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Anyone who has watched me play on Stars or other sites has almost certainly witnessed a fair amount of trash talk on my part. Trash talking is not only a good stress reliever from bad beats, but it also serves a practical purpose in increasing your winnings.
Trash talk against good players doesn't usually have much of an effect. It will usually cause them to pay off your bluffs (and attempt to bluff you) a bit more, but you might also find them isolating you and trying tricky moves against you more often. In addition, it's hard to tell when a good player is giving you extra action due to negative feelings, or when they're just playing their regular aggressive game.
Trash talk against donks is a different matter entirely. Here are Druff's rules for berating donks:
1) Never talk trash to a donk while he is chunking off money. This will usually make him review his bad play, and he will (at least temporarily) correct some of his most egregious mistakes.
2) Start your trash talking when a donk bad beats you, especially out of a large pot. Rather than going on and on about them being "stupid" or "morons", make a tamer comment regarding donks ("donk stirke" is a good one) which can both offend and appear playful at the same time. They will usually be happy enough about winning a big pot to where your words won't truly offend them. They will also be convinced that they played their hand well because, after all, they just won a big pot! Therefore, trash talking at this point will not make donks improve their play.
3) Monitor the situation. If the donk absolutely ignores you, leave him alone. He probably doesn't want to be insulted, and might leave the game if you continue. If he responds, figure out how vicious the response is. If the response is extremely angry, you might want to back down. Most times it won't be. Often, the donk will feel like he's getting to you by playing badly, and will continue doing so. He'll get an extra thrill out of laying a bad beat on you and getting a reaction. When you win a pot against a donk (especially by calling down a bad bluff), typing "lol" can be effective. This will continue to build up the "rivalry" between you and the donk at the table, thus making the game (and his attempts to bad beat you) more fun.
4) Don't be an asskisser. Typing "nh" when a donk beats someone with J4o is just insulting and patronizing -- and they often recognize it. Donks are at the table to gamble and have fun. While they want to win, few are serious about putting in the effort to truly make money. By becoming the donk's "rival", you can make it a fun experience for him without resorting to asskissing or phoniness.
5) Feel out each individual donk. Some donks really hate being thought of as stupid (or suckers), and will leave the game if made to feel this way. Others are completely oblivious to everything. Others like a good ribbing session, and will get more fired up. Some even like to be insulted. Act according to the way that will get the most money from his stack into yours.
6) Don't give tips. While it's fine to say "donk strike" when a cold-called 58o makes a gutshot draw on the river, don't go into specifics. For example, don't type, "I raised under the gun with AKs and you cold called with A2o. Didn't you realize that my early position raise will leave A2o with very few outs? Keep cold calling hands like that, dummy!" Don't make donks think. Don't make them realize exactly what they did wrong. They are mostly aware that others at the table don't play trash like they do, but they rationalize to themselves why it's okay. Don't burst that bubble with cold facts.
7) Keep your language clean. If you get reported for your trash talking, you are 10 times more likely to lose your chat if you used profanity. Clean language trash talk will usually only result in a warning, if that.
Talking trash is an important aspect in online poker, and can be used effectively as a tool for winning. Don't underestimate it.
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Mar 16 2005, 05:13 AM
