Watch You Mouth

At a casino, discussing a hand in play that you are not involved in is a strict no-no. In a home game, openly speculating on who has what might be part of the fun (If it is a very friendly game that no-one is too serious about) but things are more serious at a casino. By saying what you think somebody has you are effectively giving advice to the players still in the hand. This is beyond bad etiquette - it is against the rules.

At the casino yesterday I witnessed a had where two players went all the way to the river. Mr.Hair-Gel was betting as if he had a strong hand - bets of two-thirds the pot on both the flop and the turn. Mr.Loosey-Goosey was just calling and I (and probably everyone else at the table) suspected he was on the flush draw. The river brought a third club to the board and some idiot who was not in the hand turned to Mr.Hair-Gel and said. "You've been rivered!"

This is a bad thing to do. Basically, this moron was telling Hair-Gel how to play his hand. One of the most basic rules of poker is that each player has to make independent decisions. Getting help is cheating and offering opinions is forbidden. Both players in the hand I witnessed hand every right to be upset, but Hair-Gel said in a remarkably calm voice, "You can not comment on hands you are not involved in, Sir." I found this odd if only because Mr. Loosey-Goosey was the one who was being negatively effected by the comment, but I guess the sting of falling behind on the river made Hair-Gel testy.

Play resumed with a noticeable new chill in the air. The idiot behaved himself from then on, but had he continued to break this rule I have no doubt he would have been told to leave.

If you are thinking about making the leap from home games to the casino remember to never talk about what you think other people are holding. Even if you are in the hand, it is only acceptable if you are playing against a single opponent. Saying what you think one player has is giving information to the third player in the hand - and this is every bit as bad as commenting on hands you are not involved in.