Poker etiquette, online and off, is a key skill any professional poker player should master. Any player can study poker relentlessly and master the game, but etiquette can not be learnt. You may find yourself pasted throughout the internet as a consequence of poor etiquette, and with the popularity of poker forums increasing; you will soon become a player who is disrespected by their peers.

So, to keep your image respectable, just ensure you steer clear of the following acts.

Slow-rolling

This is possibly the most unprofessional move by a poker player. Slow-rolling refers to when a player is holding the nuts and facing an all-in on the river for example, but runs down the clock before making the call. It is a move sure to lose any respect you currently have with your opponents. If you look at any popular poker forum, you will see numerous threads about players complaining about being slow-rolled. It is a move players can do without, so when facing that bet, snap call and keep your image intact.

Abusing Players

It doesn't matter whether you have just taken the worst bad beat possible, you should always show enough respect to bite your tongue and resist from typing harsh comments about your opponents and their play.

Any player can play however they like, and whether you disagree or not, it is not your place to say. In fact you should look at the positive, you have just found a bad player at your table which you can take advantage of.

Stay out of the hand if you're not involved

There is nothing worse then a player who has folded their hand, shouting out their cards.

For example, say two players remain in a hand of which the community cards consist of Q Q Q A 5. If a player types into chat he folded quads, the remaining play will now change drastically and someone will end up losing out. This act is normally punished by the online poker sites support and unneeded in the poker world.

Disconnecting or Sitting Out

Nothing ruins a poker game better than a table full of sit-outs and players constantly disconnecting. It ruins the flow of play and will disrupt the game for the rest of the table.

If you know you will be unable to play the full tournament, or may not make it home in time, just unregister. It's unlikely you will make the money anyway, so by doing this you are helping yourself and the other players.

If you are on a connection which cannot handle the amount of tables you have open, or the site you are running etc. close a few tables or just stop playing. Waiting a minute each time you have to make your act is hugely annoying and makes the table unplayable. If you are playing a multi-table tournament where players cannot escape you, you should really just sit out to cause less disruption.