Bloggers / Matthew Pitt / 18 February 2009 / Leave a comment

Matthew Pitt believes knowing a bit of poker etiquette will enhance your enjoyment if you are new to to playing poker live.

Many of us play poker online rather than in a live environment and as a result can become lackadaisical when it comes to proper poker etiquette.

Whilst the general rules of poker are the same regardless of where you play it, there are some obvious differences between live and online play.

One of the most infuriating situations, often caused by players new to the live scene, is having to be prompted to post the blinds and antes. When we are sat on the sofa with Coronation Street blaring out, we let the poker software on our computer automatically post blinds and antes for us, so when you are at a home game or at the casino, keep an eye out for when it is your turn to act. Live play is slow enough without having to ask someone to put in their chips every single time!

Another common mistake, and one that is against the rules in a lot of venues, is not keeping your largest denomination chip at the front of your stack. Again, online this is not a problem as your chips are displayed neatly with a numerical value added to them for ease of counting. By not keeping you largest chips on show, you could easily alter the betting of a particular player as he or she will believe you have less chips than you actually have.

The number one cardinal sin of live poker is discussing a hand or displaying emotions that gives away what you were holding. Imagine you are online and after seeing a raise and a re-raise you decide to fold your pocket sevens. Low and behold, the flop comes down 77A and you would have won a huge pot. At home you can swear and curse your bad luck but if you are sat in the WSOPE Main Event, you need to sit motionless even if you want to smash the table up!

The same goes for discussing a hand whilst you are not in it. If the third diamond appears, do not start wondering aloud if someone has the flush, it alters the way people would act normally.

Whilst there are literally dozens of alterations you need to make when you make the transition from armchair to casino, the above points are some of the most common mistakes people make and by being aware of them you can make your poker experience all the more enjoyable.

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