Calling players out

Marcus Bateman / Marcus Bateman / 19 October 2009 / Leave a Comment

One of the most subtle, yet important feature, of all great poker players is the ability to create a positive and easy going atmosphere at the tables. Although their play might be wild, aggressive, and dominating in the game itself, their mannerisms and comments nearly always stay in check, and they do this for a very good reason.

As discussed in the previous article about comparisons, people's edges in poker are often unclear, and frequently the mark in a game actually strongly believes they have an edge, despite all of the players around them knowing that in reality they do not. Yet time and time again in these situations, you see players criticizing weak players (particularly if they lose a hand to them), which can only have negative consequences in the long run.

Not only may this player start learning about the weakness(es) in a game, but they also may start to feel that possibly they are the weak player in the game, and leave and drop down the stakes. One of the most damaging and stupid means of calling a player out online (and one you see far too much if you regularly play tournaments) is the calling out of other players statistics. As numerous sites offer statistical records of sit and go and tournament data, it can be pretty easy to find out if someone is a winning player or not.

This is useful information when considering how to play against an opponent, but in the wrong hands is one of the most single damaging pieces of information available. The last thing any recreational player wants to be told about is how much they are down over the course of their life. Recreational players enjoy the challenge of poker, nearly always gamble within their means, lose at a steady rate and have the odd big win which they relish. Most have them have very successful jobs in other areas than poker, and are happy to steadily lose as long as they are enjoying themselves.

The last thing these players want is to be told that they are x amount down over the course of the playing career. They know that they are down, but they make enough money from some other area not to care (often vastly more than most poker players will ever make). That being said, being given graphic explanations of how much they are down is a much worse experience than just the vague notion they have that they are probably a bit down, after all, if they wanted a forensic accountant to go over the details of it, I'm sure they would get one in.

Leave the fish alone no matter how frustrated they make you. Tapping the glass is no good for anyone - especially you and your bank balance - over the long run, and keeping the atmosphere cordial and friendly is the hallmark of nearly all of the greatest players.