Table Etiquette - Playing Politely

Unfortunately, because people are hiding behind their computer monitors instead of playing each other face-to-face, it’s not uncommon for people to throw courtesy to the wind when playing poker online.  Despite the virtual surroundings however; you are playing with other real players from around the world, so in order to keep the games going smoothly and not terribly offend your opponents - there is some etiquette you should keep in mind.

Don’t Curse Or Swear.
When you are accustomed to playing with friends on a weekend you might also be accustomed to talking like a sailor – but don’t forget, these aren’t your buddies online.  Because of its accessibility and the ever growing popularity of the game you never know who you’re playing with, so talk like you’re playing cards with someone’s grandmother, because you just might be.

Make Sure You Know How To Play First.
It might sound obvious, but before you sit down to play for even the lowest of real-money games, make sure you understand what you’re doing.  There are plenty of instructions and tutorials out there to help you get started, and most rooms will have either in-game help for each poker variation or instructions on their Web site if you need them.

The vast majority of online rooms have free play tables as well, which play the same as their real-money counterparts but with ‘play chips’.  While the betting is certainly looser because there’s no real stakes involved, these can be a good way to learn the mechanics and get a feel for new games.
 
Don’t Talk About A Hand In Progress.
It doesn’t matter if you’ve folded, nor does it matter if you don’t think your comment reveals much information.  Remaining players could be waiting for any card in the deck to make their hand, and what you reveal can change their actions accordingly.  Generally, there’s not much reason to talk about your hand while you’re at the tables ever, but if you must, wait until the hand is complete.

Keep Up A Good Pace.
Poker software usually has timers for each player when it’s their turn, both to prevent them from taking too long and to prevent them from having their time to act cut short.  These timers can range from 15 to 60 seconds depending on where you play, and most have an additional timer if it detects any connection problems on a player’s computer, allowing them extra time to recover/reconnect. 

Using the maximum amount of time allowed for each hand really slows down the pace of the game, so you should do your best to act promptly when it’s your turn, and use the provided buttons to ‘pre-act’ when possible.