Playing in a casino/card house

[Gallant Pig]

What are some basic rules /etiquette for playing in an actual casino card house?

[Deftones]

I'd say wearing pants is probably pretty important.

[Copenhagen]

Knowing the bettting structure of a table and protecting your cards. And like Def said, pants.

[Gallant Pig]

Should I have something to put on my 2 hole cards so they don't get mucked?

[Patman]

Just put a chip on any hands you intend to play or deliberate upon.

[Wizdar]

I think the basic rule is don’t act out of turn., and when it’s your turn, act. (If you need to go in the tank for a $4 bet, call “time” so the dealer and the other players know you’re contemplating your financial future.)

When you first sit down at a table, many casinos require you to “post” a blind if it’s not your BB. In a 4/8 game you can either put up a $4 blind or wait until it’s your BB. Vegas, generally, doesn’t have that rule. Likewise, if you’re away from the table taking a leak or chatting up a cocktail waitress and you miss your blind(s), you’ll be required to make them up before you can resume playing.

In a tournament: Engrish only. Don’t violently muck your cards such that they fly off the table or you may receive a penalty. F word = penalty. No cell phone use at the table. (There’s talk of not allowing them in a tourney at all.) You can find a list of the TDA (Tournament Directors Association) rules here.

Much of the rest is courtesy. Aside from obvious rudeness, the biggest etiquette faux pas I see is cell phone use. If you’ve mucked your cards, don’t talk about them until the hand is over. If you’re out of a hand, it’s considered rude to talk to players who are still in.

Whether or not you’re wearing pants, farting at the table is frowned upon.

[moorehed]

no f words?

[Wizdar]

Nope.

I watched a guy (not at my table) who got 10 minutes. He got hot with the floorman, let it fly again, and the floorman said, “Now it’s 20 minutes. You wanna try for 30?”

He ended up with 40 minutes. Don’t know if he ever came back.

[Red Dog]

Can't wait - playing in the daily NL tourney at the Shoe on Friday.

[das Monkey]

One mistake I see a lot of new players make is not explicitly indicating a raise during odd denomination rounds of a tournament. Let's say the blinds are $10 and $25, and you just toss a $100 into the pot. The dealer will assume you're calling the $25 and are waiting for change if you don't say "raise."

das

[moorehed]

that kinda sucks. normally when someone starts dropping fbombs they are starting to tilt bigtime, and it's perfect time to take their $...

[Spy021]

A couple of the biggest annoyances at the local casino I frequent are:

• Players who are not paying attention at the table and play out of turn or have to be told that the action is on them.
• Players wilding tossing chips into the pot where they roll into another players stack or into the dealers tray. Seeing as how we only have $1/$2 & $2/$2 betting limits, you'd think it would be a simple thing to put a couple of chips in the pot?

[Wizdar]

Excellent point, das. That’s specific in the TDA rules.

Another thing about raises: something called a “string bet” or “string raise.”

In the movies, a guy will say, “I’ll see yer hunnerd bucks,” [puts money into the pot, and reaches back for more] “and raise ya a grand.” DON’T do it!

You’ve got two choices. Announce that you’re going to raise before you move in any chips, or put them in all in one motion.

Well, a third (NL specific) is to announce the amount of your raise, then you can go back and forth all you want.

I learned that one the hard way in Vegas a year ago. Cost me a position and at least $200.

Along the same lines, I see players all the time take a stack of chips in their hand and make it look like they’re going to make a coupla stacks. Instead they count out the required call amount and pull back the rest of the chips, usually with a sly grin. Technically, once the chips cross the line (if there is one), they belong in the pot. But I’ve never seen that one called. “Cute” is not appreciated in a game of poker, IMO.



President of Otterville?!? What in the hell is the world comin’ to?

[das Monkey]

Where in the hell have you been?

One thing that annoys me is impatient dealers. I'm always paying attention, but during pivotal points of a tournament, I'll take a few extra moments to read the situation, my opponents, and the math. To remind me, "the action's on you" once is fine, but when I've established that I'm paying attention, don't fucking bother me while I'm thinking to point out the obvious. Keep in mind I'm far from a slow player. We're talking 20-30 seconds here on big hands. I understand that dealers somewhat have to do this because of other stupid people who don't pay attention, but it's still really annoying.

das

[Wizdar]

”The action’s on you.” Is THAT what they’re saying. All I ever hear is, “Ak-jen au jus,” leaving me wondering if they screwed up my meal order again. (You prolly don’t have that problem in Joe-jah.)

Just say “time” and you shouldn’t have a problem. But you already knew that, yes? I suspect it’s the closed eyes and snoring that make the dealers anxious.



Just a bunch of those family/legal situations that leaves one no time to post and, more tragically, no money to play poker with.