To chat or not to chat

PokerDeath · 03-16-2006, 12:13 PM

I usually ignore the chat when playing, but I witnessed someone mildly goading players last night, and it seemed to be working, the other players began to aggressively go after him, as if they were trying to run him off the table. Of course, this was exactly what he wanted them to do, and he cleaned up on them and left the table. Do any of you use the chat to your advantage? If so, what techniques work for you?

Razz · 03-16-2006, 02:11 PM

I like to be congenial to the other players, and congratulate them when their bad play is successful, as it encourages them to continue playing that way. I never, ever berate the other players online - though I blow off steam in other ways - because I want them to keep playing poorly.

Illusion · 03-16-2006, 02:26 PM

I usually stay quiet, but if a player hits quads or a straight flush I will congradualte them.

slacker00 · 03-16-2006, 06:54 PM

I generally don't chat. Partly, because I'm often multi-tabling and simply don't have the luxery. I do try to read the chat in case I can get a read on someone's personality or temperment. I have done like Razz, sometimes, encouraging bad players to keep playing badly by congratulating horrendous suckouts. I've even been able to keep bad players on the table with friendly chitchat after they bust out, getting them to rebuy. They think you are a friend, etc, but in reality you are waiting for the chance to bust them again and again. Keep those idiots rebuying.

Chatting can be a double-edged sword, so use with caution. Generally I'll err on the side of caution by not chatting, but there are rare occasions when I've used it to my advantage as noted above.

McFly · 03-16-2006, 08:47 PM

I'll usually ignore chat at the table I'm at but when I'm watching a high-profile table, I like to read what the railbirds are saying...some of them are so stupid they're funny.

QuickLearner · 03-17-2006, 08:14 AM

I always watch the chat, but never participate unless it's to say "nh" or "ty." Usually...

There are few thing in life that bring me more pleasure than when someone at the table pounds on me for beating him. I don't normally make mistakes in the math part of the game, so when I hang around to chase somebody down I have the odds I need. Then they start with the, "How could you call a raise with that crap?" comments. My reply is always, "I felt lucky." Normally, that's enough to tilt him for the rest of the session.

LVHerbie · 03-17-2006, 08:15 AM

Kindof offtopic story...I friend of mine used to annouce he was going all in on the first hand everytime he sat at a table... His plan was if he got aces or kings he would do it and if not would blow off "his committment." I told him that I thought it was pretty stupid since the frequency of hitting that just didn't make it worth the time plus you still had to get a call to get paid off... anyhow after about of a month of doing this he finally got his aces and got a call and ended up getting out outdrawn... guess it was a month worth of bad karma catching up to him...

bigboydan · 03-17-2006, 08:22 PM

I probly wouldn't say a word. the people that do this type of stuff, just do it to get under your skin and throw you off your game from what i have noticed.

scottyy11 · 03-18-2006, 11:31 AM

i once read in a book that you should just type any random word in every 4 or 5 hands..................... just type in .......boat...........apple..........chi cago.........baseball........ just some bs word that pops in your head......... theory was that people wouldn't know what to think of you crazy? drunk? wiley coyote?tried this for fun one night.......some of the players were laughing there azzes off so much that they did play a little more loose and i won pretty good but i think i actually started to go crazy it was a funny experiment to try though.

PokerDeath · 03-18-2006, 12:20 PM

Great stuff. I especially like the random word type in. That's got to make a few players tilt.

bostonceltics13 · 03-29-2006, 10:44 PM

I'm a live player so chat is a part of the game. Online is harder to get a read so chat is one way to do that. The key is to get a read while not giving one. I typically try not to rely on chat to get reads since it's so unreliable. I think I'll take a few suggestions from here and try getting players on tilt respectfully and typing congrats to suckouts. Never thought chat would provide such an edge but I guess it could if done correctly. Thanks for the tips fellas.

Point Spread · 03-30-2006, 04:11 PM

I like chatting, but sometimes it just gets in the way of the game....