There are many pet peeves that people have at a poker table. Sometimes you can do something about it, sometimes you can’t.
A few examples of when you should say something are when a player discusses the hand while it is still in progress, the breaking of rules while on a table, and discussions about how bad a player handled a hand. All three of these things have the potential to hurt your bottom line earnings and anytime something or someone interferes with that, action needs to be taken because making money at poker is not just about your cards.
Whenever a hand is being played, there should be no discussion about it from the other players at the table. I have been in games where a player lets out a sigh of disgust when the board would have hit their hand just perfectly. For example, the flop reveals J/J/6 and one player who is not involved in the hand made a “sigh”. The players that are still involved in the hand have information they definitely shouldn’t have. It would be easy to deduce that the sighing player had at least a jack and this knowledge affects how the hand will be played out on future betting rounds. I’ve also heard players do more than sigh. Some actually announce what they held in their hand. If the turn card was an eight, a player might say, “Shoot, I folded pocket eights”. Anytime I hear a player do this, I always remind them that there is still betting going on and that their chatter is uncalled for and inappropriate.
Another thing that peeves me is when one player tells another how bad they play or how bad they played a particular hand. I can’t speak for the whole poker community, but the worse a player plays the game, obviously the more I like it.
Anytime a player breaks a rule, we need to be ready to say something. I have had a few players get mad because I do this, but I believe it is my obligation to protect the integrity of the table. Still, it is important to pick your battles.
All players will have a thing or two or more, that bother them at the poker table. It is important to separate what is important and what is not regarding the poker game. If it is not so so important, you need to learn to let go. If you let everything get under your skin, you will only drive yourself crazy, and drive your own money away from you. A mad player is a bad player…
