Blair Rodman, WSOP-bracelet winner and co-author of acclaimed tournament-poker book Kill Phil, tackles this question.
It would be nearly impossible to hide your live inexperience the first few times out.
The first giveaway is how you handle your chips and cards. Experienced live players are highly adept at the way they peek at their cards and how they handle their chips. Most are at least competent chip shufflers, something that requires practice. Some can do tricks that would make magicians jealous.
I remember the WSOP main event in 2006, the first one heavily populated by Internet players. I walked in the room and noticed something weird, although it took awhile to put my finger on it. Finally, it dawned on me how quiet the room was. For a packed room of 2000-plus players, the expected clatter of shuffled chips was noticeably absent, a result of the majority of the players being live-game rookies.
While being identified as a rookie might make you self-conscious, other situations in live play don’t occur online where ignorance could prove costly.
String Bets It’s important in live play to make your intentions clear. You’re not allowed to make more than one move of putting chips in the pot, unless you clearly announce your bet. For instance, you want to raise a player who bet $100 to a total of $600. If you put in $300, then go back for more chips, the remainder of your raise will be disallowed. There are many variations on this, so until you’re familiar with them all, it’s always best to announce your intention before putting any chips in the pot.
Oversize Chip Whenever a single chip that is more than the amount of the minimum bet or raise is put in the pot without a declaration by the player as to his intention, the rule is as follows: If pre-flop, it will be ruled a call. If post-flop, the entire amount of the chip stands as a bet. Once again, stating your intention is best.
Acting Out of Turn In most casinos, out-of-turn action is binding. It’s a bad situation and can greatly affect how a hand plays out. It generally occurs when someone isn’t paying attention. Occasionally, a player will do it as a ploy. This is a serious infraction and should be dealt with harshly. It’s your duty to protect other players who are in a hand with you.
Even if you know you’re going to fold, to make that intention clear before it’s your turn is a serious ethical breach. I was playing at the Aussie Millions a few years ago and made a bet into two players. The next player to act was considering his options. One factor he had to consider was what the player to his left might do -- that is, until that player got up and walked to the bathroom, abandoning his hand. This made my opponent’s decision much easier and made me very angry. Respect the game and your opponents.
Showing Cards While a Hand Is in Progress In the early days of poker tournaments, this was a common practice used to gauge the reaction of an opponent. It has since been ruled as an infraction and can result in a penalty -- either time away from the table or, in extreme cases, killing your hand.
Moving Tables When moving to another table in a live tournament, you need to carry everything with you, including your chips. The major no-no here is putting chips in your pocket. The intent of the rule is to prevent unscrupulous players from taking chips out of play for use at other times. While that's plainly cheating, the no-pocket rule is similar to airport screening procedures -— a feel-good measure that won’t stop the real perpetrators.
The only players I’ve ever seen called on this rule were rookies who never would have dreamed of scamming. The penalty is disqualification. Right or wrong, the rule exists, so don’t make this mistake. If you have too many chips to carry yourself, ask a floorman for help.
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