Online Poker Etiquette

• Never use the chat feature to reveal what cards you had when the hand is still in progress. For example, if you folded 2-3 off suit before the flop and then the flop comes 3-3-3, don’t type in the chat “damn I threw out a three” or something like that. If you must, please wait until the hand is over before revealing your hole cards through the chat feature.

• Avoid abusing other players. On occasion, two players can get into a rather drawn out and abusive argument using the chat feature. While most other players will ignore it in the short term, they may become rather irritated if you become very abusive and don’t let up. They have the ability to report you to the administrators for abuse. So in short – don’t do it! If you get a bad beat from a rank amateur, swear and curse all you want in the comfort of your own living room or bedroom. But try to avoid venting your anger through the chat feature. If you put a bad beat on someone and they want to get stuck into you, simply ignore them. Trying to defend yourself will only provoke further argument and abuse from them.

• You don’t have to show your cards if you win the pot uncontested. Many beginners are somewhat confused on this issue. All online poker rooms offer you the ability to muck your hand without showing your hole cards. However, you may reveal your hole cards if you wish. By and large, you should always avoid revealing your hole cards when you win a pot because everyone else folded. Unless you have a particular reason for doing it here and there, you should keep any information about your hand to yourself.

• Don’t abuse disconnection protect. This is not a guide on how to cheat online poker. However, there is one slight flaw in online poker that can give you a slight edge and it probably wouldn’t take you long to work out yourself anyway. If your internet connection happens to drop out in the middle of a hand, a side pot will be created for all the betting subsequent to your disconnection. Once all the betting is concluded, you will participate in the showdown and if you win, you will win the main pot but not the side pot. In other words, if you disconnected on the turn when there was $100 in the pot, you will only be eligible for that $100. You will not win any bets and calls made on the turn and the river. This is called disconnection protection and aims to provide a fair outcome when, through no fault of their own, a player’s internet connection fails in the middle of a pot.

But the advantage is that you do not have to call the bets on the turn or river to see if you win the showdown and some players occasionally abuse this. Specifically, if they think they have a reasonable chance of winning the pot, but they don’t want to lose money calling you on the turn or the river, they can simply disconnect their modem. When they reconnect a minute later, they will find out whether they won the pot at no extra expense, even though they will not win the side pot.

We recommend that you do not abuse the disconnection protection for three reasons. First, it is rather immoral. Second, sometimes your opponents will know that you abused the disconnection protection and will have some unpleasant things to say to you when you reconnect. Third, and most importantly, you only have a limited number of disconnection protections. Most of the time, you have three disconnection protections and if you use them all up dishonestly, you may one day be in the middle of a big pot and you internet connection legitimately drops out… and you have no disconnection protections left – in which case – your hand is folded and you will not be eligible to win any of the pot!

• Don’t collude with others. There are a number of recent publications that have given players hints on how to collude in online poker. But we strongly discourage collusion. First, it is a breach of the terms and conditions of playing at the site. Second, you will eventually be caught and barred from playing at the same table again (at the very least). But most importantly, collusion is not as easy as people think it is. Much like card counting in blackjack, there are many people who think they can do it, but can’t and lose a lot of money trying; and there are a small handful and can do it, but they only achieve a marginal edge in the long run. For these reasons, we strongly discourage and denounce any form of collusion in online poker.