We constantly have to manage our own ego, as well as navigate toward our goals with other egos in the way.

If you can tighten up your mindset, you have huge advantages that tactical skills alone cannot give you.

1. Immediately identify the other player as a fish and adapt my play accordingly. As far as I'm concerned, 99.9% of players who feel the urge to berate anyone at the table have a huge, glaring mental game weakness that indicates they're almost certainly not professional players. I went out of my way to play pots with this player after getting berated, which only made him more tilted when I kept winning them through simply playing ABC poker. I wasn't trying to 'outplay' him, just applying correct logic and profiting from it, and widening my ranges in certain spots.

2. Make sure I was nice to him and defused the situation a little. I chit-chatted with him while we weren't playing hands. I didn't want him being overly tilted against me, because it might have induced him to start 3betting me a ton or play back at me in response to my always being in hands against him. I didn't want a weaker player putting me in unnecessary high-variance spots. Note the difference between going out of my way to flat more hands in position and play more pots with the guy, and my reluctance to incite him to be more aggressive against me. I tried to exploit him in the most low-variance way possible.

It sounds like you're not afraid to self-critique your own game, which is an extremely important attribute for a successful player.
If you're confident that you're playing well, other people's opinions mean nothing. Keep in mind that $1/$2 heros only feel the need to "coach" you after you beat them. Most of them don't analyse their own game (why should they - they are awesome!) and therefore, in their minds the only was they can be beat is by someone playing bad & getting lucky.

Most people would tell you to ignore them, but I couldn't disagree more.

These are the type of players who will spell out for you exactly how they play in every situation - so if you're confident enough to do it, engage them in conversation. Or if not, at least listen carefully and make mental notes about what they say.

These guys will berate you for making a certain call in a certain spot. Then they will proceed to tell you how they would have played it "better". I always nod intently while getting lectured by these guys. They think they've got an audience, so they keep talking.

This is a game of information, and in my experience there are few better targets for information than players who combine poor skills and a big mouth.

Dealing with different personalities is a skill you need to work on, just like the technical aspects of your game. So my advice would be get back on the horse. Sit down at the table again and play your game. If you've picked a good game with lots of "live ones" you can expect a few more lectures.

Of course, if you ever feel threatened or intimidated, get up and walk out. Not only is it the best option for your safety, but you would be unlikely to keep playing your best.

Good luck!

This is SPOT on.  You abviously need to be concerned about you and your game first and formost.  I used to let this bother me a TON even though I was crushing the games.  Some of that may be dictaded by your demeanor at the table.  I go out of my way now to interact with the "rec" players so they feel like they are enjoying their experience at the table as we all know thats why they are there.  You might even go as far as to ask him how he may play the hand differently, just to find out how deep his thought process is if he has one at all.  Bottom line is these are just a few of the things we can continue to absorb in your overall game to continue your inch worm moving forward!  

TBH i only tell them how to loose their money against me.

but i am a big guy with a big ego at the stakes i play, so i am not a reference.

generally i d say if you re not felling well with the table talk just sit back and let the idiots do the talking. most of the guys that are berating need an excuse for why they are so bad.

@loxxi:

shoves seems fine.

just my two cents

cheers

I did a podcast on here two yrs ago where I talked about this type of situation.  If you allow your ego to get the better of you, you are going to become spewy.  When you lose your ego, you lose control.  

REMEMBER, let them have the last word, YOU have the last ACT.  Your act will be taking their chips.  Crush them fools.  

I am in a tournament far from the money. I have 15K and pick up A9s in the HJ at 75/400/800. The blinds are going to 100/600/1200 in about 3 minutes. It folds to me and I shove because the table has been pretty flatty and sticky post flop. Button has like 8K and call me with AA. A guy on the other side of the table leans over to his friend and whispers loudly "why the **** would you shove 15K with a trash hand like that?" He goes on and on with his hand over his mouth leaning over talking to this friend and looking over at me and talking about me loud enough for me to hear it. Granted this dude doesn't know the first thing about poker, but it got under my skin because I have been losing a lot. I stared at him with my shades on for the rest of my time there (3-4 hands) but didnt say a word.

I knew the shove was not standard, but giving the situation I thought it was my best option. His rant made me think about it and now I am wondering if others would shove there given the looming blind jump and flatty calling stations?

In order to keep my cool, I had to mentally give myself a TPE trained superiority complex and think "this guy couldnt even begin to explain anything to me about poker that I havent already heard." If I didnt allow myself to feel like a holier than thou asshole, I would have probably entertained his BS.

Sometimes you have to say shit to them in your head like "Sir, I'm not allowed to talk to drop outs like you." to keep from saying something out loud like "Bitch, come get you some!"

and i think KB is wrong - there are a LOT more douchebags in the general poker population than in general, because in some senses the game is all about ego

.....ger_effect

Benny hit the nail on the head, In this situaton I usually let my game do the talking but if the person keeps continuing to be a **** I give them the death stare and tell them to shut the @#%! up 🙂 Most jerks crumble when stood up to.

and i think KB is wrong - there are a LOT more douchebags in the general poker population than in general, because in some senses the game is all about ego

.....ger_effect

Most people would tell you to ignore them, but I couldn't disagree more.

These are the type of players who will spell out for you exactly how they play in every situation - so if you're confident enough to do it, engage them in conversation. Or if not, at least listen carefully and make mental notes about what they say.

These guys will berate you for making a certain call in a certain spot. Then they will proceed to tell you how they would have played it "better". I always nod intently while getting lectured by these guys. They think they've got an audience, so they keep talking.

This is a game of information, and in my experience there are few better targets for information than players who combine poor skills and a big mouth.

Dealing with different personalities is a skill you need to work on, just like the technical aspects of your game. So my advice would be get back on the horse. Sit down at the table again and play your game. If you've picked a good game with lots of "live ones" you can expect a few more lectures.

Of course, if you ever feel threatened or intimidated, get up and walk out. Not only is it the best option for your safety, but you would be unlikely to keep playing your best.

Good luck!

If I have a poor player at the table I want to keep him there! Be nice to him, make him feel comfortable and at ease.....Then take his money whilst smiliing at him like a friend