Poker Betting Etiquette

Action and Betting

When participating in the hand, a player is expected to keep track of the betting action. Losing track of the amount needed to call, called the bet to the player, happens occasionally, but multiple occurrences of this slow the game down and so it is discouraged. The dealer may be given the responsibility of tracking the current bet amount, from which each player has only to subtract his contribution, if any, thus far.

To aid players in tracking bets, and to ensure all players have bet the correct amount, players stack the amount they have bet in the current round in front of them. When the betting round is over (a common phrase is “the pot’s good”), the players will push their stacks into the pot or the dealer will gather them into the pot. Tossing chips directly into the pot (known as splashing the pot), though popular in film and television depictions of the game, causes confusion over the amount of a raise and can be used to hide the true amount of a bet. Likewise, string raises, or the act of raising by first placing chips to call and then adding chips to raise, causes confusion over the amount bet. Both actions are generally prohibited at casinos and discouraged at least in other cash games.

Acting out of turn

Most actions (calls, raises or folds) occurring out-of-turn – when players to the right of the player acting have not yet made decisions as to their own action – are considered improper, for several reasons. First, since actions by a player give information to other players, acting out of turn gives the person in turn information that he normally would not have, to the detriment of players who have already acted. In some games, even folding in turn when a player has the option to check (because there is no bet facing the player) is considered folding out of turn since it gives away information which, if the player checked, other players would not have.

For instance, say that with three players in a hand, Player A has a weak hand but decides to try a bluff with a large opening bet. Player C then folds out of turn while Player B is making up his mind. Player B now knows that if he folds, A will take the pot, and also knows that he cannot be re-raised if he calls. This may encourage Player B, if he has a good “drawing hand” (a hand currently worth nothing but with a good chance to improve substantially in subsequent rounds), to call the bet, to the disadvantage of Player A.

Second, calling or raising out of turn, in addition to the information it provides, assumes all players who would act before the out of turn player would not exceed the amount of the out-of-turn bet. This may not be the case, and would result in the player having to bet twice in order to cover preceding raises, causing confusion.

Cards

A player is never required to expose his concealed cards when folding or if all others have folded; this is only required at the showdown. A player may of course choose to show his hole cards in either circumstance, however, this tells other players whether or not the player was bluffing, and if other players are still in the game, it tells others that those cards are unavailable, which may confer an advantage to one or more players.

Many casinos and public cardrooms using a house dealer require players to protect their hands. This is done either by holding the cards or, if they are on the table, by placing a chip or other object on top. Unprotected hands in such situations are generally considered folded and are mucked by the dealer when action reaches the player. This can spark heated controversy, and is rarely done in private games.

The style of game generally determines whether players should hold face-down cards in their hands or leave them on the table. Holding “hole” cards allows players to view them more quickly and thus speeds up gameplay, but spectators watching over a player’s shoulder can communicate the strength of that hand to other players, even unintentionally. Unwary players can hold their hand such that a “rubbernecker” in an adjacent seat can sneak a peek at the cards. Lastly, given the correct light and angles, players wearing glasses can inadvertently show their opponents their hole cards through the reflection in their glasses. Thus for most poker variants involving a combination of faceup and facedown cards (most variants of stud and community are dealt in this manner), the standard method is to keep hole cards face-down on the table except when it is that player’s turn to act. 5 card draw is generally played with hands held by the players at all times.

Cash and Chips

Making change out of the pot is allowed in most games; to avoid confusion, the player should announce his intentions first. Then, if opening or cold calling, the player may exchange a large chip for its full equivalent value out of the pot before placing his bet, or if overcalling may place the chip (announcing that he is calling or raising a lesser amount) and remove the change from his own bet for the round.

Making change should, in general, be done between hands whenever possible, when a player sees he is running low on an oft-used value. The house dealer at casinos often maintains a bank and can make change for a large amount of chips, or in informal games players can make change with each other or with unused chips in the set. This prevents stoppages of play while a player figures change for a bet. Similarly, buying in for an additional amount should be done between hands once the player sees that he will be out of chips within a couple of hands (if buy-ins cannot be handled by the dealer it can take two or three hands for an attendant to bring another tray to the table).

Touching another player’s chips without permission is a serious breach of protocol and can result in the player being barred from the casino or even arrested.

Some informal games allow a bet to be made by placing the amount of cash on the table without converting it to chips, as this speeds up play. However, the cash can easily be “ratholed” (removed from play by simply pocketing it) which is normally disallowed, and in casinos leaving cash on a table is a security risk, so many games and virtually all casinos require a formal “buy-in” when a player wishes to increase his or her stake.

Players in home games typically have both cash and chips available; thus, if money for expenses other than bets is needed, such as food, drinks and fresh decks of cards, players typically pay out of pocket. In casinos and public cardrooms, however, the use of cash is restricted, so players often establish a small cache of chips called the “kitty”, used to pay for such things. Players contribute a chip of lowest value towards the kitty when they win a pot, and it pays for expenses other than bets such as “rent” (formally known as time fees), tipping the dealer when he leaves, buying fresh decks of cards (some public cardrooms include this cost in the “rake” or other fees, while others charge for decks), and similar costs.

Other rules

Public cardrooms have additional rules designed to speed up play, earn revenue for the casino (such as the “rake”), improve security and discourage cheating.