The dos and don'ts of poker etiquette is a subject that will introduce the "Check, Bet or Bluff" column. This column is intended to give tips on the various ways to play particular hands against many different types of players. We will analyze behavioral and betting patterns that will provide both a wealth of information and the necessary tools to be a successful poker player.

Quit swearing at the table. A poker room is a public venue and I don't think it is socially acceptable to blurt out obscenities. Not only because you never know who you may offend, swearing at the table may cause you to be put in "timeout" and cause you to miss pocket aces. Those pocket aces that could have enabled you to get even for the night. You may even be asked to leave the casino and nobody wants that. Not you, not the casino and not the other players. And no matter what, DO NOT swear at the dealer. This will get you thrown out of the casino quicker than you can say "misdeal". The dealers are there to provide a service and while some dealers are better than others, they can not dictate the outcome of a hand. All cards are random. When the deck is shuffled and cut, it's all over from there. The cards will go where they may. Calm down, I know what you are going to say, "dealers can make mistakes such as flopping cards before the action is complete" and a whole other list of things that can go wrong. Yes, this is true. These are called irregularities. In every card room I have ever played, each poker room has specific procedures of handling each of these irregularities. We will cover these in a future column. It is not the dealer's fault that you are not catching cards. I have sat hour after hour, day after day, week after week; ok, you get it, a very long time without catching one single playable hand. That doesn't mean I didn't go ahead bleed off some of my chips though. Always remember you can fold. I admit it gets very boring folding your cards all night. But if not losing my money is called boring, I want to be boring.

Legendary Poker Mad Genius, Mike Caro said it best, "Don't berate bad players it will encourage them to play better". There is so much truth in that statement and I see it everyday. Players get mad at each other for making a stupid call and hitting the card on the river to win. There are so many ways this will cost you money. First of all, this guy you just gave a tongue lashing to may leave the table immediately with your money. That's right, your money that is now his. Or he could stay at the table and avoid playing pots with you because he doesn't want to suffer the public humiliation again and lose all of your money to someone else. These players make up the majority of the players you will play against. If you can't handle getting drawn out on in big pot, maybe poker is not for you. It will happen, time and time again. Most players only remember the bad beats they receive. You forget about the times when the inexperienced player didn't hit the inside straight and lost their stack to you. Point is, you must like the call even if you get beat. You have more information now to have a very big advantage the next time you are in hand with this player. I know sometimes it is very hard to take these beats but they will not stop happening, so it's best to try and find your inner chi or whatever works for you. Becoming argumentative or vulgar towards other players does nobody any good.

Never accuse someone of cheating. This is a good one that really gets everybody fired up as well. If you suspect someone of some sort of foul play, get up and let the floor guy know about this confidentially. This is a very strong allegation and can really harm someone's reputation even it is found to be untrue. Let the casino use their resources to get solid evidence, and handle it in the manner that they see fit.

There are many more etiquette issues we can touch and may do so in the future. I decided to share some of these issues that I see on a day to day basis. Maybe your next experience at the poker room can be more enjoyable.