The rules of decency and good behavior when engaging in any activity with other people are automatically practiced by most people as they are in any social gathering. Activities involving software are another matter and the well-designed application will not take offense at the occasional outburst of pent up emotion and aggression. So, if you play poker to get rid of your Neanderthal instincts and redirect your frustration, stick with the bot opponents. Unfortunately not everyone follows this advice and thinks that bluffing while playing poker with humans requires behaving like the schoolyard bully.

Behavior, obviously tells a lot about a player, and I think one may fairly depend that reserved, politely brisk behavior is characteristic of a focused, purposeful player who is there to stay for some decent, quality or at least honest games. The reverse is also true: the more purposeful and efficient learner a player is, the more they are likely to intuit basic etiquette.

Professionals are characterized both by mastery of the medium and impeccable manners. Good manners create a pleasant atmosphere which makes it easier to focus on winning. Experience and plain common sense dictate that you do not insult rookies, since they are a profitable source.

When playing online with live opponents instead of bots, etiquette is just as important. The key factor in online games is to minimize chat. Sending and responding to messages can reveal much about yourself and your hand. The interpretation of messages flying about can also be very misleading. Messages may offer a major distraction to the game at hand. You may want to politely end all chatting for a time or for the entire round..

It is definitely a bad idea to discuss your or your friend’s level of mastery. What is less obvious is that by chatting voluminously you may easily inadvertently reveal your level of expertise.

If there is no way out, keep your chatting politely reserved and try to minimize it for everyone. Save the pithy gossip for the water cooler or chat room. Stay away from creating a negative atmosphere by your choice of words. You want a neutral environment to play your most winning game.

Attempting to raise the ire of your opponents by insulting their technique is not going to increase your odds of winning and again, may reveal more than you intended about you and your level of mastery. Out and out rudeness is officially not allowed in most online rooms.

If you must type a message, avoid doing so in upper case. This comes across as shouting or expressing yourself in an intensely emotional vein, which has no place in a game of cards. This is the mark of an immature player and reveals much more about your true self than you intended. No matter what, be cool, and never let anyone see you sweat.