What Bothers Linda Johnson at the Poker Table

I’ve been playing poker for more than 30 years in legal card rooms and have seen many actions that annoy me at the poker table. Here’s a partial list of them:

1. I detest “over-celebration” at the table and think there is no place for it in poker. It’s absolutely ludicrous to jump up and down, scream, and yell when you win a pot, especially if you’ve just sucked out on someone. Remember, when you’ve just won a big pot, someone else has just lost a big pot. Why can’t we behave like ladies and gentlemen?

2.  Why do so many people think that online poker is rigged? I’ve seen such huge numbers of bad beats at World Poker Tour and World Series of Poker final tables and don’t believe that the beats could be any worse or more frequent online.

3.  One of my pet peeves is when a player asks to see other players’ cards. Although it is legal to do so in most card rooms, it isn’t necessary ethical and is very poor etiquette. Recently in a tournament, one of my opponents asked to see everyone’s cards in the first three called pots of the event. I objected to this and he argued that it was his right to do so; I disagree. As a Tournament Director, if one of my players continuously asked to see someone else’s hand, I would take him aside and explain that the rule was designed for the purpose of preventing collusion. It was NOT designed to be used to get a line on someone’s play or to annoy other players. I would further explain that if he suspected collusion, he should let me know about it and that I would no longer allow him to ask to see anyone else’s hands that day. If you abuse this rule, then your rights should be taken away, in my opinion. Players tend to play better when they know they are going to have to show their cards at the end of the hand. Either that, they get up and quit, or a war gets started at the table. Who needs that?

4. When a player goes broke in a tournament, I don’t like to hear a dealer yell, “We lost one,” or “Player down.” That player didn’t die. Can’t they just say, “Seat open, table #_____?”

5. Players who are constantly asking for deck changes annoy me. I guess they don’t realize that there are deuces and treys in every deck and they are just slowing up the game with their requests.

6. Another pet peeve is when in No Limit, someone says “Raise” and players start folding behind him before he announces the amount of the raise. It certainly gives him some information as to how much the raise should be if he knows the players behind him are folding.

7. Angle shooters really irritate me. These include people who “go south” (take money off the table) in order to lock up a win. This also applies to players who cash out with a big win and then get back in with a short buy-in just a little while later. Other angle shots include those who miscall their hands in order to get opponents to fold, players who constantly “forget to ante,” and those who abuse the rules in general.

8. One of my biggest pet peeves involves players who lock up a seat, go to dinner for an hour, and then come back, pick up their chips, and leave without playing another hand. I know there are times when emergencies arise dictating that the player must leave, but some people do this as standard practice.

9. Bullies bother me. I particularly hate it when several players want to make a deal and one person doesn’t want to do so at the final table. It is his right to want to play the tournament out and he shouldn’t be bullied into doing otherwise.

10. Dealers who chew gum really annoy me. I am not aware of any card rooms where they are allowed to do so. It’s very hard for me to tip someone who can’t follow the rules.

11. Speaking of dealers, probably my number one pet peeve is when they don’t give a proper thank you for a tip. Personally, I don’t think tapping the dealer rack is adequate; I want to hear a verbal thank you. Along this same line, dealers who hustle tokes bother me, as do dealers who complain about the size of their tips.

12. Rounding off my dirty dozen pet peeves is the one that bothers me the most: When a player berates another player for playing badly. It’s incredible to me to see so-called pros lecturing someone for making a bad call and getting there. Why can’t they just keep quiet and hope their opponent will continue to make mistakes? Saying, “Nice hand” in a very sarcastic tone fits into this category as well. Don’t tap on the aquarium!