Know all the rules of the game you are playing

[idh78]

I think this is a big part of Etiquette that often gets overlooked. With the recent poker boom, everybody thinks they know everything there is to know about poker. Especially NL games.

Well I can't tell you how few people I've encountered who actually know the minimum raise rule. I was once one of them, until Nielsco Doggie and tj brought it up some time ago. I can see why this is a difficult concept for some to grasp.

"I've been playing poker for XX years, and that's how we've always done it"

yes, but have you been playing NL for XX years? probably not.


"that's not how DPT does it"

true, but the point of free poker tours is to keep you at the bar spending money, not to teach you proper betting.

"Well I just played at ____ in Vegas and that's not how they did it"

This could be possible I suppose, but I have played NL games in several card rooms and never encountered a game where this wasn't enforced.

Now I understand that in a home game, rules can be to whatever the host's desire, but never once has the response been, I understand that is the correct rule, but we choose not to play by that rule. It's always you are wrong, and majority rules...... It can be very frustrating.

I suggest anyone hosting a home game pickup a copy of Robert's Rules of Poker, which can be found at various sites on the internet. And if for whatever reason you choose to differ on any of them, you let all players know before they buy-in. Most players will expect that the host know and understand all rules for the game they are playing, to avoid potential sticky situations.

[idh78]

these three I think are the most misunderstood.

3. All raises must be equal to or greater than the size of the previous bet or raise on that betting round, except for an all-in wager. A player who has already checked or called may not subsequently raise an all-in bet that is less than the full size of the last bet or raise. (The half-the-size rule for reopening the betting is for limit poker only.)

4. “Completing the bet” is a limit poker wager type only, not allowed at big-bet poker. For example, if a player bets $100 and the next player goes all-in for $140, a player wishing to raise must make the total bet at least $240 (unless going all-in).

5. Multiple all-in wagers, each of an amount too small to qualify as a raise, still act as a raise and reopen the betting if the resulting wager size to a player qualifies as a raise.

Example: Player A bets $100 and Player B raises $100 more, making the total bet $200. If Player C goes all in for less than $300 total (not a full $100 raise), and Player A calls, then Player B has no option to raise again, because he wasn't fully raised. (Player A could have raised, because Player B raised.)