Definition of Poker Ethics

What does the term "poker ethics" mean? What is the definition of the term "poker ethics"?

If you are involved in any way in the poker world, you will know that there is a code of ethics that all poker players are expected to adhere to.

If you run afoul of these ethics in any way, there is a good chance that you will be ostracized. In the poker world, "ostracized" usually means that you will not be lent any money, which can be ruinous to those who play in the high stakes cash games or tournament world.

In the world of poker, players lend each other all the time. In fact, lending happens much more than you might think. For instance, a high profile player that is playing in a cash game might only have $200,000 on them - if they bust out early, they probably won't want to leave the game, so they might ask for a short-term loan from another player at the table.

In this case, there is likely not going to be any "vig" charged - instead, the high profile player will return the money as soon as possible, and there will be an understanding that the lending player will be able to borrow in the future.

What happens, however, if the high profile player slow-pays the other, or even worse, doesn't pay them back at all? This is where the code of ethics in the poker world comes in. If you ruin your name in the poker world, you are likely looking at years of rebuilding before you can restore it, if at all.

Poker ethics also applies to gaining edges on your opponents in an underhanded way.

For instance, multi-accounting was always frowned upon because it allowed good players to gain an edge over their opponents. For instance, if I am a very good player that is using an unknown account to play in a high stakes tournament, I am gaining an edge over my opponents because I know their tendencies, though they don't know mine.

If a player is outed as a multi-accounter, they will severely damage their reputation in the close-knit poker world, as they will be found to have been trying to gain an advantage over their opponents in an illegal fashion. This is obviously frowned upon by other members of the poker community.

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