Etiquette (Manners) at the poker tables is as important as knowing how to play poker itself. You may be a good or even a great player, but if you display poor sportsmanship then your image as a good/great player is destroyed. The other players will give you no respect and hence, will try to knock you out of the game the first chance they get.
If on the other hand, you display a good image and show good sportsmanship, other players will give you the earned respect and you may even find it easier to get that hand you’re bluffing.
I have compiled a short list for online poker etiquette. Feel free to add to the list.
- No Name Calling: So what if you’re Ad Ah just lost to 7c 2c. (Flop 7d 7s 2h) Accept it, it happens, just remember, it’s poker. Congratulate the winner and move on.
- Don’t belittle other players and don’t be rude: Some heckling is acceptable if done tastefully. Ask that player “How can you call half your stack with 7c 2c?” Tell him/her you’re going to keep an eye on them. “Maybe I’ll see what you saw in a 7c 2c bet!!” “You sure seem to know what you’re doing!” Don’t over do it.
- After you’ve lost all your chips, go away from the table. Don’t hang around bothering/heckling other players.
- If you’re not in the hand, KEEP QUIET! If you mucked 7c 2c preflop and the flop comes 7d 7s 2h, don’t blurt out that you would have had a full house! Everyone will know that it's unlikely that any player still in the hand has the full house, making it hard to bluff and represent that hand.
- Don’t delay the game. Bet, Call or Fold! If you leave the computer, click to sit out next hand. Don’t make everyone wait for the timer on you to run out. If you do get upset/mad, sit out a couple of hands and cool down. If another player is bothering you and won’t quit after being asked, turn off their chat! You can’t answer what you don’t see. Let them know that you have “blocked” their chat.
Just remember there are a lot of bad players (FISH) online and those that think they can say or do whatever they want.
And Finally: When playing with FISH, don’t tap on the aquarium!! You'll scare the fish!
ViperHawk