7 Do’s and Don’ts at the Table: Mastering Poker Etiquette

Playing live poker can be nerve-wracking, especially trying to adhere to poker etiquette standards that so many players expect. It can be exciting, thrilling and rewarding in equal measure. It can also be a place you learn new skills, master your own weaknesses and develop strengths you never knew you had. It’s also a place where you can make friends and while many poker players look back on lifting trophies and celebrating big wins with pride, they’ll often be far happier to have made lasting friendships at the felt.

There are a number of ways to come across as your best self at the poker table, but if you’ve never played live poker before, the subtle art of poker etiquette could well be something that starts off scary. We understand, and we’ve been there. To help, we’ve put together a guide to using your common sense and poker experience to make everyone’s experience at the felt a positive one.

1. Keep the Pace

Don’t be slow in calling if you turn over aces.

There will doubtless be stages of play where you’ll need to take your time over decisions at the poker table. These could include a big call on the river for your tournament life, a three-way raising war pre-flop or a big bluff on the turn. But there are just as many situations at the felt that call for expediency. It’s always rude if you hold up the action at the table without good reason, such as getting caught in conversations and forgetting that it’s your turn to act.

If you’re watching the TV in the corner of the casino and being reminded to post your blinds or antes by the dealer every few minutes, it’s not a good look. The same is true if you ‘Hollywood’ during a heads-up hand. You’re not trying to influence other players; you’re just delaying the inevitable. Sometimes, delaying action can even be what’s called an ‘angle shoot’ on the bubble, where you’re delaying to slow down play at your table in the hope that another table loses a player and you end up making money. This is frowned upon.

Always be conscious of your actions at the felt, especially if you’re less experienced than others. Talking to the waiting staff, another player at the table, or the dealer is unnecessary if you’re the next to act and your fellow players will appreciate you keeping the game flowing at all times.

Stay off your phone if you’re involved in a hand, be mindful of how your actions could delay the table if you’re getting a massage or enjoying food or drink and above all else, consider others’ feelings at the felt – you could be in their position in the very next hand.

2. Look and Listen

Make sure you’re watching what’s going on at the felt (pic: Danny Maxwell Photography)

At the poker table, it’s important for you to pay attention to a lot of things that are going on all around you. The betting action, your opponents, the flop, turn and river. It’s all demanding of your senses, and you can miss out on these signals if you’re distracted. It’s important to look and listen in poker and there are many examples where it can be the difference between winning and losing.

Many players like to listen to music during gameplay, especially during long hours, but it can be optimal to either keep volume at a respectable level, only keeping one ear occupied with it means you’ll be able to hear what your opponents are saying. This can be an advantage in terms of not missing vital information but also allows you keep up with any conversation at the table and anything mentioned by the dealer or tournament director.

Looking carefully at others’ to see if they have already acted will prevent you from acting out of turn, which can spoil any poker hand if it happens. Doing this once might be forgivable but repeatedly missing others’ actions during gameplay will frustrate your opponents and can lead to external punishment such as penalties such as missing a hand, or even an orbit of hands.

3. Respect All of Your Opponents

A friendly game of poker is always the best kind.

It is important to always show respect at the poker table to all of your opponents. This maintains a positive atmosphere at the poker table, and politeness goes a long way to making a friendly game no matter what bad beats land at the felt. I’ve reported live from poker tables that are fractious despite standard coinflips or dominated hands deciding the fates of players. I’ve always seen tables full of laughter when a Royal Flush beats four of a kind!

Handle Bad Beats with Class

No matter how you’d play a hand, do not belittle any opponent for how they played a hand, even if you thought they sucked. They could be new to the game or playing in a casino for the very first time. Maybe they might have misread their cards and feel ashamed of it, and your words or actions can tip them over the edge. They might decide never to return, and your home casino loses a potential regular customer that grows your game. Always be kind, courteous and polite… this helps to keep your own skill level at poker concealed if you have to look at the situation thinking of your own gain!

We all suffer bad beats from time to time, but no-one likes a whinger. Poker is a game of both skill and luck, and while it can such to lose with pocket aces, every now and again, it’s going to happen. Deal with defeat in a classy manner and the table will be happier to see you in when your luck inevitably turns. Ranting and raving about a bad beat only shows your susceptibility to tilt, something your opponents could easily take advantage of in the next hand.

Refrain from swearing, being rude, insulting or unkind to anyone at the table, and this especially includes the dealer. Maybe they found your opponent’s one-outer on the river and your weekend tournament was ended; it wasn’t their fault. All they did was deal the next card, so don’t take it out on them. Never deface or soil the cards you’re playing with – they are more expensive than you think and come right off the cardroom’s bottom line – the same applies to the table you’re playing at, just even more so.

4. Steer Clear of Awkward Topics

When you’re deep in the action at a poker table, you want to avoid talking about potentially antagonistic topics of conversation, such as politics, war, or even more important to most, sport. If you can feel the conversation getting tetchy between others, either step in to make light of something, change the subject, or don’t say anything at all. Never add fuel to the fire of an argument.

If you suspect another player of cheating at the live poker felt, make sure that you’re certain of any wrongdoing before discreetly pointing it out to a tournament director or other member of staff in charge of officiating. Don’t out that player at the table. You could be wrong in doing so, putting a target on your own back, but even if you’re correct, it can negatively impact the table as a whole to create an argument in the middle of gameplay.

If other players are in a hand, don’t disturb them. Give them the space and peace to make decisions just as you would wish for and certainly don’t reveal anything about your hand, for example, in this epic Mike Matusow blow-up from the World Series of Poker. ‘The Mouth’ only lost his temper because an opponent who wasn’t in the hand impacted the action in the hand.

It is important during live poker that you aren’t disruptive, loud, too talkative or distracted. For example, if you take a phone call at the live felt, you’re going to annoy your opponents and possibly get penalised for it by floor staff.

5. Stay Out of Trouble

Don’t get into trouble at the poker felt.

At the poker table, you want to remain out of focus when you’re not in a hand and when you are in a hand, act with class and dignity no matter how the chips fall. Above all, never say or do anything to influence a poker hand that you’re not an active part of. Don’t reveal your hole cards. Don’t fold face-up or show your tablemate the cards you had. Maybe you’ve got a great poker face, but they might not have!

Above all, don’t discuss the hand in play and be careful about what you say regarding the action after the hand. Generally, your thoughts on the gameplay of others are best kept to yourself. They could be astute observations – why would you want to help others by letting them see something they might not have noticed in real time?

If other players aren’t paying attention to showdowns, then let them ignore that information. You’ll have been observant – look and listen, remember – so you don’t need to shout out actions or how the board played out. ‘Your flush got there on the river!’ could help everyone who was on their phone during the hand to establish a calling range on that opponent. You’ve given away some of your edge by announcing it to the table.

6. Don’t Angle Shoot or Hit ‘n’ Run

Don’t hit ‘n’ run or you might not be invited back to the poker table.

Those who angle shoot or hit ‘n’ run in poker are generally ostracised, and being disreputable at the table can buy you more trouble than anything else.

Angle Shooting

Angle shooting in poker is when a player (or players) uses unethical, immoral or deliberately deceptive tactics to beat an opponent or opponents. There are many ways to do this that fall inside the rulebook but outside a code of ethics, such as going to put your chips over the line to make a call but watching your opponent as you do so then pulling them back, talking to one of two or more active players in a multi-way pot to gauge information or being unclear about the action you’re going to take yourself.

Behaving correctly in poker is crucial to the game’s integrity. Bet exactly what you want to bet. Don’t announce a raise to ‘three’ rather than 300 or 3000 just to be vague and escape the price if you get a quick caller. Above all, represent yourself as you would want others to behave with you.

Don’t ever, ever, ‘Hit ‘n’ Run’. To hit ‘n’ run is to win a significant pot from a player in a cash game then immediately pack up your chips and leave the table, either to move to another table or cash out. This is seen as being disingenuous to the integrity of the game.

Not only are not playing a sensible session, but you’re not giving the other player the chance to carry on playing and potentially win their chips back. This might be the point, you could argue but think for a minute how you’d feel if this was done to you. This maxim is the one you should always remember that when playing poker, sooner or later the cards that help you win will go against you.

7. Win or Lose with Class

Phil Ivey always wins or loses with class.

Whether you win or lose playing poker, it is important to do so with grace and humility. Don’t over celebrate if you win a hand, and never criticise how your opponent played. The benefits to not doing this are twofold; you won’t put that player off playing – they might already feel bad losing the hand – and whatever it was they did, they might not have noticed they did, so could do so again.

If you’re playing cash games for any length of time or long-form multi-table tournaments, be sure to tip the dealer and stack your chips in piles of 20, putting your biggest chips at the front of your pile. This helps those playing against you to establish what your stack is worth for betting purposes and if your tournament is being reported on, it allows reporters to ascertain your chipcount without disturbing the table.

One of the biggest ways you can become a more courteous poker player is to resist telling bad beat stories. We cannot emphasise this one enough. No-one wants to hear how you lost (unless they’re your backer) and remembering a bad beat for any longer than is necessary can depress you and others, or even lead to a doom-laden attitude to the game.

While it can be frustrating to lose at poker, never take it out on others or the equipment. Don’t slam your palm or fist on the poker table, don’t deface or throw cards and always act politely. Players will respect you far more for acting with class after defeat than they will for anything else.

Other Live Poker Etiquette Tips:

Be Clear and Respectful with Your Actions

Bet with clarity, announce amounts clearly and always enunciate “All-in” or “Call” audibly to all of your opponents and especially the dealer
Don’t look at other players’ cards, unless they turn them over. Inexperienced players can struggle to hide their cards when they check them after the deal. Help others to conceal their hands, never look at others’ cards yourself.
Protect your hole cards with a card protector (some tours give out branded heavy ‘coins’ that work well) and always let players know that your cards are still in play – don’t cover them up mid-hand!
Ask what someone’s stack is worth if you can’t calculate it yourself. Be polite if someone asks this of you, move your hands away or respond clearly as to the value of your own stack.

Avoid Disrupting the Flow of the Game

Never rebuy in a cash game or re-enter a tournament during the middle of someone else’s hand. It’s throwing mud in clear water and unnecessary. Wait until the hand is over and respect the minimum/maximum rebuy or re-entry boundaries.
Be space-aware, don’t encroach on others personal space and keep your cards and chips in front of your seat, not other peoples.
Don’t ‘string-bet’, which is when a player leads their bet or raise in multiple motions, dropping separate amounts of chips along the way. Watch out for this – it can be an angle shoot and needs reporting if it isn’t an accident or happens on multiple occasions.
Be aware that putting in a single chip after another player has bet or raised you can be interpreted as a ‘call’ unless you specify otherwise before the chip is committed to the pot. Establish what defines a call, but most times, there is a line or ‘forward motion’ rule.

Show Good Sportsmanship and Maintain Hygiene

Never ‘slowroll’ an opponent. This is when, for example, the board has played out and you opponent turns over cards for a straight. You have a full house and therefore the winning hand, but you delay revealing the winning hand. This is unethical and can lead to penalties for unsporting play.
Don’t ask the other play to show if you’re first to turn your cards over at showdown – understand who is first to show or check with the dealer if you’re not sure. Follow the rules of the game – even if you lose the hand, don’t lose your dignity.
When folding your cards, keep them low to the table and be sure not to expose them to other players. Don’t toss them into the middle of the table like the pros do – they’ve had practice!
Always stay fresh and clean, taking care of your hygiene. This is the most important rule of poker etiquette out there. Long tournament days or cash game sessions can force eight or nine people to spend a lot of time together. Use long-lasting deodorant, take a shower at least once a day and freshen your breath. You could be at the poker table with an eventual friend… or even partner!

In Conclusion

Hopefully, this article has shown you that while there are lots of rules to poker etiquette that will improve yours and others’ experiences, the best rules are simple ones. Stay clean, fresh and pleasant to be around. Be polite, respectful and considerate to everyone around you. Take losses and wins in the same spirit and stick to the rules of the game and the code of your tablemates. At the end of the day, poker should be a game everyone enjoys, not just the latest player to win a hand at the felt.

If you remember or regularly consult these guidelines, you’ll be on your way to contributing to a positive poker atmosphere for everyone whenever you play.

Nervous about not living up to the etiquette standard? Keep those nerves at bay and try playing online poker. To find a site to play at, check out our most recommended sites here.

Paul Seaton, an esteemed figure in the poker community with over ten years of experience, has provided live coverage from renowned poker tournaments like the World Series of Poker, European Poker Tour, and World Poker Tour. His involvement goes beyond observation; he has served as the Editor of BLUFF Europe Magazine and Head of Media for partypoker.