Online Poker Etiquette

Online Poker Etiquette

Rule number one: No Swearing! It’s a game that’s meant to be enjoyed by everyone.

• Refrain from criticising other player’s methods standard of play.

• Do not abuse the dealer, verbally or in any other way.

Likewise, please don’t feel that you have to tell everyone what your last hand was and what you would have bet if only you had stayed in the pot, some polite people might feign interest, but few really are.

Speech play (often called “coffee housing”) is the term used to describe what happens when a player makes comments about a hand when it is in progress. This is not prohibited in the terms of the rules but is considered unethical in the UK (not so in the USA). So be careful what you say during the play of a hand and resist the urge to talk about a hand during the action or when someone is thinking.

• Do not try to educate players at the table by pointing out what you think are mistakes. Its odd and they will resent it and mark you down as a smart Alec, or worse. Why not let people pay for their education – its how I had to learn.

• Players should speak up and assist the dealer by calling attention to an error in the amount of the bet or the improper reading of the hand etc. Likewise, any player who sees as error about to be made, such as awarding the pot to the wrong person, has a duty to speak up.