Gain More Respect: Getting a Hold of Poker Etiquette

Photo: Pxhere

As poker rises in popularity, so does the number of ignorant players who just play for kicks. They disrupt the whole flow of the game and give it a lot of disrespect. A certain instance is when one says "bad fold, bad fold!" when he/she sees that the rather ragged flop has hit his/her hand. It is very annoying for all the players in the table and has cut off the bluffing element of the round since one has declared that he/she has one or two of the cards on the table.

Anyway, follow these basic guidelines of good behavior to ensure that the game is fair and enjoyable.

Don’t Talk About Your Cards after you’ve folded them

This is one of the most common breaches of etiquette that people do. Similar to the situation above, there might be instances wherein someone just bangs at the table and fusses over what a horrible fold he/she did. Again, it takes the life of the game and takes out some strategies that may be used on the round.

If You Want To Show Your Cards, Show It to Everyone

There are times when one asks an opponent to show their hand to them. Sometimes, they accede to the request and show it to them. But the problem is that they seem to keep it to themselves as a cute little secret. Don’t do that in a casino or even in a cash game. It annoys a lot of people. Keep the game fair for everyone.

Muck Your Hand Properly

There are lots of moments where one just throws their card like it was literally trash. Sometimes, the cards flip over and your hand will be shown to a few people who even cared about looking at you. Again, this takes out the element of fairness in the game because the other player may use this as a basis of calling or

folding given that card can’t possibly be a kicker for his/her opponent. So to speak, you’re wrecking the game for a couple of unknowing players. Keep things

formal and fold your hand properly by sliding it to the dealer using both hands.

Don’t Splash Your Chips

When betting, some people just toss in their chips, making a horrid splash that makes it difficult for the dealer to count. This takes up unnecessary time and drains all the energy of the round and disrupts the natural flow of the game. Bet properly by stacking your chips and sliding it over to the center of the table. Doing that shouldn’t be very difficult.

Pay Attention!

There are people who space out in the middle of the round and it takes a little nudge or a tilted eyebrow to get him/her back to earth. Don’t make everyone remind you it’s your turn, please. A lot of people take poker very seriously and a good number even gamble with this game as a profession. Respect the game, and you’ll get respect in return.

Conclusion

Honestly, if you want to be respected at the poker table. Don’t be a brat but be a mature person who loves to play the game. Minding your manners is a part of that. Actually, people shouldn’t even talk about this because it should be a customary task. And not only does it help you in the poker table, but also in life in general. Play the game properly and you’ll both get respect and admiration from your peers because of your class and love for the game.

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POKER rules: Play it fair or be square

Poker - Photo: Pixabay

Anybody who hasn't heard of the poker game? Anybody who hasn't played a round of poker game? I think not. Even celebrities nowadays participate in celebrity poker games. But who knows how poker came about? In truth, there is a dilemma as to who can lay claim for the birth of this card game. The French have it 'poque' which descended from the Germans' 'pochen' which means "to knock". 

However, it can be contested that it could have originated from the Persian game of 'as nas' that could have been taught to the French settlers by Persian sailors in New Orleans. However poker came about, everybody is playing it and loving the challenge. Poker rules, therefore, are extremely important since you might be betting your car keys already, for all you know. The poker rules guide the greenhorn on how to lose graciously the first few deals. Thus learning to play a good game of poker is expensive.

We need to know the basics of how to play poker, the poker rules according to the poker variant, poker etiquette and poker hands to be able to passably play. Winning is everything in poker since this is a mind game more than anything else.

First off, we need to clarify the different poker game variants to know which poker rules need to be in play. There are many variants to the poker game but the more universal poker game variants are: draw poker, stud poker, widow poker game, and miscellaneous poker games (which include Stud Horse poker, Oxford stud, Billabong (and Shanghai), Guts, and Blind Man's Bluff). However, the most commonly played poker games for the first three variants are the five-card draw, seven-card stud, and the Texas hold 'em. 

Since this is the most played poker game variant, poker rules for the five-card draw are generally easy to remember. It is assumed that you basically know the general poker gameplay, the hand values, and the betting system. Poker rules differ from the home-style games to the more formal games as played in the casinos. For formal games blinds are commonly used while for home games, it is more typical use an ante. Ante is where the first betting round starts from the player to the dealer's left, then the second round betting begins with the player who opened or made the first non-zero betting in the preceding round. 

A common house rule in playing five card draw in home or social games is that a player cannot replace more than three cards unless he holds an ace or a wildcard so that the deck stub will not be easily depleted. Another common house rule is that the last card in the deck stub is not dealt anymore to ensure that anybody who might have seen it will not use that information.

In the seven card stud, poker rules are a bit more complex than the five card draw since two to eight players can play. The only poker rule to remember, (better make it your mantra) is two down, four up, one down. This is the lay of the cards and not meant to mean something else.

The third most commonly played poker game is the Texas hold 'em. The poker rules here are the same with the first two but what makes this different is the introduction of lipstick cameras where spectators were able to view each player's cards.

Definitely, we've seen that poker rules change a bit depending on the game of poker being played. Now that we've learned the different poker rules, playing it like the pros would be as easy as pie.

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