Preditor
Pair
Navigating a situation at my home game that has been brewing for a few months, and kind of reached a boiling point last night.
Some background, I co-host this game out of a friend's home. She plays, but is not really into poker. This is way more social for her.
My players are mostly very new to poker, but have grown a ton in the past year. It is meant to be a casual game, and so I have not been policing table-talk as much; i.e. people talking about board texture ("Who has the flush?!!!"), etc. Though up until last night, they have been pretty good at self policing. No one really groans or reveals the cards they had when they fold and would have hit a monster, etc.
But that kind of came to a head last night. Last night, the co-host invited her boyfriend for the first time. And the table talk was... worse than usual. More comments like "Go all in!" from players not in the hand and so on, mostly from her and her BF. I let a lot of it slide not entirely sure how best to bring it up.
Later in our tournament, she was knocked out and got tipsy. I was short stacked and bluff shoved all-in with K6 on the river. In the position and stack depth I was in, and against this opponent, it was the right move. Villain went into the tank for about 2 minutes.
And during that two minutes, my co-host (knocked out and tipsy) and her boyfriend (still in the game but not in the hand) were openly discussing what I had. "He either has two-pair or is bluffing!" the boyfriend said. "Call him! Call him! Call him!" the co-host kept saying to the villain.
And this situation just sent me over. I turned to the co-host and BF and said "This is [villains' name] decision. It's really unfair you're commenting on the hand. I feel like I am playing the entire table, not just him."
I'm sure I was visibly annoyed, but I didn't yell. But their response really got under my skin. They accused me of trying to make this "too serious" and claimed "This isn't a casino." It led to a semi-heated (though more awkward) back and forth for about 30 seconds. There were other players there, and I didn't want to make this overly awkward for the other players remaining, so I eventually just dropped it.
I gave the villain (who eventually called the bluff; I lost) a ride home, and he thankfully agreed with me. But we are unsure how to really proceed. Obviously this is delicate. How do I get my co-host to understand this is basic etiquette and integrity? And isn't me "taking this too seriously"?
TL;DR: How do I explain/educate to my players (and my co-host) that this can still be a "casual game", but that table talk of people outside of a hand is just basic gameplay? "Integrity of the game" arguments aren't going to work; that is just going to cement that I am "taking this too seriously."
Some background, I co-host this game out of a friend's home. She plays, but is not really into poker. This is way more social for her.
My players are mostly very new to poker, but have grown a ton in the past year. It is meant to be a casual game, and so I have not been policing table-talk as much; i.e. people talking about board texture ("Who has the flush?!!!"), etc. Though up until last night, they have been pretty good at self policing. No one really groans or reveals the cards they had when they fold and would have hit a monster, etc.
But that kind of came to a head last night. Last night, the co-host invited her boyfriend for the first time. And the table talk was... worse than usual. More comments like "Go all in!" from players not in the hand and so on, mostly from her and her BF. I let a lot of it slide not entirely sure how best to bring it up.
Later in our tournament, she was knocked out and got tipsy. I was short stacked and bluff shoved all-in with K6 on the river. In the position and stack depth I was in, and against this opponent, it was the right move. Villain went into the tank for about 2 minutes.
And during that two minutes, my co-host (knocked out and tipsy) and her boyfriend (still in the game but not in the hand) were openly discussing what I had. "He either has two-pair or is bluffing!" the boyfriend said. "Call him! Call him! Call him!" the co-host kept saying to the villain.
And this situation just sent me over. I turned to the co-host and BF and said "This is [villains' name] decision. It's really unfair you're commenting on the hand. I feel like I am playing the entire table, not just him."
I'm sure I was visibly annoyed, but I didn't yell. But their response really got under my skin. They accused me of trying to make this "too serious" and claimed "This isn't a casino." It led to a semi-heated (though more awkward) back and forth for about 30 seconds. There were other players there, and I didn't want to make this overly awkward for the other players remaining, so I eventually just dropped it.
I gave the villain (who eventually called the bluff; I lost) a ride home, and he thankfully agreed with me. But we are unsure how to really proceed. Obviously this is delicate. How do I get my co-host to understand this is basic etiquette and integrity? And isn't me "taking this too seriously"?
TL;DR: How do I explain/educate to my players (and my co-host) that this can still be a "casual game", but that table talk of people outside of a hand is just basic gameplay? "Integrity of the game" arguments aren't going to work; that is just going to cement that I am "taking this too seriously."