Casino Poker Rules And Etiquette

1. These rules may not be actually written down and it might seem as though they are only there to be broken – even by top players in the game – but you really should be paying attention to most of them to avoid getting yourself a bad name, or worse! Let’s start by examining some examples of proper poker etiquette.
2. Casino Poker Etiquette When Showing Your Hand and Who Shows Their Cards First? Always show this poker hand By Steve Beauregard “Show one, show all,” is the age-old poker saying, applied to those situations when you want to show another player your cards.

When it comes to behaviour at the table – poker etiquette – you’ll probably find that there are as many ‘rules’ as in the game itself!

These rules may not be actually written down and it might seem as though they are only there to be broken – even by top players in the game – but you really should be paying attention to most of them to avoid getting yourself a bad name, or worse!

Learn how to play poker with our guide to the concepts and rules on which all forms of the game are based, and access our guides to popular variations such as Texas Holdem and Omaha poker.

Let’s start by examining some examples of proper poker etiquette.

The Top 10 of PROPER Poker Etiquette

Always pay attention to what’s going on.

If it’s your turn to play, and you’re busy chatting up some waitress or watching something on your iPhone, the rest of the table is kept waiting. Not good, and if it happens a lot, you’ll almost certainly get pulled up for it.

Do your best to be polite

Always try to treat other players with respect. Watching the likes of Phil Hellmuth bad-mouthing his opponents might seem like harmless fun, but acting this way yourself will mark you out as an idiot. You might not get invited back to whatever game you’re playing!

Make sure that you protect your hand (and chips) at all times.

There have been too many incidents where a player watched on as the dealer mucked their pocket aces by mistake. With a lot going on at a table. It’s your responsibility to safeguard your own stuff, so buy a card protector and pay attention.

At the 2009 WSOP, French player Estelle Denis was dealt pocket aces, and when J.C. Tran bet out 32,000 the delighted Denis moved all-in for her last 130K or so. The dealer, however, had missed her bet and proceeded to muck her cards! Because she hadn’t protected them, and they couldn’t be retrieved, the unfortunate lady couldn’t use her aces to double up!

It’s best to always verbally announce your action.

You might know fine well what you intend to do, but no-one else does until it’s done! Remember that in most games, throwing a single chip in is just a call, no matter how big that chip is! So tell the table what you’re doing before you do it, particularly in games with non-professional dealers.

Keep your cards, chips, etc... in your own area.

Poker tables vary in size, but with a full-ring game for example, you need to be aware that there’s not a lot of room. Making sure that cards and chips don’t get mixed up between players is as much your responsibility as it is the dealer's and other players'.

Leave the table if you have to take/make a phone call.

The majority of casinos insist on this rule, so get used to it. Nobody wants to listen to your call anyway, and it’s not only distracting, but also considered rude.

Here's Phil Helmuth being hilarious but rather rude as he talks to his wife on the phone.

Try your best to be modest when you win.

Nobody likes to lose a big pot, or get rivered with a 2-outer, so act as you would like someone to act if you were on the receiving end of things.

Make sure you don’t play out of turn.

This might be forgiven occasionally, but repeated offences cause not only ill-feeling and exasperation, but serious problems for the other players. Although certain seats at a poker table can be more difficult to follow things from, and distractions abound in casinos and particularly on TV tables, it’s still up to you to make sure you know what’s going on and when it’s your turn!

During the Party Premier League Season 6 TV series, Daniel Cates incurred the wrath of Scott Seiver when he continually bet out of turn, thus affecting Seiver’s ability to make plays acting after him. The two had a lengthy spat, with Cates swearing and Seiver very unhappy.

Swearing and other offensive language won’t be tolerated in most places.

Yes, poker is traditionally a ‘man’s game played in smoky backrooms’, but the world has changed! Don’t be left behind, or worse still kicked out, because your f-bombs are uncontrollable!

Treat the dealer with respect.

They are generally professionals doing their best to make sure your game goes smoothly, and dealing you 7-2 offsuit 5 times in a row isn’t REALLY their fault, so don’t take it out on them! Apart from which, nobody ever won a big pot after telling the dealer what an asshole they are!

The top 10 of IMPROPER poker etiquette

Don’t talk about a hand if you’re not in it!

In a similar way to folding your hand below, don’t get involved in talking about the cards, possible plays, bet sizing or anything directly related to an ongoing hand if you’re not in it!

At this summer’s WSOP Main Event, one of the players who went very deep in the tournament – Justin Schwartz – displayed an almost complete ignorance of table etiquette and common decency throughout the event. After folding his own hand, he proceeded to comment on the play between Daniel Negreanu and Federico Butteroni, until fellow player Max Steinberg pulled him up for it.

Don't splash the pot.

This is a big no-no – it’s not only rude to the dealer and other players, it can lead to accusations of cheating. If you throw your chips or money into an already big pot, no-one actually knows how much you’ve paid into it – so simply don’t do it!

Don’t make string bets.

This problem is not as common as it used to be, when movies always seemed to have players saying ‘” I call….and raise you xxx”. This type of ‘string-betting’ is simply not allowed nowadays and your initial call will be accepted as such, regardless of your actual desire or intention to raise.

Don’t accuse other players of actions unless you’re 100% sure!

You might think that somebody hasn’t put in their blinds or antes, or they have done something else against the rules, but you’d better be sure before you start a conflict at the table.

Much better, of course, is to inform the dealer or floor manager if you think something incorrect has occurred. If you do pull the player up about it, going on and on about the problem can have some seriously negative effects,

When Prahlad Friedman got it wrong at the 2006 WSOP, it almost had very serious consequences for both him and his opponent. Friedman thought that Jeff Lisandro had not put in his ante, worth 5,000 chips, and stated so. He referred to it constantly during the hand, and Lisandro was getting more and more angry with the young American. When Friedman refused to stop his accusations, and basically called Lisandro a cheat, the big Australian lost his cool and threatened Friedman that he would “take your head off, buddy”.

Never show your cards to only 1 or 2 players.

Apart from being rude, everybody at the table has the same right to see or not see certain cards – to do otherwise could give an advantage to some and not others. Of course, it’s easy enough to just flash your bluff to the guy next to you without thinking, but you should then display it to the rest of the table.

Don’t slow-roll – ever!

This is one of the rudest and least sporting things to do in poker; letting someone think they have a chance of winning while all along you’re holding the nuts. It’s not big, it’s not clever, and quite how there are no videos around of people being punched for doing it is quite bizarre!

Sometimes, though, it backfires spectacularly – as when Andreas Gann for some reason slow-rolled Donnacha O’Dea at the Irish Open. Having flopped the nut flush, Gann had no other option but to put the Irishman all-in, but he took so long to do it that when he showed his cards, the rest of the table was disgusted at his slow-rolling. However, O’Dea’s 2 pair hit a beautiful river to make a full house!

Don't Agree to check a hand out when a third player is all-in.

Although this is pretty much a given in many instances in online play, it’s another one on the ‘blacklist’ of poker’s ‘etiquette rules’. You are never allowed to collude with other players in any way in live poker.

Don't Misrepresent your hand or action.

This one can actually be border-line outright cheating rather than etiquette. If you say you have a specific card or hand, and you don’t, that’s just wrong. If you make as if to move your stack into the middle of the table, and then pull it back, that’s also a major no-no.

At the EPT Season 7 Grand Final in Madrid, and with the board showing 5♣3♦K♠5♦6♠ Eugene Yanayt bet out on a river holding K♦Q♠. This left his opponent

Freitez announced ‘raise’, then immediately corrected himself, stating that he meant to only call. When the tournament director, Thomas Kremser, was called to the table, things got very interesting indeed. Not only was Freitez told that his ‘raise’ had to stand, he then proceeded to explain to Yanayt that Freitez had pulled the same stunt 3 times previously!

Amazingly, despite Yanayt being informed of exactly what the angle-shooting Freitez was doing, he proceeded to call anyway! Freitez turned over his boat and scooped the pot. The rest of the table could only look on in disgust as Freitez then went on to pick up the title.

Over-celebrating is pretty offensive.

It’s absolutely fine to be happy, even ecstatic when you win, but taking it too far is not remotely ok for most players and fans. Naturally, players get excited, and celebrations should reflect this – but a bit of respect for the rest of the table or room would be good to see also.

During the 2007 WSOP Main Event, Hevad Khan made it to the final table, but his celebrations when he won a hand led to a new rule being introduced the following year. His offensively boisterous behaviour spoiled the event as a viewing spectacle for many.

Don't comment about the cards you just threw away.

If you fold your hand, don’t give away any information about it while others are still playing. Don’t tell people what you had, don’t make noises of disgust and don’t show your cards!

The 2005 WSOP Main Event saw Mike Matusow livid with fellow pro Shahram Sheikhan. Matusow’s raise saw Sheikhan fold, leaving ‘Mike the Mouth’ heads-up against Allen Kessler. When the flop came, Sheikhan slammed his hand and chips on the table –indicating that the flop would have hit his hand-and then said something to his rail.

Matusow, naturally, was less than amused, saying: “You know, we’re in a hand, you need to shut the fuck up!” Things of course didn’t end there….

There are a lot of dos and don'ts when it comes to professional poker, but they all boil down to one point: be respectful. Hundreds of thousands of people play poker, each for their own reasons and with their own intentions. Don't bring your trash to someone else's table because poker might be their livelihood or their only means of R&R. Treat other players the way you would want to be treated in terms of poker etiquette and everyone should come out all right.

Poker is a kind of casino game that requires skill, knowledge, and a lot of thinking. Social interaction is one of the main aspects of the game, and what comes with it is a bunch of rules.

Apart from the set of poker rules every player should know, this game has some additional unwritten rules. Learning them will make the gameplay more enjoyable and make one seem like an experienced player, which can sometimes be quite beneficial.

Take a look at some tips and rules no one will tell you about and step up your game today! It is high time you’ve improved your social game!

1. Respect The Dealer and Other Players

Even if the participants are not your acquaintances or friends, you should always respect them. There is no need to make new friends if you don’t feel like it, but being polite is a must.

This applies to the dealer as well. Disrespecting and/or berating the dealer is simply not acceptable.

Even though other participants might be stalling or making mistakes due to being new to the game, you should always try to keep your composure and act respectfully when playing poker.

2. Don’t Waste Other People’s Time

The previous one leads us to this unwritten poker rule – don’t waste anyone else’s time even when you play legal onlinepoker for real money. Engaging in other activities while playing poker is annoying and unprofessional.

Put your phone on silent and don’t let other things distract you. Try to focus on the game fully.

Additionally, when a player is taking too long to decide, it can be quite irksome to other players, particularly if done frequently and without a good reason.

3. Calling The Clock Too Soon

It can be annoying when someone is wasting other people’s time by taking too long to make a decision. However, what’s more, irritating are the players calling the clock too soon. When someone calls the clock, they will limit the time you have to decide to one minute.

There are poker players who have a really poor sense when it comes to this, and calling the clock too soon can be a big problem. Being impatient is not regarded as a virtue at the table, and constantly clocking other players won’t make you any friends.

Casino Poker Rules And Etiquette Regulations

4. Declaring Your Move Too Soon

Pay attention to the gameplay and when it is your turn to declare a move. Announcing action and jumping the gun early is considered a bad-mannered action and you should avoid it at all cost.

This can further ruin the game as you can give the player in front of you additional information. Of course, accidents happen, but you should try to stay as focused as possible when playing.

5. Angle shooting is a big NO

If you don’t already know, the term angle shooting describes the action of taking advantage of an unfair situation or an inexperienced player in order to win. If you are an inexperienced player yourself and have a thirst for wins, you might want to look for a different approach.

Angle shooting is frowned upon by the majority of poker players and it is definitely poor etiquette.

6. Avoid Slow Rolling

Do you have a really good hand and you know that you are going to win, but you want to prolong the play? Well, this might not be that ethical in the world of poker, so think twice before you refuse to show your cards on time.

Letting other players think that they are ahead of you by stalling is called a slow roll and should be avoided when playing poker. Acting like this is considered bad manners and it can create unnecessary tension at the table.

7. Stay Focused on the Game

No one likes uninterested players who don’t pay attention to what is happening on the table. This can make the game flow slower than usual, and it can also result in you acting out of turn.

If you don’t feel like playing, simply leave the table and don’t ruin the experience for others.

Being absent-minded while playing poker is bad for your results and disrespectful towards other players.

8. Talking When You Are Not Playing

You missed the hand and now you might feel a bit bored. The last thing you should do is start talking. It will distract other players and possibly affect the outcome of the hand. Moreover, it can make the decision-making process more difficult for some players.

Save the chit-chat for later and let others focus on their game. This kind of distraction is unwanted at a poker table.

9. Never Reveal Your Holdings With Action Pending

Declaring your folded poker hand while the rest of the table is still playing is poor etiquette. No one wants to know such information ahead of time as it kills the thrill of the game.

The anticipation and uncertainty are two important aspects of poker, so let others experience it.

As tempting as this might be, especially if you missed out on a big hand, players should always stay silent and not give additional information about the kind of holdings they folded until the action is completed and the pot is awarded.

10. Never Give or Ask for an Advice During a Hand

Discussing and revealing your holdings with other participants is against the rules. But some people still tend to forget it and continue discussing their hand with the person next to them.

Even if there is a lot of interaction in poker, this game is about competition, not collaboration. Sometimes players who do this can be forced to fold, so you’d be wise to avoid doing it.

11. Don’t Complain About Your Hole Cards

Talking about your bad beats and unlucky situations is completely unwanted during a poker session. Listening to someone lamenting their bad fortune and crying about a bad beat are the last things you want to experience when playing.

Complaining is silly and ridiculous, and serious players will never do it. Even if many players do it, remember that such actions are not desirable.

Honestly, most players at your table don’t care. They have their own bad beats to worry about.

12. Don’t Preach to Others

Trying to teach other players how to play is straight-up rude, not only to the person you are trying to preach to but to other players as they will certainly find it annoying.

Even if you are aware that a player is going down the wrong road and that they are making a mistake, keep your knowledge to yourself. If you really want, you can approach the player after the session or during a break and talk to them.

13. Celebrating Too Much

You have won (possibly multiple hands) and you are boasting around and screaming your lungs out? This is not appropriate behavior for someone who is playing poker.

Gloating about your wins will only make you look like a showoff, and it can be disturbing for those who lost. Being happy is normal, but overreacting is definitely not.

Now That You Know…

Casino Poker Rules And Etiquette Party

There you have it – the unspoken rules of one of the most popular casino games ever are now at your hand. Don’t be shy about applying these when playing poker, as most of them are considered a basic courtesy.

If you want to have a great experience playing poker, you should try to accept and internalize these rules. Your fellow players will certainly appreciate it!