Turning off chat: pros and cons

tiltboy · #1 09-12-2003, 12:10 PM

I have been experimenting lately with turning off player chat when I play. Mainly I've tried this for two reasons. First, I've been playing multiple tables more and chat is just too distracting. I may be giving up some EV by missing some important info but the increase in concentration I get more than makes up for that (I hope anyway). I also sometimes get too emotional at the table and will occassionally type something I later regret typing. Actually on several systems I've tried, even if you turn off the viewing of chat, what you type is still displayed. This lead to one interesting encounter after I typed what I really thought about someone's play while chat viewing was turned off on my client but my chat was viewable by everyone else except me.

I guess my subject is a bit misleading since I know the pro's of turning off chat and I was hoping you all could supply the balancing con's. TIA.

prairieboy · #2 09-12-2003, 01:58 PM

For me, a big con to turning off the chat feature is that not knowing what is being said distracts me considerably more than anything that is actually being said. i.e. I constantly find myself wondering what's being said by whom..... It's better for me to know what's out there and choose my responses than to be constantly wondering.

An alternative would be to NEVER turn on the chat feature, but sometimes on/sometimes off would drive me nuts.

My chat guidelines (for whatever they're worth) are as follows:

1. When in doubt, don't say anything
2. Always say "TY" whenever anyone says "NH"
3. No harm in saying "NH" or "VNH" when someone sucks out on me
4. Be unfailingly polite to jerks
5. When all else fails, leave the table

If you want to defuse a jerk try agreeing with everything they say. For example:

Jerk: "NH P-boy, with plays like that you'll be broke in no time"
Me: "Tell me about it, don't know what I was thinking"
Jerk: "You're the dumbest a*hole in the whole world"
Me: "You've never met my brother"
Jerk: "You must be losing your shirt"
Me: "My pants too, good thing we're online"

etc. etc. etc.

This not only calms down the jerk, it keeps the rest of the table happy and helps me to calm down too.

Inquisitor · #3 09-12-2003, 02:00 PM

I think having the chat on can be distracting. That's because there are alot of obnoxious assholes playing online, and they say stuff they wouldn't dare say at a live table. They might try to get a rise out of people. And the chatters usually don't give out enough detailed information to make it worthwhile.
So you can turn off the chat and focus on the game.

I once saw a player named Kam470 on a Paradise tournament table.
Some player said:
"I can smell Kam's clam from here"
"And Kam needs to wash her clam"

Inquisitor · #4 09-12-2003, 02:08 PM

Good response.

mrbaseball · #5 09-12-2003, 02:56 PM

I pretty much ignore all chat. I leave it on to see if there are jerks or steamers at the table but never chat or respond myself. Often I am riding an exercycle and only have access to the mouse or I am playing multiple tables and don't have the time or inclination for chat.

I don't chat but it's handy for reads on the maturity level of your opponents.

miseryshiver · #6 09-12-2003, 03:03 PM

hi tilt
i play all limits, mainly 15-30 but i do bottom feed when the fish are out and i have seen everything regarding abusive chat, i do like to leave it on and when a fish calls me a loser or a jerk or a .... well i better not say lol but when this happenes i like to set my bankroll out on the table lol when i set 10k down the table gets awful quiet lol

Dagrims · #7 09-12-2003, 03:06 PM

The only other con I can think of is you might possibly miss some chatter between two players that makes you suspicious that they're colluding or giving hints. If players were colluding, I doubt they'd be stupid enough to chat about it, but the internet is full of stupid people.

skaboomizzy · #8 09-13-2003, 02:59 AM

I've been playing mostly at UB lately, and the chat tends to be REAL quiet there. If it's late at night and you suspect you're getting more of the "social" players, I'd leave it on and chat them up a little to seem looser than you actually are. If you tell them you're drinking and make one or two loose calls, you can really clean 'em up later. [img]/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img]

soda · #9 09-13-2003, 04:33 AM

Yeah, I had some jacko berating me today at Party, which I love, because I wonder if anyone takes more money off the $100 NL tables than I do... Anyway, my response:

"Well, at least I'm a nice guy. I've got that going for me."

That worked. He must have realized he'd been a jerk, because he never typed another word.

pokerfunnMyAss · #10 09-13-2003, 04:49 AM

[ QUOTE ]
I leave it on to see if there are jerks or steamers at the table but never chat or respond myself

[/ QUOTE ]

I have never, and will EVER turn off my chat for this reason you mentioned. The lost information can cost you thousands over a year. It is similar to stuffing earplus in your ears at a B&M.

I know for 100% certainty that I made an extra $600 or more off a tilter one night simply because I knew he was on tilt. Had my chat been off, I would have never known. I have many other situations where I made money by knowing the tilt/steam info, but that one stands out the most.

There is simply too much loss of information, for any serious player. Turning off chat is not an option for me, it is part of my tools that I have to use since the internet changes poker into more of a math game than a person game. This is a shred of humanity added to an almost emotionless game (if you have solved your other leaks), and I need all the information i can get.