Speaking a foreign language is not only a breach of etiquette, but in some poker rooms it is considered grounds for removing you from the table. Basically, you don’t want anyone at the poker table to think that you are secretly communicating with an accomplice.
There are legitimate reasons to slow play a hand; players sometimes slow down their play to consider a tough call or to give the impression of having a weak hand. Nevertheless, there is no excuse to slow play every hand. Players who slow play every hand are either not paying attention or don’t understand how to play.
Keep you chips in a neat pile and push it towards the middle of the table. Randomly throwing your chips into the pot makes it hard for others to see what your bet is. More importantly, throwing chips is also considered a rude way of taunting opponents.
Acting out of turn is bad strategy as well as bad etiquette. When you fold or bet before your turn, you are giving away free information about your hand. Also, acting out of turn is a sign of inexperience that other players will definitely notice.
A string bet is a bet that initially looks like a call, but turns out to be a raise. String betting is prohibited because it gives the bettor the advantage of being able to augment his betting strategy based on his opponent’s reactions.
Never discuss folded cards while a hand is still at play. As an example if there are two Kings on the flop, and you are trying to represent that you had the third King, it will really hurt you if someone who already folded shouts out, “Shoot, I had a king!”
It’s not the dealer’s fault that you’re getting bad cards. If you feel your dealer is incompetent, you should discreetly notify the pit boss or move to another table.
At all times you should keep your cards in sight of the dealer. Bringing cards down to your lap or dropping cards to the floor are grounds for killing your hand. You should always put a chip on top of your cards if you want to stay in the hand. This is called “protecting your hand” and it tells the dealer that you do not intend to fold. Finally, never show your cards to the other players at the table. Should the dealer see this, he can nullify both your hand and your neighbor’s hand.
Never accuse anyone of cheating unless you have proof. Cheating is a very sensitive subject and fights have broken out at many poker tables, the end result being that both the alleged cheater and the accuser were thrown out of the casino.
The correct way to deal with cheating is to catch the cheater in the act. If you only suspect cheating but can’t prove it, you should simply move to another table or discreetly inform the pit boss that something funny is going on. Never confront the cheater head on.
P.S. No cheaters, only poker.
(c) J. Bosch
