[dfbuzzbeater]

A couple little "tricks" i have, if you will...all in the image I try to create in that I am just there to have fun.

1) I become friends with every dealer and know their names. Sometimes I'll "blame" the dealer (when I have a good rapport with them) if someone takes/gives a bad beat. It takes the tension away from the players, "aww damn Dante you really pulled that one out of your ass!" or "wow betsy I can't lose when you're dealing." Tell people when your "winning dealer" is coming to the table, and if you win while they're there - credit the dealer.

2) I'll say before the hand is dealt (usually if I'm in a blind) that I WILL win the next pot. You get tons of action if you hit, and if you don't, make up some excuse as to why you have to fold, "jeeze, apparently you made the same declaration to the poker gods as i did this hand...they must love you more than me".

3) Get to know people and their names. Become their friends (some of my friends disagree with this, but it honestly makes me have a much more enjoyable experience). If Gerry has won three hands in a row with backdoor flushes, high-five him and tell him he's sick! At the same time, warn everyone else to stay out of Gerry's way, blah blah blah.

Maybe this requires an outgoing personality, but I donno. I usually have ten times more fun this way, and it appears that my opponents (whether winning or losing) have fun too. I think it was Negreanu that said his goal was to have every losing player walk away with a smile on their face saying how much fun they had and want to come back the next day.

edit: I've found this system to work much more easily if there is another outgoing person at the table who you can play off of. Once you start getting more vocal you can get other people into the mix.