How to handle those "abusive" players
If you're like most recreational Texas Holdem poker players, the main reason you come to the casino (or log on to the online poker room) is to have fun. You want to spend a few hours playing a game you enjoy, and if you can make a few bucks doing it, all the better. The last thing you want is to deal with someone rude at your table. Unfortunately, poker, as great a game as it is, attracts all types, and sooner or later, you will run into a trouble maker. Here's how to handle these situations.
If you are playing online Texas Holdem, the way to handle an abusive player is easy. Simply turn off the chat feature. You are under no obligation to watch a tirade of cursing about how bad a player you are scroll across the bottom of the screen. In most online poker rooms, you can set the chat box to screen out player chatter and just give you information about your hand. You can always switch back when the rude player leaves.
In a live game, it is not so easy. If a player is physically abusive to anyone at the table, call a floor person and have the offender ejected immediately. The card room values your business, and should never permit this kind of behavior. If a player is verbally abusive, you can still request that a floor person issue the individual a warning, with an ejection after repeated warnings. If this is not satisfactory, most card rooms will be happy to switch you to another table.
You may decide you want to stay at a table with a loud player. These players are rarely strong players. It is important to remember that their tirades have nothing to do with you. If they are complaining that you are a terrible player after you beat them in a pot, it is because they are a consistent loser and don't understand why. Let them continue to think you are a bad player and contest every pot you play. As long as you are sticking to premium holdings, this can only be to your advantage.
A player may also be rude and loud as part of a controlled effort to project a certain table image. These players try to ?get under your skin? to induce you to make poor plays. If you feel that a player is getting to you, change tables rather than trying to beat them?. If you focus your attentions on a specific player for any reason other than that they have demonstrated proven weakness, you are letting your ego control your game, and you are headed for trouble.
