show all.” The same rule applies; if you decide to throw away without showing a losing hand after going to showdown.

5. Be Gracious in Defeat and Victory

No one wants to look; so you should always try to be gracious in both defeat and victory while at the poker table. There’s nothing wrong with showing a little bit of frustration following a particularly crushing defeat. But you won’t gain any respect by going on a massive rant every time you lose a hand.

Likewise, a small celebration after winning a big pot is perfectly acceptable. Celebrating too wildly is just going to agitate your opponents; and gloating about how brilliantly you played a hand is equally annoying. If you want the respect of your opponents, then you should act with some degree of humility.

6. Don’t splash the pot

If you follow our golden rule #3, then you won’t do this anyway. But it’s a good idea to be aware of what the term means and why you shouldn’t do it. Splashing the pot is basically throwing your chips into the pot when making a bet, call, or raise. This is considered bad etiquette as it makes it extremely difficult to see exactly how many chips you are betting.

7. Don’t make string bets

A string bet is when you don’t make your bet in a continuous motion, which means you put a few chips in front of you, then a few more, then a few more, and have not announced the total amount of your bet out loud. This is frowned upon and is technically against the rules, as it not only slows down the game but can also be used to gain an advantage over your opponents. String betting can potentially allow you to gauge an opponent’s reaction to the size of your bet, and then decide whether or not to increase it based on their reaction.

String betting is very common; and at times, an unintentional mistake, that’s typically made by inexperienced players. It can be used by players for tactical reasons but this isn’t usually the case. You don’t want to be accused of attempting to cheat, so you really should try hard to avoid making string bets. Again, this is relatively easy to do if you simply follow our golden rule #3.

8. Be considerate to others at the table

When playing live poker it’s possible that you could spend several hours sitting next to the same players. Although you obviously want to beat your opponents, you don’t want to ruin the whole experience for them either. Being considerate might seem like common sense, but there may be a few things that you haven’t considered in the list below.

If smoking is allowed, it’s still courteous to ask neighbouring players if they would object to you having a cigarette.

Some basic personal hygiene is also a must. Sitting next to a player who doesn’t smell very pleasant could negatively affect a player’s experience.

Many people are offended by swearing, so you should try to keep the profanity down to an absolute minimum.

There’s nothing wrong with having a drink when playing, but moderation is a good idea. A player who has had one too many drinks can easily ruin a game for everyone else. Besides, you’re unlikely to play very well if you are drunk or even tipsy for that matter.

9. Keep your cards visible when you’re in a hand

Keeping your cards visible when you’re active in a hand might not seem like a big deal, but it’s actually very important. If you have your cards hidden away behind your chip stack or underneath your hands, then many players will assume that you are no longer in the hand. This could potentially lead to someone acting out of turn through no real fault of their own.

When we say that your cards should be visible, we obviously don’t mean expose them face up. We just mean that they should be placed in front of you in a way that everyone at the table can see that you are still active in a hand.

10. Tipping the Dealers in Poker Games

We’ll finish with this point because it’s somewhat controversial. It could actually be argued that it has nothing to do with poker table etiquette at all, as it doesn’t affect your fellow players and there are certainly no specific rules relating to tipping the dealers. We feel it’s worth mentioning though because it’s an issue that comes up as some pokers don’t really know how to approach this situation.

There is no right or wrong decision to make here. You are certainly not obliged to tip a dealer at any point and a lot of poker players steadfastly refuse to tip because they are already paying rake to the casino. It’s worth noting, however, that many dealers around the world aren’t paid very well and some even rely on tips to make a living. This doesn’t have to affect your thinking of course and the decision to tip or not is entirely up to you regardless of what a dealer earns.

With all of that being said, we are advocates of tipping the dealers. It doesn’t have to be a huge amount and you definitely don’t have to tip every time you win a pot, but we do believe it’s reasonable to offer at least one tip at the end of your playing session.

We would also advise that you base the size of your tip more on how the dealer performed and less on how much you won or lost during your session. A dealer who has dealt quickly and efficiently, with a friendly and pleasant manner deserves a larger tip than a dealer who continuously made mistakes and wasn’t particularly friendly.

Synopsis

Apart from above points, the most important to be aware of when playing live poker, in our opinion at least, there are several additional rules that others may think are just as important, or maybe even more important, so please try to follow it all.