Of course we shouldn't be telling people what they can and cannot talk about at the table. But there are things that can be said at the table that are -EV for us, or -EV for everyone. You obviously wouldn't want to have a player berating a whale for playing bad and sucking out, it's bad for everyone when the whale leaves.

I don't think that anyone hears strategy at the table and runs home to read about the game. But they DO gather a lot of knowledge from their firsthand experiences at the table. Having one person tell them that a gutshot is bad won't make a difference, but having continued exposure to the sentiment "gutshots are bad calls for pot sized bets" _will_ eventually sink in.

I don't think that strategy talk at the table really has much of an influence on how people play either way. I just prefer to err on the side of keeping the game fun and avoiding strategy discussions altogether, with bad strat. > good strat.

I dont know why you would want to discourage someone from talking strategy at the table....you'll learn a lot about how they play. Its not like anyone at the table has no clue that there is strategy involved in poker....its just that the bad players have a different idea about what the right strategy is. But most of the bad players in my games have been playing the same way for the last forty years, and have already heard any strategy talk you can throw at them a hundred times before and clearly rejected it.

"what is this, poker school?"

Usually gets the message across. They won't stop talking instantly, but the subtext is "you're being a drag". People seeking attention don't like it when they get that response.

If you have an annoying strat talker all you can really do is take the attention away from him by talking about more interesting things. If your naturally funny or you have an interesting life history or even if your just from another country/place it's not do difficult.

At first I used to hate having strat talkers around me cus I worried about him "educating" people, which it does in the sense that it definitely motivates people to go out there and learn the words/ concepts that they don't understand so they can feel inadequate. For me now it's just that I can't stand to listen to the constant monotone drone of a boring idiot trying to impress everyone with there strategies. I find these people offensive and repugnant.

"You're not going to believe this, but now lessons are on Tuesdays. Can we go back to talking about strippers?"

being obvious about changing the subject can be just as bad. It's one thing to ignore a guy or get him off topic in some way, but anything that makes the "casuals" sit there and thing "Hmmm..am I the only one here that doesn't know what they're all talking about?" is a bad thing.

I just straight out tell the guy to shut the intercourse up. One player to a hand...

THe absolute worst thing that can happen at a table is that some donk starts talking strategy.

The reason this is bad is because it always makes the fish and rec players uncomfortable. Remember, the majority of players just go to the casino to have a good time. And the way you ruin that good time is to make them feel inferior or self conscious or stupid. And the best way to do that is to talk strategy they don't understand, correct their play, and then berate them when they make a mistake.

The way I handle this is to actually start arguing "anti" strategies. I will argue that slow playing AA in LP is smart because you don't want to raise and then someone gets lucky on you on the flop and that its better to just limp and see the flop...

I'll argue that calling an all-in for double pot on a gut shot is advanced winning poker. Usually, while i'm arguing against whatever strategy the 2+2er is spouting I will throw him a wink and eventually they get the hint.

I also switch the subject to sports or the latest movie.

Lastly if all that doesn't work (which is rare) I then ask to be put on the wait list for his poker book while I ask him how many WSOP bracelets he has...

I've yet to be at a table in which that doesn't get the job done.

I do the above at 1/2nl and 2/5nl however when I play 5/10nl I don't. At 5/10nl it works against you to talk strategy because there are a lot fewer fish and more thinking players. So if a know-it-all wants to talk at these tables then I let them.

I like, "slow down, I need to write that down."

in my experience this statement is overwhelmingly true. i would say that if you enjoy talking poker strategy, then go ahead and do so. i've had some pretty enjoyable sessions talking strategy, discussing forums posts, comparing stars regs etc. as long as you are respectful your winrate won't be affected. and if some busto live grinder has a problem with it, then LOL at them.

Its an ego thing. Almost along the same lines, you make a fold in a three way pot, someone else pays off and reveals their hand, "I had that beat".

I can't lie and said I've never done this, as I'm sure we all have at one time or another, but its really bad.

To the people saying that the fish won't listen or start studying the game because of something you said, well everyone doesn't fall into a specific category. There are good players, regular losers, people that know how to play but just can't control themselves, tourists you will never see again, and people who are trying to play well but don't have the experience or knowledge yet. There isn't a justifiable excuse for speeding up someone's learning curve for no reason better than stroking your own ego.

Someone is getting the better of a meeting up the minds at the poker table (the person who knows or understands the least), and if everyone around already knows the strategy you are spouting off, then what is the point of talking about it?

I dont mind so much when I'm taking their money.

I like the above. Seriously though I don't really care if people talk strat. I just act like I'm oblivious and take in what they say. Ime the strat talkers I've come across are pretty horrible and the main reason I'm at the table. When people ask my opinion I generally lie and am very convincing.

The next time Mr.Strat makes one of his strat squeezes or iso's, 4 bet the poop out of him, watch him put you on AA, KK, fold, then show him 96o and say "ship it doggie" just loud enough for everyone to hear. Then admire your action as you watch him produce that squirmish look on his face and go silent for the next 10 minutes like a child that's just been yelled at and told to sit in the corner.

I spend like 5 hours a day on this board and am so opposed to talking any type of strategy at the table.

I'm a younger dude myself and play pretty well (obv ) so these kids always want to talk to me about strategy and online poker etc/HUD stats. It's so bad for the game.

When they are talking to me directly I play dumb as dirt and they usually stop. I.E. whats a 3bet? Range of what?

I'm pretty sure they know i'm bsing them but it gets them to stop.

When they are talking aloud, I don't think there is anyway to stop them. Some people just want to be know-it-all attention whores so theres no polite way to nix it.

The worst is when they berate fish though.