Etiquette and Rules

Every casino and card room has rules.  Most post them on the wall in a very detailed fashion that almost no one reads.  Rules are different then etiquette.  Commit a faux pas at the card table and you might draw the ire of you fellow players.  Break a rule enough times and you might find yourself dealt out or asked to leave.  Rules are in place to help keep games as fair as possible and to help the establishment run their business as efficiently as possible.  An example of a rule at my local card room is to dispense with a “main game.” 

Many card rooms will have a main game going. When the wait list reaches enough players they will start secondary games and move players to the “main game” when seats open. The point is to have at least one table of full action for players as most folks don’t care for short handed play.  My card room has elected to forgo this rule in favor of having tables play themselves out.  It’s not unusual to see two tables of five or six players limping along.  This is an example of a rule that doesn’t really benefit players that much, but does benefit the house because they get to rake two games as long as possible.

An example of a rule that benefits players is not acting out of turn.  The reason for this rule is that it can have a negative effect on the action of players left to act behind you.  Much is written about the benefit of position in poker.  The benefit of getting to act last, by seeing what your opponents will do before you have to decide, is very valuable.  It’s also fairly rare.  In a full ring game, you will only get to play from the button 1 out of nine times.  This is why it’s such a violation of the rules to act out of turn at the table, because it undermines the advantage of player left to act.

Let’s say I’m in middle position with 8-9 off suit.  There are two limpers in front of me and I prepare to muck my hand but just as I go to do this, two players behind me throw in their limps.  Now I know there will be at least 5 and a half small bets in the pot.  I also know with at least 4 players committing to playing the hand, it is unlikely the button or blinds will raise, tying an unacceptable number of players to the pot.  Getting 5.5:1 with very little chance of a raise, a hand that I would have mucked becomes playable because of information I obtained in an illegal way.  Now, let’s say the flop comes 6-7-A.  The player on the button has A-10.  If I draw out on him, how unhappy might he be with the two players that acted out of turn?