Poor Sportsmanship
Excessive celebration or screaming and berating players is considered poor sportsmanship regardless of the circumstances. Both extremes are bothersome to opponents at the table and often cause players to leave the game altogether. marked cards
Teaching at the Table
Leave the analysis to Mike Sexton and Vince Van Patten. No one wants to hear strategy techniques at the table, least of all an opponent you just beat. Do not explain what the player could have done differently to win or your strategy for winning the hand. Statistical analysis of a hand also falls under the category of “annoying teacher habits,” so leave all mathematical odds to the poker calculators and limit the use of the term, “coin flip”.
Asking to See a Hand
When a player is called at showdown, he will sometimes immediately muck the hand. That player is conceding the hand. Rules dictate that a player who suspects collusion at this point in the hand may ask to see the players mucked cards. If you do not suspect collusion, it is improper to ask to see the hand. Asking to see the hand in order to interpret the player’s strategy is inappropriate and extremely annoying to the player who has already admitted defeat.
Telling Bad Beat Stories
Once you have seen a player hit runner-runner against a near lock hand, you have seen the most significant bad beat. There is no sense in telling or hearing the same story over and over again. Most people have become adept at ignoring players in the lobby who shake their heads and shout, “You won’t believe what this donkey just did!” It’s the bad beat stories disguised as casual conversation players find most annoying. This includes openings such as, “Tell me how you would have played this hand,” or “You won’t believe what happened at my last table…” marked cards lenses
Saying, “I Thought You Had Me”, While Raking in the Chips
It takes a lot of moxie to bluff on every betting round when an opponent keeps reluctantly calling. At showdown, after an opponent withstands all the pressure and makes that final crying call, the loss can be heartbreaking. The last comment the bluffer wants to hear after conceding the hand is, “I thought you had me.” This may be the single most annoying phrase used in poker. It can serve only two possible purposes: 1.) to prove that you do not know how to lay down a hand when you think you are beat or 2.) to admit that you are a liar. Which would you rather be?
