What’s the most idiotic, no brain move that a player can make in a poker game?

We aren’t going right to the answer because it would take away the suspense and the guesswork. There are a lot of stupid things that players do…some of them could be classed as smart moves – stupid things that smart players do to make you think they’re stupid or innocent blunders that new players make that experienced players think are moves. The possibilities are endless with this one but let’s move on lest we become trapped in the mental meanderings that constitute our decision making ability as we while away the hours waiting for position and playable hands.

You might think it would be ‘bad mouthing’ a player for the way they played their hand, i.e.
“How in the hell could you call that raise?”
“Strap him to the chair! I’ll have all of his chips before he leaves!”
“Don’t quit your day job, buddy!”
“What the hell were you raising on, didn’t you see the straight
out there?”

It could also be playing ‘short money’ and finally picking up a pair of Aces and then being forced to go all in because you can’t maximize the pot when you finally have a hand – you also can’t raise the weak hands out and one of them may draw out on you for free which is totally sinful as you watch AA shrivel and burn when you gave away all your other chips on bad hands. Wrong answer.

You might also think the worst move was flawed game selection. Did you look around and check out other games in the room? If you pick the game where everyone’s watching television and chopping all of the blinds, you have more than one problem with bad moves. But…wrong again.

Perhaps your thoughts have now moved to folding out of turn, checking out of turn, and betting out of turn? While they are truly bad, naughty, disgusting, intolerable moves and you should get 30 days in the electric chair for them…wrong again.

By now you’re asking…what about exposing your cards? That’s truly criminal! Anyone that does that intentionally should be shot at dawn on national television without receiving a last meal. All the poker players in the world should be forced to watch the execution and warned that the same thing will happen to them if they recklessly ruin another player’s hand and action with such a move. But this answer’s wrong too.

Ahhh! You think you have it – discussing the hand in progress. Reporting to the player next to you what you threw away…what you think the guy that’s betting has…what you think the guy that’s calling has…what the best possible hand is right now, etc., etc., etc. Wrong.

Then maybe it’s turning your hand up while you bet in a multi-way action pot just to eliminate the field. That’s one of the most heinous of all crimes. What if another player in the hand has a better one than you do and you just ruined all of his action? Ughhhh!!! Shame on you! But still…no.

Now you’re positive that you’ve narrowed it down to something to do with the dealer…as in card throwing, glaring, slowing down the game, swearing and all of those despicable, idiot things that some people do when they’re losing and can’t accept the fact that they play bad and need a scapegoat. Nope, this isn’t it either.

You’re running out of guesses now…maybe it’s informing the table that the game’s getting short and you aren’t going to play short handed. Which by the way…if you’re any kind of player at all…you should be able to adjust your play and overcome short handed action, if not, your skill level may need to be reevaluated. Breaking up a short handed game is never the answer. What if poker was cancelled tomorrow and you broke the last game on Earth? (Giant tears and sad sighs at this point!) Wrong answer, again.

We’re here! You’re in a multi-way action pot, it’s your turn to act, checked to you, and you just throw your hand away because you didn’t make anything and don’t want to get trapped. (Says a lot for your ability to adjust during the play of the hand doesn’t it?) Or better yet…it’s 3 way action and you’re first to act so you just pitch your hand on the last card because you didn’t make your draw. Yippee, skippee! This is the answer!

This faux pas serves 2 purposes. First it tells everyone at the table that you either have a hand or a draw when you check…because otherwise you would just pitch your hand. (Way BAD tell on yourself here! Never, ever, ever indicate what you’re going to do until the action comes to you and then always make them wonder if you’re checking a ‘Big Duke’ into them.) The next bad part of this move is that you’ve just given up the protection of other players in the hand. You may be forcing someone to face a bet just because another player knows he doesn’t have to get around you…you’ve already given up without a fight.

Don’t feel bad if you didn’t guess/know the correct answer right away. You receive an A+ for reading this whole damn thing! See you there!