Acting

When it is a player’s turn to bet, it is said that the “action” is on them. Some players act very quickly while others may take a bit longer. While there is no harm in taking a reasonable amount of time to make a decision, significantly stalling the game can begin to anger others players. Some players try to stall the game whenever it is their turn to bet. Not only is this ineffective at throwing seasoned players off their games, but it is considered rude. Experts advise that players would be better off if they mentally designated a specific time limit to act on each hand and stuck to this time limit. This helps in two ways. First, by taking the same amount of time to act each turn, other players can never get a read on whether or not the time a player takes to make a decision has a bearing on how strong of a hand they have. Second, it keeps the game moving at a brisk and enjoyable pace for everyone at the table.

Pot Splashing

The middle of the table is usually where players place their chips when betting. This is the “pot.” Players should always stack their chips in a fashion that will make it easy for opposing players to count when placing their money into the pot. Chips should be placed into the pot in one smooth motion and stacked neatly as opposed to erratically throwing or dropping chips into the pot. The act of throwing chips into the pot in an unorganized fashion slows the game and is considered rude to other players as it makes it harder for them to count up the offending player’s bet.

Number One Rule

The number one rule at any poker table is that one player should never touch another player’s cards or chips. The reasons for this rule are obvious as it helps to prevent cheating. If players generally show a degree of civil respect to all players and use common sense at the table, fun can be had by all.