When you play poker in a live setting, which I would recommend to every poker player because it is so much fun, unfortunately not everyone is friendly. This can be a shock to an inexperienced poker player or someone not used to being spoken to in this way. Live poker is completely different to playing poker online and you must learn a new level of discipline in a live setting when faced with abuse like this as you cannot simply switch off the chat box, or punch them in the nose!

It is never nice when someone is being awful to you at the poker table. The important thing to note is that this has happened to everyone at some point and you are not alone. You are well within your rights to say to the individual that they are out of order and you would like them to stop but this will often encourage them that their behaviour is unsettling you and they will continue undeterred. If someone is ever threatening to you physically or touches you then instantly tell a tournament official and urge them to take the appropriate action.

This is an extreme scenario and for your entire poker career live it is likely you will not see an incident like this and the most you will get is a bit of needling after a hand or the odd comment designed to be funny. I always have my iPod on my person with either some music or some podcasts on it. If someone is getting a bit irritating I do not get upset I simply put my iPod on and since I cannot hear them I therefore ignore them. They soon get bored and move on to another target or, better still, stop talking completely! Do not use your iPod too much because your battery life gets smaller and you might need to block out abuse before that iPod flattens completely! A very useful tip indeed if you sit with a frustrating opponent.

Blocking out the sound is my number one way of dealing with abuse. The other is to completely focus on your hands rather than on the people dishing out their verbal beatings. Remember that these people are using this technique to take you out of your comfort zone so by engaging externally or internally you are playing into their hands. Not everyone only uses the cards to gain an edge at the poker tables and aggressive or abrasive table behaviour is a common trick to try. Tony G and Phil Hellmuth use this to good effect, although Phil tends to get mocked for it these days and I would argue does it mainly to appease the TV crews watching him looking for some usable footage.

Never worry when you start getting abuse at the poker table. The tournaments blinds will increase and the player will either bust out or retreat into his thoughts after a while. You may get unlucky and sit with this player at the same table right through the tournament but normally one or both of you will be moved at some point as the tournament field shrinks. Even if you remain on the same table, I have noticed that there is a bizarre concept of poker friendship where you naturally feel a bond with a player that you have sat on the table with for a period of time and you will see they needle other players after a while.

Abuse, teasing, commenting, humour and table talk is part of live poker. If you hate this with a passion then join me at bwin.com for online poker, where if you wish you can switch off the chat if you dislike it. I do think, however, that it is worth considering your response to live poker taunting as if you win a bwin.com satellite tournament into a large live event these skills will come in handy to keep your emotions in check as you chase that big prize.

By Malcolm Clarke

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