How social are you at the table?

Poker Discussion
1

When I started playing here, I was a rock. Mum, never showing, always mucking.

I stayed like that for a couple months, thinking that it was the best way to preserve my advantage (if you can call it that) of being mysterious.

After a while, I started to pay more attention to the chat, and would greet familiar players, say “nh” and “gg” and “gl” and stuff like that, you know, the formal pleasantries.

More recently, I’ve gotten more talkative. I just feel like there’s more to poker than staring at cards, and it helps to pass the time. I don’t try to annoy people, and I’m not rude to anyone. I guess if people are annoyed by chatty poker players, I might not be able to avoid someone like that, but mostly I’m trying to have a fun time.

I’ve been a regular enough that some of the other regulars recognize me and say hi when they see me at a table, and I like that. Even though I don’t know who anyone is on this site in real life, it’s all right to have a side conversation. Mostly I just talk about how I’ve been playing lately, either I’m up or I’m down. Maybe it tips someone off as to how to play me, I dunno. I don’t really worry too much about that.

In the last 2 days, though, 2 people have commented to me something I would consider negative in chat. One, a high-ranked player, called me a “bingo player” at a 9-seat SNG, when we were 3-up, and they were the short stack. Then I eliminated them, and they called me and the remaining player in heads-up both bingo players. I really didn’t care, because I surely wasn’t playing anything close to bingo, and if they thought that’s what I was doing, then that probably explains why they weren’t beating me in this game. I didn’t take the bait, and let them feel bad about losing to a couple of bingo players.

Tonight, another player was taunting me, pretty mild stuff, just implying that I wasn’t a very good player. Now, I don’t think I’m an especially good player, but I’ve been enjoying playing, and enjoying getting better as I learn the game and try out different strategies and so on.

I did fairly terrible tonight, playing 8 SNG tables and finishing no higher than 5th in any of them, but in most of them I was the chip leader at some point, in some cases for a fairly long time, before hitting a bad beat or making a stupid play that crippled me or knocked me out. After busting them in this tournament, I couldn’t help but taunt back a little bit, and asked them to tell me when they thought I was good enough to call myself a good player, and they just replied that I wasn’t that bad, but that no one likes a bragger.

Was I bragging? I didn’t think much about it, but it made me think. I can’t easily go back and read the transcripts, but I don’t think I was especially rubbing it in when I won hands. I might do that once in a great while, if I think someone is playing obnoxiously and I trap them and knock them out, and sure yeah I’ll cheer myself a little if I win a very big pot or a very close hand. A couple hands tonight I won with cards that were pretty poor – rags from the blinds that flopped into something, a suck-out or two, pairing my low card and betting it like the big card, or bluffing a scare flop with nothing. I almost never show my bluffs, and I don’t generally want someone to know, or think they know, when I’m bluffing, but at a tight table, sometimes it’s good to show a bluff or two, to get a tight opponent to call you more, or to burn them a little when they fold a good hand so they go on tilt.

That’s all part of the game and you have to play the whole game if you want to be able to play poker, I think.

I don’t want to ruin anyone’s fun at the table, other than by taking all their chips, but I genuinely want people I play with to have a good time and like me even when I’m taking their chips. The very occasional jerk aside, I never try to rub it in when I beat someone. I want them to feel good about playing me, so they will come back and lose more chips :slight_smile:

So anyway, how social are you at the table? Do you chat much or not at all? I’ve found it’s more fun to talk, but sometimes you gotta be careful what you reveal, and sometimes I like to just clam up and focus.

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I just type the occasional n1 or vnh. I don’t always muck, don’t always show. Maybe I chat a little extra when something happens that I think is funny. I have pissed people off who took what I said wrong.
As for taunting, as far as I go in that direction is after a long dry spell if I win a nice pot I’ll type “1 in a row”.
I like the social aspect but sometimes find it distracting. Not if I’m just reading others chat but if I’m chatting back a lot.
People have made rude remarks about my play. I have no problem ignoring them.
Thanks for asking puggywug. I didn’t know anybody cared! :wink:
-ed

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I tend not to chat while I’m in the middle of a hand. If I see a nice play - a well-crafted bluff, getting max value with the nuts, picking off a bluff with a hero call, &c. - I’ll add in my two cents. Sometimes if I see someone that generally plays solidly make a move that I don’t understand (say, a turn overbet on a brick), I’ll ask about their reasoning after the hand is over to see if it makes sense to incorporate into my game.

So, in general I’d say I’m fairly social at the table, but my commentary typically focuses on the game and strategy rather than small talk.

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to me it depends on the table, i like using the chat, only just not so much if everyone seems to think they are in a library :stuck_out_tongue_winking_eye:

but in case they do like to chat, i enjoy all kinds of it: smalltalk, the common courtesies (like nh, gg, wp etc.), joking, and strategy based.

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I will usually say nh, etc if it was a good play on someone’s part (especially if they show after everyone has folded to them) but I don’t get into conversations with the people that obviously know each other well and are talking about taking their dog to the vet or attending a local swap meet.

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Hi Pug, I like your post and find a lot of similarities to me and the way I think I play. I have always maintained that good manners and politeness cost nothing. i see no reason to be rude to fellow players it maybe a lack of education or up bringing. I found friends I chat to on here that I feel would be friends in real life.
KR
Bandit 51

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I like pugs

LOL - that was the only thing you said the 1st few times we played on the same table. Now you’re writing Russian novels in the Forum!

I like chatting on the tables but only with decent people. I was just watching a game where 1 player sucked out on a horrible hand and 3 other players were all “nh”, “vgh” etc because they didn’t like the player that was busted out. Those people are rude and you should be allowed to say something about it without the speech police cracking down on you. Yeah, we have to make sure not to offend the snowflakes and all that nonsense. I think we should be allowed to talk honestly as long as we aren’t insulting anyone’s momma or something similar.

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I started saying “i like pugs” for luck at the start of every game, it’s like my catch phrase. Then people would respond to that, sometime nicely, sometimes, er, not, and I wouldn’t take any bait, and they’d usually turn nicer after that. @Comicguy you were the first person who really chatted with me in the Astral league table, a few others have said Hi when they see me. It’s nice to get a little recognition/respect sometimes.

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Woohoo! Does that mean I’m now a ‘Social Media Influencer’? Take that Kendall Jenner! HA!

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I like to say nice hand to horrible plays, to encourage people and make them feel like they should continue playing that way… is that rude? :wink:

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Absolutely love this post. Lots to think about. I often felt a lot of people on the tables didn’t like me and I always wondered why. I tried to be friendly, polite, and genuine. I guess my play style wasn’t their cup of tea or good enough for them to enjoy the game. I always felt legitimately sorry that the way I played caused them not to have fun at the tables against me. It actually really made me feel pretty horrible. I didn’t have a good grasp on what I was doing so poorly. I just wanted to have fun.

I still feel this is the case sometimes, but not to the same extent. I am aware that my lack of experience and skill may make the game less enjoyable to the many more advanced players, but have also come to realize that if they’re looking for legitimate competition that they have many options, so they shouldn’t be getting too frustrated here.

I’m usually fairly quiet. Will say the odd nh/gl/gg type things, but not much more. I always reply to what people say to me, though, and in as polite a way as I can, for the most part.
Even if I think they’re not genuine about it. At the table I mean what I say when I say it. Some employ deception and sarcasm in their chat. I don’t because A) Despite it possibly being strategic, it’s just not my style…and …B) I’m not at a level where I’d feel comfortable doing it.

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I think one forms temporary alliances at a table, for example there are four players left and three will be in the money. A pesky small stack is eliminated and I will compliment the player who got rid of them, thus benefiting all the survivors, but now the balance of power will have changed and I will be trying to bring about the downfall of my former allies.

Once I had a player on my right who several times raised all-in from the small blind when I was in the big blind, from which I formed the conclusion that he was raising with non premium hands, so I called him with (I don’t remember, but a decent hand) and he turned over 2, 3 off suit and beat me with a straight, though I survived.

Another player commented on his good fortune, to which he replied, “well, Mekonking” keeps stealing my blinds."

Well, duh. This is poker. I never takes such comments personally, but I find they help me to get a handle on the mentality of the opponent, which may be to my advantage at some point.

In a tournament the other day there were 4 players left and I raised all in from the small blind with K 6 offsuit against Puggywug, who called with QT and won the hand eliminating me, and after the stack merger he went on to win the tourney.

From this I will remember that next time we get into a similar situation I have a good chance of getting called if I raise all-in with AA, and hopefully if he calls I will let him have both barrels!

However, in general I think it is a good idea to have somewhat friendly relations with other players, and to compliment them with remarks like n1 when they luck out outrageously, hoping to encourage them to continue to play badly.

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I have no alliances at the table. I’ll take anyone’s chips if I can get them.

There might be some players who I fear more than others, and I’ll be happier/relieved when they lose. And there are people I enjoy chatting with, or beating, as the case may be. That’s about it. I’m never hostile, but if someone has been beating me all game and I come back and get them, I’m not above doing an end-zone celebration about it.

That was a marginal call on my part, and I lucked out. I might have learned my lesson that time. But generally, I make these decisions based on more factors than just what I’m holding.

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Of course, I was not entirely serious. As far as I know k6 vs QT is about 55/45 in favor of the king, but in the event of me shoving with any pair lower than 10s, you would be close to 50/50, and with two cards lower than 10s, a strong favorite.

I think that at that point of a tournament where you and I had roughly equal stacks–your slightly larger–up against two other monster stacks, the best bet for both of us was to merge our stacks, and so it proved. Also at this stage of a tournament one is two hours in, getting tired, and finishing in the first four out of about 70 players is a satisfactory outcome. Winning the whole thing is a bonus. When I get into the final pair of these tournaments I tend to move towards a bingo strategy so as to get it all over quickly.

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I have been sentenced to eternal silence.

Or so it feels. There is a nasy little bug somewhere in the code and it hates me.
It goes like this: I can type whatever I want, long as I want, in my first reply.
But anything after that has to be… one letter.

That’s right. No “nh” or “wp” or even “ty”. No “Hi warthog79, how is it going?”, no “brb” or “tc & gl”.

People must think I have the manners of an eczematose wolverine.

I like the occasional chat. I value manners.
Oh, and I am a writer.
For real.
Censorship, my brothers and sisters, that’s what it is.

Seriously, I’ve been talking to support and they are baffled. I have to wait in patient silence until they move to HTML, somewhere around 2037.

So anyway, if you meet me at a table and all I say is “n” and “t”, please be assured I bear no ill will.
These letters are all I’ve got.

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I confess I’m a table chatter. I love to start something friendly when I sit down like “OMG - look at you guys! I must already be at the final table!” Some people engage - some don’t. Most do and sometimes we get into a fun side conversation about whether it’s better to watch Antiques Road Show or live sports when playing. The only time I get involved in disputes is if there is bullying going on. Trying to affirm the player who got a bad beat but protecting the player who won and is being put down. The other time is when someone types RP after a bad beat. I almost always say something like “no question the guy in the computer running the random card generator has it in for you.” How come no ever says RP when they get an impossible inside straight on the river???

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I got called rude at the table the other day for failing to say nice hand and participating in conversation…I did not get it…I am pretty sure I have the right to remain silent even when I am not under arrest…

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While I frequently hand out nh, ty etc I’ve never understood why people get upset if another player doesn’t respond.
If I see it happen at a table I try to point out that some players simply have their chat muted and totally focused on the game…similar to the pros that wear headphones/earbuds.

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County, we have played many times at the same table, and you have very seldom spoken a word. I have absolutely nothing to object to it.
But when another player and I exchange two polite sentences (not even flirty!) and you utter: “get a room”, one of the silliest and most banal formulas of the Internet, I can only be happy you are not talkative. LOL
There was not the least reason to say so, we were not delaying the bets, and you could have ignored or even blocked us, if you felt bothered.
Therefore you have my blessing: do always be silent in my presence! Unless, of course, you have something intelligent or nice to say.

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Well, it was mean’t in jest, please accept my humble apologies if I offended…

(I would never offer up such a banal comment in other that jest…)