Making friends/chatting at game

I have read a number of posts saying how chat only benefits a read, so read the chats but dont partake. I have been in some friendly chats and have found some playing partners, and leaving my chat on lets me see who is using it a lot for emotes and silly stuff, ( I play on PKR and they have a BIG menu of things you can do) and they are usually new or immature and easily tilted players, so that is an advantage. But I play is some small local pub games, and chatting and being friendly - for the most part..lol - is a lot of the game. As I mentioned, I have met some real nice people, who I now semi-regularly look up and play with. So far no one who has depleted my BR so I see no down side. Will this - being friendly, (I never use it to rant, maybe an OMG when my AA is busted by 2-7 but otherwise no) - influence my table image in a way that means I look real fishy or something, resulting in less respect for a strong hand? Can a friendly demeanor be good? Beat to leave it and make friends at the bar???lol
what are your thoughts

I think it's important to TAKE OVER the chat at the table.

I think one of my biggest weapons @ the poker table is to disarm people with misleading, yet pleasant chatter. I also like to needle people to put them on tilt. Also, you can get a lot of people to tell you what they had after they folded ESPECIALLY in live games. If you're pleasant, you can usually get people to tell you why they played an entire hand the way they did. And this information can be HUGE later on. Also, if you make friends around the table, they'll be less prone to call your all in bets late in the tournament, because they won't have any extra animousity towards you.

So while sitting back and absorbing information is OK, it is better to actively probe for it, and really use chatter to get inside your opponents' heads. Besides, isn't poker a social game anyway? Who wants to sit in the corner while everyone else is having fun?

I think borg2man hit the nail on the head on every aspect he touched on. Not big on the 'needling' thing. But do it occasionally to some idiot, and will often get the table behind me, also working in my favor. I don't think it works against me in the least, as 'friendly' doesn't necessarily translate to 'pushover'.

And perhaps the pros see it all differently, where they have every slightest advantage to consider. I play a lot of micros and low-stake buy-ins. That said, I like to win as much as the next guy. But if I'm not having a little fun, what's the point. Some people don't enjoy the banter, and that's fine. Not saying I do it a lot, but when the spirit does move a comment, wisecrack or not, I rarely hold back.

I think your play can determine if you are considered a pushover or not. You can be friendly and have them think your easy and will fold, but if you call off a big bluff or even bluff yourself and it's called people will take that into consideration more often than your friendly talk.

I think it's great to have fun conversations live. I don't do it much online though. I generally have to many others things to do than chatter in a box. But I don't see it as anything wrong.

JUST MAKE SURE EVERYTHING YOU TYPE IN THE CHATBOX IS ALL IN CAPITAL LETTERS FOLLOWED BY A BUNCH OF EXCLAMATION MARKS!!!!

then turn caps lock off after you told the donkey off and simply say "sorry caps lock was on"

IT WILL MAKE YOU tilt

Personally, I try to avoid chatting whilst playing poker, not only does it destroy my concentration on the game but I also find that occasionally whilst typing, my premium hand is auto-folded!!!

Of course when the insults start flying my way, because my 10,4s has beaten AA or KK and I've made the flush then I just have to laugh to myself and think... this guy is really on tilt now!

Chat can work in your favour though, I find you can earn some table respect by respecting the other players at the table, offering comments such as "nice hand" or "good call", even "good fold" if I know I've held the nuts.

Only the other day in a 6 handed tourney, I flop a 8high straight (flop was 4,5,7rainbow) whilst holding 68s, the other guy goes all in and I call. He turns over pair of 4's... I'm thinking great I have his 3 of a kind beat ... the turn card came and would you believe it the last 4 in the pack. (So much for Phil Gordon's rule of 4 & 2!!) But that's poker and all I could offer to the chat box was "Can't beat that, NH", fortunately I wasn't totally wiped out of the tourney, but it was difficult not to tilt after that!!!

There are obviously pro's and con's to the chat box, generally if two other players are bickering amongst themselves I will just mute those two. Yes there can be tells in chat but how many of those are engineered to be false reads?

For me the chat box is just to much effort. With 5 games up i just do not get involved. In a live game at the local casino chat is very helpfiul in skining
the game. At the local pub I am there just to be social so chat away.

I for one enoy chatting at the freeroll level ...the game seems friendlier ..the other chatters seem to be enjoying themselves and it's alot better than playing for hours without saying a word to anybody! Although I do dislike winers...

I dont chat much if at all. If someone speaks directly to me I'll answer them, unless they're just tiliting, and I mute them. Anyone who needles or complains I just mute and forget about it, concentrating on their actual playing rather than how annoying they are.

I generally chat while playing small forum games. I've gotten to know many of the members and enjoy the social aspect of the friendly games. I don't chat during large freerolls unless I come across someone from our forum and I like to acknowledge their presence. There are a lot of fun-loving, intelligent folks in the forum and it's always a pleasure to engage them in a bit of light-hearted banter. I don't think chat among friends gives away any tells to one's game. Also, I never go on tilt nor engage in chat with players who are arguing or on tilt themselves; I just observe and see if they've completely lost their focus.

I dont use it for chat, but sometimes there are players to chat with.
Eg last time there was a guy from Arnhem and I asked him about the well-known city's bridge. He answered my questions in a friendly way.
Moreover he was a dutch player and I respect them.

ya i use chat all the time at table's to through players off and i get tons of calls from chatting also most bad some good but i know 100% that i do get called more when i talk lots ,most times you can pick the players out that chatting to will affect there game easyly , so why wouldnt i use that to my advantage ?mostly i aim for the players i think are weak and will make bad calls due to me calling them a donk and what not .works or ya say lets gamble when ya got ROCKETS lol take most of your time and then shove vs a player that has raised lol but on the other hand sometimes i take some wicked bad beats cause of these ultar loose players that i tilt so GOOD ? BAD in the end they pay ..

I avoid chat, I always wonder how players play and chat at the same time. I don't play as well when I pay more attention to the chat than I do the game. But I do have to admit the chat sometimes is more entertaining than the game

I love to chat somehow the games go better for me more intersting I can't just sit there for hours just focus on the game need alillte laughter plus i meet some cool guys.I met a guy once who brought me in for the OFC buy in event this months just so you know i didn't asked he offered i refused but he sent it anyways.

+1

But with the fast pace of online poker i find it wiser jus to ignore all chat and concertrate on the game.
I'll talk to someone who is trying to talk to me but very little convo. I've made a few friends from online poker but im mostly tryin to concertrate on the game instead of needling ppl.

I talk to friendly players all the time, I don't really think it effects how I perform or how others see me. You wouldn't ignore everyone else if this were live poker. Sometimes I meet players who enjoy the game and understand the variance and I chat with them to increase my own enjoyment.

I like to chat at the poker tabels, because , in my opinion this is an important fact at the poker tabels, and yes, I made a lot of friends at the poker tabels, and of course, there are several players whom speak only bad and ugly words....
Sometimes is good, and sometimes isn't to chat at the poker tabels..

regards

LOL I do better just conscentrating and taking notes and not listening to the chat.

If I only have a table or two open, I like to chat. It helps the time go by as I wait for a hand to play. Plenty of time to make notes, too.

Poker is often a social activity for me, and I like the interaction. Even if it's only the occasional "nh" or "gg".

But, on the occasions where I have 3+ tables open, I don't even notice the chat. Especially if they are all different types of poker....

There are more important things going on than the chat. Don't chat, watch the hands and how your opponents play.