How to Avoid Live Dealer Game Faux Pas

It goes without saying that the primary appeal of table games over slots is their highly social nature. However, as most of us know, the trouble with social pursuits is that there is always the risk of inadvertently doing something that is considered socially unacceptable. There’s nothing like putting your foot in your mouth to ruin a good time. As a result, whenever you play a table game in a casino, you will probably find yourself playing the game of life at the same time. In fact, one of the primary skills required to win at any table game - especially something like poker - is the mastery of this social game. “But I play online,” you may say, “so this doesn’t apply to me because the table games online are in a virtual format - there is no social interaction.” Well, that may have been the case in the past, but live dealer games have changed all that. You can now interact with actual croupiers and other players via live streaming video online, which means that it’s time to dust off your table game etiquette. You can start by educating yourself about the definite don’ts of live dealer games:

Don’t Verbally Abuse Fellow Players or the Dealer

While this may seem obvious, a lot of players get carried away because they feel safe behind their computer screens. They feel free to say things over the Web that they never would in a land-based casino. You can still get kicked out of a game and even banned from an Internet casino for abusive language in chat rooms. So just don’t do it.

Don’t Interfere with Other Players’ Decisions

It is one thing to use friendly table banter to sway your opponents’ decisions - this is called levelling and is a perfectly acceptable part of bluffing - but it is quite another to try to bully other players into making decisions that suit you.

Don’t Hold Back the Game

Of course, you’re entitled to take some time to consider your decisions but it is unacceptable to deliberately delay the game. It detracts from the game for other players and can also cause them stress. In poker, specifically, it is considered acceptable to take more time with post-flop decisions than those that are required before the flop, because the former are considered to be more important. Um-ing and Aah-ing over trivial plays is extremely irritating and will not serve you well at the table.