Poker player question.

[bunny]

Question: Knowing a player has sat down at a tournament table, not knowing how to play the game, would you as a poker player...explain it to him, or use this to your advantage?

There is a *chat* (which led me to ask this question, in here) that transpired a little while ago, but I will save it for later.

Would rather read your responses first.

[Talking Poker]

Depends what you mean by them "not knowing how to play." Yes, I would certainly explain how the game itself works (flop, turn, river, betting rounds) and what beats what if they don't know that. I would explain how to announce raises, how to avoid string betting and other common errors.

But I wouldn't sit there and explain to them HOW they should be palying certain hands in certain positions, give them reads on the other players, explain aggression, etc, etc...

Honestly, I can't think how you could use the other player's lack of knowledge to your advantage... it's just annoying when people don't know how to play, so by all means, give him a crash course in the basics.

[Fildy]

If he doesn't know how to play then he shouldn't be playing IMHO. With the amount of resources out there to learn the simplicity of the game I would say he should know how to play. That being said, I try to stack him ASAP

[Talking Poker]

I disagree. Totally depends on the situation. Examples:

-A guy sits down to play online for the first time, because he saw it on tv and wants to try it out. He most certainly should be allowed to play - any limits he wants - without having to do research first.

-Friendly home game. Someone has never played before but agreees to play so you can be 5 handed instead of 4.

Etc, etc, etc.

I really can't think of anyone that shouldn't be allowed to play poker, ever (assuming it's an "open" game or tourney - not something that requires qualification, of course).

[bunny]

Example is : razz.

Let's say a player sits in plays first hand (2nd and 3rd)and has no clue as to what he's doing. Would you take advantage of that or would you try to explain him the game as quickly as possible?

Sorry, I should have explained what I meant in my OP.

[Kurn]

I'd wait for him to say something like "I had three queens, how come I lost?" to say something.

[bunny]

What if he never chats?

[Kurn]

Like TP, I would explain structural things like posting blinds, legal bet/raise sizes, protecting their hands, showdown rules, etc. But it would be limited to those types of issues and only ad hoc, as they came up, and only to answer specific questions.