Unlike some other card games, table talk in poker is considered part of that game. Knowing when to talk and what to say is vital if you want to use table talk to your advantage. If you’re a beginner then I highly recommend that you keep your mouth shut. Even if you’re asked a question I would recommend not replying and simply staring at your card. The reason is that if you’re a beginner, by talking you’re likely to give away what you have in your hand even if you don’t realise it. Remember the people you’re playing against might have been playing poker for years and can probably read you in ways you don’t even understand. The reason they are talking to you in the first place is because they are trying to read you. By replying you’re bound to give away information about your cards.
By starting your own table talk, I promise you as a beginner will give away more than you learn and you won’t be able to fool more experienced players. If you have been playing at real life tables for a while you may want to consider using table talk to your advantage. But it’s crucial you understand how to use it if you want to use it to read your opponents.
One tactic is consistency. That is talking the same amount at all stages of the game no matter how good your hand is. This way your opponent will be unable to tell what you have and because you’ve been consistent you can gage how other players are feeling by their reactions to your behavior. In other-words by making yourself the control you can watch how other players talk and expressions change.
Another tactic is to go from being very talkative about ordinary things to being very quiet at different stages of the game. If you go quiet, inexperienced players might think you have a good hand or a very bad hand. This may lead them to prematurely folding or more betting than they should.
Never talk about what you have in your hand especially if you’ve folded. This is both against the rules and the considered incredibly poor etiquette because by saying what you had in your hand once you’ve folded you are giving others information about what’s left in the deck and that may affect their choices.
Also be careful not to try and over read your opponents table talk. Sometimes they won’t be trying to trick you but simply talking because they’re bored. Not everything is a tactic. Try and avoid being paranoid because this will adversely affect your game. A good poker player will be able to tell the difference between a random chitchat and someone who’s trying to get a read on cheers opponents.
So in summary avoid table talk if you’re a beginner and even if you’re not be careful because you still risk giving away more than what you will learn.