Poker Ego and Etiquette

Marcus Bateman / Marcus Bateman / 30 September 2008 / Leave a Comment

It is immediately apparent to anyone that walks into a major poker tournament that there is a huge amount of ego amongst many players. This can range from simple confidence, all the way to constant claims of how good they are (see Phil Hellmuth and his comments about how if luck wasn't involved he would win every tournament for perhaps the best evidence of this).

Although it's obviously a matter of huge debate, what you do with your ego can really define you as a player. To be a truly great player requires you to actually understand your place in the order of things, and unless you are beating all forms of the game, at all limits, you are not the best player in the world, and you are simply making yourself look stupid by telling everyone.

Gambling can bring out huge emotion in players, especially at high limits, yet just as it is imperative that you do not let emotion interfere with how you play, you should also concentrate on how it changes how you act and behave. This is particularly important live, where there are dealers who are just trying to make an honest living, and other players who don't deserve a constant stream of criticism or boasts.

I don't think it's a surprise that nearly to a man, all the players who have consistently sat in the big game, beating all games at the highest limits in the world are mild mannered and calm. Barry Greenstein, and the late, great Chip Reese stand out in particular as truly great examples of this. Staying composed and calm is critical to poker success.

I always try and visualise public transport when I'm verging on saying something or doing something I might regret at the poker table. On public transport, because of social conditioning we all sit calmly together even under intense stress (sitting in 43 degree heat in a stagnant tube tunnel for example). It is possible to control yourself and your behaviour towards others even in the most stressful situations.

Many of the most famous players in the world behave quite badly on a regular basis (Scotty Nguyen at the final table of the $50,000 H.O.R.S.E, or Phil Hellmuth making a dealer cry at this year's WSOPE), but it is not something to emulate or respect. If you feel the need to always be right and make others around you feel weak or stupid then you probably have other issues in your life that need to be addressed - and you certainly won't find any answers to these questions at the poker table - you will simply make everyone else feel bad.