Etiquette at the Poker Table. Poker is viewed by many, first and foremost, as a form of pure entertainment. There are some players that truly only care about how much money they can win, which is fine of course, but there are also a lot of players that are primarily interested in having fun. Poker is a game of patience that often requires waiting for optimal cards. However, don't compound the inherent slowness of the game by tanking on basic decisions. It's in everybody's best interest that the game moves along without unwanted delays. Poker site operators are on a mission to attract more recreational players to. POKER ETIQUETTE Wait your turn: Never bet, fold or raise before it's your turn. This seems like a simple rule, but many players fold prematurely, most often because they're disgusted with their cards. And sometimes players raise before their turn because they have a strong hand.
- Casino Poker Room Etiquette Ideas
- Casino Poker Room Etiquette Rules
- Casino Poker Room Etiquette Party
- Casino Poker Room Etiquette Games
If you have never been to a casino or public poker room before, your first trip can be filled with excitement, anticipation, and exhilaration. It may also cause you a little fear and apprehension. This article gives you a few pointers and some information about how things work in most casinos and public poker rooms. Let's get started with a major part of any casino experience -- the staff.
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One of the most important things to remember is that the staff of a casino or poker room is there to make your visit as comfortable as possible because they want you to come back. If you can't find the card room or if you have any questions at all, don't hesitate to ask a staff member.
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The dealer is also part of the staff. If you are sitting down at a poker game in a casino or card room for the first time, tell the dealer that it is your first time and ask them to please keep an eye on you to make sure you aren't doing anything incorrectly. You may be amazed at how helpful and useful someone can be when you show them a little respect and ask for their help. Many times, especially at the lower-limit tables, other players are also helpful.
Also, most poker rooms have a place to sign a waiting list for a particular game. Some have a white board with the games and limits available along with the waiting players' initials. Others will just have someone who writes initials or names on a sheet of paper. The card room calls the next person on the list when a seat becomes available. Simply ask whoever is in charge of the board -- or a staff member -- to place you on the list for all of the games you are willing to play. If you are in a small poker room with no visible sign-up area, ask a dealer how to enter a game.
Well, now that you've found your table and you're ready to play, here are some general tips for casino poker:
- Wait for the big blind (The big blind is the largest forced bet at the beginning of a game designed to stimulate betting. The player who has to contribute the big blind rotates one position to the left after each game.) to get to you before playing. Use this time to watch your opponents, and get a feel for the way they are playing. It's amazing how much some players reveal if you just pay attention.
- Most players tip the dealer when they win a pot. This is not required, but if the dealer is doing a competent job, you should tip. Dealers are like waitstaff in that they make most of their money from tips. A sample plan would be to tip the dealer .50 on average size pots and possibly $1.00 on larger pots if the dealer is doing a good job. Also, you can watch what the other players are tipping to get an idea. Remember though that every dollar that goes to the dealer is reducing your winnings. You should be able to come to a happy medium with experience.
- Act when it's your turn. Never act before your turn. This is very poor etiquette and can change the outcome of a hand. The other players will understandably get upset with you.
- Make sure your cards are in plain sight.
- It is a good idea to place a chip on them to show that they are still live and protect them because the dealer won't take them when the chip is on them. If you leave your cards unprotected, the dealer might muck them (mix with discards) by mistake, and there is no way you can retrieve them. Most players keep their hand on their cards.
- When you win a pot (the total amount of money bet in a single game), don't reach for it. Let the dealer push the pot to you. Do not surrender your cards until the pot has been awarded to you on a winning hand.
- If you aren't sure whether you have the best hand at the end of a round, turn your cards face up, and let the dealer read the hands. If the dealer makes a mistake, it can often be corrected. If you throw your hand into the discard pile (often called the 'muck'), you are not eligible for any of the pot even if you made a mistake and had the best hand.
- Don't throw your chips into the pot (called 'splashing' the pot). Place all bets in front of you, and let the dealer pull them into the pot.
For more information on playing poker and other casino games, try the following links:
- To see all of our articles on poker rules and advice, go to our main article on How To Play Poker.
- Learn How to Play Texas Hold 'Em Poker, and you'll be ready for the most common poker game.
- If you think you're good enough, you might want to test your skills in a high-pressure situation. Be sure you know How to Play Poker in a Tournament before you ante up.
- As long as you're in the casino, you might as well drop a few bucks on some other games. Keep these Casino Gambling Basics handy.
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Poker is viewed by many, first and foremost, as a form of pure entertainment. There are some players that truly only care about how much money they can win, which is fine of course, but there are also a lot of players that are primarily interested in having fun. These players would obviously love to win some money if they could, but they don't mind losing providing they are having an enjoyable experience.
This is one reason why it's so important to act properly and be respectful while playing poker. To some extent, every player has a responsibility to ensure that other players have a positive experience. Knowing the rules of how to play is simply not enough, as you need to know the rules on how to behave too.
There's a great deal of etiquette involved in poker. There are some unwritten rules which dictate what you should and shouldn't do and breaking these will likely alienate your fellow players. You should be aware of these, as you don't want to upset your opponents and ruin their overall gaming experience. There are several formal rules too, which you need to abide by in order to avoid a penalty or being asked to leave a game altogether.
Below we list and explain our top five rules for behaving 'correctly' at the poker table, along with our top five taboos that you should avoid. In addition to that, we also focus in on some extra etiquette that's worth mentioning.
Five Golden Rules To Follow
Casino Poker Room Etiquette Ideas
The following rules are what we consider to be the five golden rules of poker that you should always try to follow when playing it live. They aren't in any particular order because they are all equally important, in our opinion.
1. Be Polite and Courteous
If you play live poker for long enough you'll probably encounter plenty of players who don't follow this rule. It's a very easy one to stick to yourself and there's really no excuse for not being polite and courteous to your fellow players or your dealers for that matter. You don't have to overdo it and you can even stay quiet if you want to, but using good manners isn't hard to do and it'll create a more welcoming atmosphere at the table.
2. Keep Up With the Play
You have a responsibility to pay attention to what's happening at the poker table while you're playing and it's especially important to know when it's your turn to act. It certainly won't take long for other players to get frustrated if they have to constantly remind you when to play. You should also ensure that you post your blinds and antes in a timely manner and that you avoid acting out of turn. Don't take an excessive amount of time while making simple decisions and don't keep players waiting while you order a drink or something to eat.
3. Make Your Actions Clear
Making your actions clear will not only make your life easier but your opponent's life as well. Shoving a few chips into the pot and mumbling 'call' or 'raise' under your breath doesn't give you an advantage and it'll probably just annoy your opponents. It's not hard to slide a neat stack of chips in front of you and declare your actions with clarity. This will avoid any confusion and it will help ensure that you don't get accused of trying to gain an unfair advantage by misrepresenting the action you are taking.
4. If You Show One, Show All
If you win a hand without going to a showdown, you can choose to show the table your cards. What you cannot do, though, is show them to just one player. This potentially gives that player an unfair advantage, as they are then in possession of information that no-one else has access to. It may not be extremely helpful to them, but it's the principle of the matter that's the real concern. As the saying goes, 'If you show one, you must show all.' The same rule applies if you decide to muck (throw away without showing) a losing hand after going to showdown.
5. Be Gracious in Defeat AND Victory
No one likes a poor loser or a poor winner, so you should always try to be gracious in both defeat and victory while at the poker table. There's nothing wrong with showing a little bit of frustration following a particularly crushing defeat, but you won't gain any respect by going on a massive rant every time you lose a hand.
Likewise, a small celebration after winning a big pot is perfectly acceptable. Celebrating too wildly is just going to agitate your opponents and gloating about how brilliantly you played a hand is equally annoying. If you want the respect of your opponents, then you should act with some degree of humility.
Top Five Poker Table Taboos
Poker etiquette isn't just about what you should do, but it's also about what you should NOT do. The following points are the top five taboos that you should avoid at the poker table, and again these are in no particular order.
1. Revealing Your Cards During a Hand
Revealing your cards during a hand, regardless of whether you are still active or not, is very poor poker etiquette. Casino moc bai vietnam trung. It gives away information to the table that may provide an advantage to one player over another. For example, if one player is on a draw and hoping for certain cards to come and you reveal that you had one or more of those cards, this could change the way they play the hand, which ultimately is an unfair advantage.
Please keep in mind that there's more than one way to reveal your cards to the table. It's easy to avoid telling everyone what you have, but you need to be careful not to reveal your cards accidentally too. Carelessly throwing your cards away when folding, for example, can easily result in exposing them. Your reaction to seeing a flop after folding your cards can also give away unplanned information. If you exclaim in frustration that you would have made a great hand, then players may be able to determine what exactly was in your hand to some degree of certainty.
2. Talking About a Hand You Are Not Involved In
Giving a running commentary during a hand that you aren't involved in definitely goes against poker etiquette. No one wants to hear your views about what each player may or may not have, what they should do next, or what you think is going to happen. It can be annoying to the players that are involved in the hand, as they probably just want to concentrate. It could also be constituted as giving advice to a player, which is prohibited in most poker rooms.
3. Criticizing Your Opponents
It's not your place to criticize the way any of your opponents have played. Even if they have made a huge mistake, or you are just trying to offer constructive feedback, it's simply not the way to behave at a poker table. Everyone has the right to play how they want, within the rules of course, and it's not your responsibility to point out where they might be going wrong. In any case, why would you want to help your opponents improve their game? You want them to make mistakes, as that ultimately improves your chances of beating them, so please keep that in mind.
4. Blaming or Berating the Dealer
Remember that Poker dealers are just there to do their job and they have no control over what cards are dealt. Verbally attacking a dealer because you've suffered a bad beat or are getting a poor run of cards is never acceptable. You are practically guaranteed to get some bad luck from time to time. It's simply the nature of the game and it's your responsibility to learn how to deal with the frustration and stop yourself from taking it out on the dealer.
It's also worth pointing out that this rule is applicable even if a dealer makes a mistake. Dealers are human after all, and mistakes do happen. There's no excuse for berating a dealer, even if their mistake might have cost you money.
5. Slowrolling
Casino Poker Room Etiquette Rules
The term slow rolling can be used to describe a few different circumstances, but it would generally apply when a player knows he has the best hand at showdown and takes a long time to turn over his cards in order to build up suspense. It could also apply when a player takes a long time to call an all in bet, despite knowing that they have the best hand at the table.
Many poker players consider slow rolling to be one of the worst breaches of etiquette. It serves no real purpose other than trying to wind up other opponents and rub salt in their wounds after you won a big pot. While some players will slow roll precisely to put down their opponents, it's really not a move that we recommend making.
More Poker Etiquette
The points discussed above are the most important to be aware of when playing live poker, in our opinion at least. There are several additional rules that others may think are just as important, or maybe even more important, so please try to follow the ones below as well.
Don't splash the pot
If you follow our golden rule #3, then you won't do this anyway, but it's a good idea to be aware of what the term means and why you shouldn't do it. Splashing the pot is basically throwing your chips into the pot when making a bet, call, or raise. This is considered bad etiquette as it makes it extremely difficult to see exactly how many chips you are betting.
Don't make string bets
A string bet is when you don't make your bet in a continuous motion (i.e. you put a few chips in front of you, then a few more, then a few more) having not announced the total amount of your bet out loud. This is frowned upon and is technically against the rules, as it not only slows down the game but it can also be used to gain an advantage over your opponents. String betting can potentially allow you to gauge an opponent's reaction to the size of your bet, and then decide whether or not to increase it based on their reaction.
String betting is a very common and often times an unintentional mistake, that's typically made by inexperienced players. It can be used by players for tactical reasons but this isn't usually the case. You don't want to be accused of attempting to cheat, so you really should try hard to avoid making string bets. Again, this is relatively easy to do if you simply follow our golden rule #3.
Be considerate to others at the table
One of the most important things to remember is that the staff of a casino or poker room is there to make your visit as comfortable as possible because they want you to come back. If you can't find the card room or if you have any questions at all, don't hesitate to ask a staff member.
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The dealer is also part of the staff. If you are sitting down at a poker game in a casino or card room for the first time, tell the dealer that it is your first time and ask them to please keep an eye on you to make sure you aren't doing anything incorrectly. You may be amazed at how helpful and useful someone can be when you show them a little respect and ask for their help. Many times, especially at the lower-limit tables, other players are also helpful.
Also, most poker rooms have a place to sign a waiting list for a particular game. Some have a white board with the games and limits available along with the waiting players' initials. Others will just have someone who writes initials or names on a sheet of paper. The card room calls the next person on the list when a seat becomes available. Simply ask whoever is in charge of the board -- or a staff member -- to place you on the list for all of the games you are willing to play. If you are in a small poker room with no visible sign-up area, ask a dealer how to enter a game.
Well, now that you've found your table and you're ready to play, here are some general tips for casino poker:
- Wait for the big blind (The big blind is the largest forced bet at the beginning of a game designed to stimulate betting. The player who has to contribute the big blind rotates one position to the left after each game.) to get to you before playing. Use this time to watch your opponents, and get a feel for the way they are playing. It's amazing how much some players reveal if you just pay attention.
- Most players tip the dealer when they win a pot. This is not required, but if the dealer is doing a competent job, you should tip. Dealers are like waitstaff in that they make most of their money from tips. A sample plan would be to tip the dealer .50 on average size pots and possibly $1.00 on larger pots if the dealer is doing a good job. Also, you can watch what the other players are tipping to get an idea. Remember though that every dollar that goes to the dealer is reducing your winnings. You should be able to come to a happy medium with experience.
- Act when it's your turn. Never act before your turn. This is very poor etiquette and can change the outcome of a hand. The other players will understandably get upset with you.
- Make sure your cards are in plain sight.
- It is a good idea to place a chip on them to show that they are still live and protect them because the dealer won't take them when the chip is on them. If you leave your cards unprotected, the dealer might muck them (mix with discards) by mistake, and there is no way you can retrieve them. Most players keep their hand on their cards.
- When you win a pot (the total amount of money bet in a single game), don't reach for it. Let the dealer push the pot to you. Do not surrender your cards until the pot has been awarded to you on a winning hand.
- If you aren't sure whether you have the best hand at the end of a round, turn your cards face up, and let the dealer read the hands. If the dealer makes a mistake, it can often be corrected. If you throw your hand into the discard pile (often called the 'muck'), you are not eligible for any of the pot even if you made a mistake and had the best hand.
- Don't throw your chips into the pot (called 'splashing' the pot). Place all bets in front of you, and let the dealer pull them into the pot.
For more information on playing poker and other casino games, try the following links:
- To see all of our articles on poker rules and advice, go to our main article on How To Play Poker.
- Learn How to Play Texas Hold 'Em Poker, and you'll be ready for the most common poker game.
- If you think you're good enough, you might want to test your skills in a high-pressure situation. Be sure you know How to Play Poker in a Tournament before you ante up.
- As long as you're in the casino, you might as well drop a few bucks on some other games. Keep these Casino Gambling Basics handy.
Advertisement
Poker is viewed by many, first and foremost, as a form of pure entertainment. There are some players that truly only care about how much money they can win, which is fine of course, but there are also a lot of players that are primarily interested in having fun. These players would obviously love to win some money if they could, but they don't mind losing providing they are having an enjoyable experience.
This is one reason why it's so important to act properly and be respectful while playing poker. To some extent, every player has a responsibility to ensure that other players have a positive experience. Knowing the rules of how to play is simply not enough, as you need to know the rules on how to behave too.
There's a great deal of etiquette involved in poker. There are some unwritten rules which dictate what you should and shouldn't do and breaking these will likely alienate your fellow players. You should be aware of these, as you don't want to upset your opponents and ruin their overall gaming experience. There are several formal rules too, which you need to abide by in order to avoid a penalty or being asked to leave a game altogether.
Below we list and explain our top five rules for behaving 'correctly' at the poker table, along with our top five taboos that you should avoid. In addition to that, we also focus in on some extra etiquette that's worth mentioning.
Five Golden Rules To Follow
Casino Poker Room Etiquette Ideas
The following rules are what we consider to be the five golden rules of poker that you should always try to follow when playing it live. They aren't in any particular order because they are all equally important, in our opinion.
1. Be Polite and Courteous
If you play live poker for long enough you'll probably encounter plenty of players who don't follow this rule. It's a very easy one to stick to yourself and there's really no excuse for not being polite and courteous to your fellow players or your dealers for that matter. You don't have to overdo it and you can even stay quiet if you want to, but using good manners isn't hard to do and it'll create a more welcoming atmosphere at the table.
2. Keep Up With the Play
You have a responsibility to pay attention to what's happening at the poker table while you're playing and it's especially important to know when it's your turn to act. It certainly won't take long for other players to get frustrated if they have to constantly remind you when to play. You should also ensure that you post your blinds and antes in a timely manner and that you avoid acting out of turn. Don't take an excessive amount of time while making simple decisions and don't keep players waiting while you order a drink or something to eat.
3. Make Your Actions Clear
Making your actions clear will not only make your life easier but your opponent's life as well. Shoving a few chips into the pot and mumbling 'call' or 'raise' under your breath doesn't give you an advantage and it'll probably just annoy your opponents. It's not hard to slide a neat stack of chips in front of you and declare your actions with clarity. This will avoid any confusion and it will help ensure that you don't get accused of trying to gain an unfair advantage by misrepresenting the action you are taking.
4. If You Show One, Show All
If you win a hand without going to a showdown, you can choose to show the table your cards. What you cannot do, though, is show them to just one player. This potentially gives that player an unfair advantage, as they are then in possession of information that no-one else has access to. It may not be extremely helpful to them, but it's the principle of the matter that's the real concern. As the saying goes, 'If you show one, you must show all.' The same rule applies if you decide to muck (throw away without showing) a losing hand after going to showdown.
5. Be Gracious in Defeat AND Victory
No one likes a poor loser or a poor winner, so you should always try to be gracious in both defeat and victory while at the poker table. There's nothing wrong with showing a little bit of frustration following a particularly crushing defeat, but you won't gain any respect by going on a massive rant every time you lose a hand.
Likewise, a small celebration after winning a big pot is perfectly acceptable. Celebrating too wildly is just going to agitate your opponents and gloating about how brilliantly you played a hand is equally annoying. If you want the respect of your opponents, then you should act with some degree of humility.
Top Five Poker Table Taboos
Poker etiquette isn't just about what you should do, but it's also about what you should NOT do. The following points are the top five taboos that you should avoid at the poker table, and again these are in no particular order.
1. Revealing Your Cards During a Hand
Revealing your cards during a hand, regardless of whether you are still active or not, is very poor poker etiquette. Casino moc bai vietnam trung. It gives away information to the table that may provide an advantage to one player over another. For example, if one player is on a draw and hoping for certain cards to come and you reveal that you had one or more of those cards, this could change the way they play the hand, which ultimately is an unfair advantage.
Please keep in mind that there's more than one way to reveal your cards to the table. It's easy to avoid telling everyone what you have, but you need to be careful not to reveal your cards accidentally too. Carelessly throwing your cards away when folding, for example, can easily result in exposing them. Your reaction to seeing a flop after folding your cards can also give away unplanned information. If you exclaim in frustration that you would have made a great hand, then players may be able to determine what exactly was in your hand to some degree of certainty.
2. Talking About a Hand You Are Not Involved In
Giving a running commentary during a hand that you aren't involved in definitely goes against poker etiquette. No one wants to hear your views about what each player may or may not have, what they should do next, or what you think is going to happen. It can be annoying to the players that are involved in the hand, as they probably just want to concentrate. It could also be constituted as giving advice to a player, which is prohibited in most poker rooms.
3. Criticizing Your Opponents
It's not your place to criticize the way any of your opponents have played. Even if they have made a huge mistake, or you are just trying to offer constructive feedback, it's simply not the way to behave at a poker table. Everyone has the right to play how they want, within the rules of course, and it's not your responsibility to point out where they might be going wrong. In any case, why would you want to help your opponents improve their game? You want them to make mistakes, as that ultimately improves your chances of beating them, so please keep that in mind.
4. Blaming or Berating the Dealer
Remember that Poker dealers are just there to do their job and they have no control over what cards are dealt. Verbally attacking a dealer because you've suffered a bad beat or are getting a poor run of cards is never acceptable. You are practically guaranteed to get some bad luck from time to time. It's simply the nature of the game and it's your responsibility to learn how to deal with the frustration and stop yourself from taking it out on the dealer.
It's also worth pointing out that this rule is applicable even if a dealer makes a mistake. Dealers are human after all, and mistakes do happen. There's no excuse for berating a dealer, even if their mistake might have cost you money.
5. Slowrolling
Casino Poker Room Etiquette Rules
The term slow rolling can be used to describe a few different circumstances, but it would generally apply when a player knows he has the best hand at showdown and takes a long time to turn over his cards in order to build up suspense. It could also apply when a player takes a long time to call an all in bet, despite knowing that they have the best hand at the table.
Many poker players consider slow rolling to be one of the worst breaches of etiquette. It serves no real purpose other than trying to wind up other opponents and rub salt in their wounds after you won a big pot. While some players will slow roll precisely to put down their opponents, it's really not a move that we recommend making.
More Poker Etiquette
The points discussed above are the most important to be aware of when playing live poker, in our opinion at least. There are several additional rules that others may think are just as important, or maybe even more important, so please try to follow the ones below as well.
Don't splash the pot
If you follow our golden rule #3, then you won't do this anyway, but it's a good idea to be aware of what the term means and why you shouldn't do it. Splashing the pot is basically throwing your chips into the pot when making a bet, call, or raise. This is considered bad etiquette as it makes it extremely difficult to see exactly how many chips you are betting.
Don't make string bets
A string bet is when you don't make your bet in a continuous motion (i.e. you put a few chips in front of you, then a few more, then a few more) having not announced the total amount of your bet out loud. This is frowned upon and is technically against the rules, as it not only slows down the game but it can also be used to gain an advantage over your opponents. String betting can potentially allow you to gauge an opponent's reaction to the size of your bet, and then decide whether or not to increase it based on their reaction.
String betting is a very common and often times an unintentional mistake, that's typically made by inexperienced players. It can be used by players for tactical reasons but this isn't usually the case. You don't want to be accused of attempting to cheat, so you really should try hard to avoid making string bets. Again, this is relatively easy to do if you simply follow our golden rule #3.
Be considerate to others at the table
When playing live poker it's possible that you could spend several hours sitting next to the same players. Although you obviously want to beat your opponents, you don't want to ruin the whole experience for them either. Being considerate might seem like common sense, but there may be a few things that you haven't considered in the list below.
- If smoking is permitted, it's still courteous to ask neighboring players if they would object to you having a cigarette.
- Some basic personal hygiene is also a must; sitting next to a player who doesn't smell very pleasant could negatively affect a player's experience.
- Many people are offended by swearing, so you should try to keep the profanity down to an absolute minimum.
- There's nothing wrong with having a drink when playing, but moderation is a good idea. A player who has had one too many drinks can easily ruin a game for everyone else. Besides, you're unlikely to play very well if you are drunk or even tipsy for that matter.
Casino Poker Room Etiquette Party
Keep your cards visible when you're in a hand
Keeping your cards visible when you're active in a hand might not seem like a big deal, but it's actually very important. If you have your cards hidden away behind your chip stack or underneath your hands, then many players will assume that you are no longer in the hand. This could potentially lead to someone acting out of turn through no real fault of their own.
Casino Poker Room Etiquette Games
When we say that your cards should be visible, we obviously don't mean expose them face up. We just mean that they should be placed in front of you in a way that everyone at the table can see that you are still active in a hand.
Tipping the Dealers in Poker Games
We'll finish with this point because it's somewhat controversial. It could actually be argued that it has nothing to do with poker table etiquette at all, as it doesn't affect your fellow players and there are certainly no specific rules relating to tipping the dealers. We feel it's worth mentioning though, because it's an issue that comes up as some pokers player don't really know how to approach this situation.
There is no right or wrong action to take here. You are certainly not obliged to tip a dealer at any point and a lot of poker players steadfastly refuse to tip because they are already paying rake to the casino. It's worth noting, however, that many dealers around the world aren't paid very well and some even rely on tips to make a living. This doesn't have to affect your thinking of course and the decision to tip or not is entirely up to you regardless of what a dealer earns.
With all of that being said, we are advocates of tipping the dealers. It doesn't have to be a huge amount and you definitely don't have to tip every time you win a pot, but we do believe it's reasonable to offer at least one tip at the end of your playing session.
We would also advise that you base the size of your tip more on how the dealer performed and less on how much you won or lost during your session. A dealer who has dealt quickly and efficiently, with a friendly and pleasant manner deserves a larger tip than a dealer who continuously made mistakes and wasn't particularly friendly.
