Poker table etiquette for beginners

By Mark Lasser

I often see newbie etiquette mistakes at poker tables. I think there are more of them than ever, largely because so many players learn to play online at the big sites like Full Tilt and Poker Stars, and others start casually playing on Facebook.

The transition to live games is mostly the same in terms of play and strategy, but there are some common mistakes that online software takes care of that live players must learn to control. These are easy to learn and will save you embarrassment when you start playing live.

One of the most common is string betting. A string bet is when a player either bets, calls or raises by putting some chips forward into a pot and then reaches back for more. It’s not possible to string bet online, so many new players don’t even know they’re committing a betting violation. The reason you can’t bet in increments is that you could gauge your opponent’s expression and get a read on their hand and then decide to bet more. That’s not only unsportsmanlike, it’s also simply not allowed.

The best way to prevent a string bet is to either tell the dealer clearly that you want to raise and by how much, or stack the chips you want to commit in front of you, close to the rail and then push them all forward into the betting circle in one motion. In movies and home games you’ll hear a player say they’ll call and raise. In casino poker, you can’t do that. If you say call, then that’s all you can do and the raise will have to wait until the next betting round.

Another common mistake that doesn’t happen online is betting out of turn. In an electronic card game, you don’t even get the betting interface until it’s your turn to act. In real life, the only thing stopping you from betting before it’s your turn is your own self-control. This is a particularly easy mistake to make when sitting to the left of the actual card dealer.

Sometimes you can’t tell if the person to the card dealer’s right has acted or not since the dealer might be blocking your view. If you’re not sure if it’s your turn, ask the dealer if action is on you. No one gets upset if you ask, but many players and dealers get upset if you habitually act out of turn.

A big home-game habit that will get you reprimanded in a casino is splashing the pot. Theatrical players and drama queens like to make a big show of betting and will often toss their chips high into the air and sometimes toss them right into the pot. This isn’t allowed for a very simple reason. Let’s say it takes $30 to call a bet and a player tosses $25 into a large pot. How will the dealer or other players know if the bet was short $5? They won’t; so dealers will get upset if you do this.

Forget all the drama. When you make a bet, push the chips out in front of you in an orderly manner so the dealer can verify it’s the correct bet. You want to toss chips around? Take your winnings and do it in the privacy of your home, but don’t make a big deal of betting in a professional card room.

A last rule to learn is, don’t show your cards to some players if you aren’t going to show them to everybody. It’s not fair to give information about what starting hands you are playing and what you are mucking to some of the table while leaving others in the dark. If you show your cards to your neighbor, don’t be surprised if an experienced player asks they be shown to the entire table.

— Mark B. Lasser is Denver writer and international poker player. He regularly plays in Colorado, Arizona, California, Missouri and Nevada. You can hear him talk about gambling and casinos every Friday at 5 PM on KEZW AM 1430. Readers can send questions and comments to him at ColoradoPokerMark@comcast.net.