To chop or not to chop?

[Phatty_One]

Forgive me if this topic has been wildly presented and may be off topic.

To chop or not to chop? That is the question. I am primarily an online limit player, and do have a large amount of experience in live games.
A situation occurred to me at the Wynn in an 8-16 limit game. I show up fairly late into the night ~1am, kinda drunk, and join into a 4 handed 8-16 game that looks populated by regulars.

A few dozen hands into play, I pick up AQs in the BB. Action is folded to the SB, who asks me if I want to 'chop', I tell her no. She gets mad, starts talking about the rake, eventually calls, and I insta-raise her. She calls me down to the river after a Q flops, and I pick up about $50 from her. At this point, this woman is livid and begins to be verbally abusive towards me.

A few hands go by, she changes seats, and we keep playing until anther player offers me a chop on the BB, which I accept after looking at some rags. The woman loses her mind and begins to shout about how "I don't chop" and "either you chop or you don't".

I'm not particularly experienced in live games, especially ones with psycho women, and wanted to know who was in the wrong in this situation. Are the standard rules to always or never chop? I feel that these rules would be abused by angle shooters and dishonest people trying to pick up a few small pots. I personally feel the proper way to play is to push every small edge, and chop to avoid rake when both players hold rag type hands.
Thoughts? Opinions?

[Aces McGee]

You can do whatever you want, of course, but you will continue to get this sort of negative reaction if you chop based on what cards you are holding. It's considered poor etiquette, for whatever reason.

-McGee

[RobTheDuck]

What you did is definitly considered poor etiquette.

However, as McGee pointed out, you can do whatever you like in this situation.

Even Phil Gordon points out in LGB, that ideally, he would always chop in the SB and never in the BB.

[Hass]

[ QUOTE ]
Forgive me if this topic has been wildly presented and may be off topic.

To chop or not to chop? That is the question. I am primarily an online limit player, and do have a large amount of experience in live games.
A situation occurred to me at the Wynn in an 8-16 limit game. I show up fairly late into the night ~1am, kinda drunk, and join into a 4 handed 8-16 game that looks populated by regulars.

A few dozen hands into play, I pick up AQs in the BB. Action is folded to the SB, who asks me if I want to 'chop', I tell her no. She gets mad, starts talking about the rake, eventually calls, and I insta-raise her. She calls me down to the river after a Q flops, and I pick up about $50 from her. At this point, this woman is livid and begins to be verbally abusive towards me.

A few hands go by, she changes seats, and we keep playing until anther player offers me a chop on the BB, which I accept after looking at some rags. The woman loses her mind and begins to shout about how "I don't chop" and "either you chop or you don't".

I'm not particularly experienced in live games, especially ones with psycho women, and wanted to know who was in the wrong in this situation. Are the standard rules to always or never chop? I feel that these rules would be abused by angle shooters and dishonest people trying to pick up a few small pots. I personally feel the proper way to play is to push every small edge, and chop to avoid rake when both players hold rag type hands.
Thoughts? Opinions?

[/ QUOTE ]

Do whatever you want, just do it the same everytime. If you play your good cards and chop your bad ones you will make everyone angry with you in the future.

[Hass]

[ QUOTE ]
What you did is definitly considered poor etiquette.

However, as McGee pointed out, you can do whatever you like in this situation.

Even Phil Gordon points out in LGB, that ideally, he would always chop in the SB and never in the BB.

[/ QUOTE ]

I've never seen anyone do this, and I have thought that it would be perfect strategy. Would this be considered bad, or improper if you did it the same every time?

[Aces McGee]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
What you did is definitly considered poor etiquette.

However, as McGee pointed out, you can do whatever you like in this situation.

Even Phil Gordon points out in LGB, that ideally, he would always chop in the SB and never in the BB.

[/ QUOTE ]

I've never seen anyone do this, and I have thought that it would be perfect strategy. Would this be considered bad, or improper if you did it the same every time?

[/ QUOTE ]

By most people, yes.

-McGee

[psandman]

There is no reason to chop ina 5 handed game. In fact if I was running a poker room I wouldn't allow blind chopping in a 5 handed game.

However it is poor etiquette to decide whether to chop or not based upon your hand. Either you chop or you don't chop (you can decide to chop in fuller games and not in shorthanded games.

However since this woman had been verbally abusive to you I think it worked out well.

Your proposal to only chop when both players have rags makes no sense, since any player asking for a chop would be revealing that they had rags. Now there opponent knows to bet.

[otnemem]

People chop in four-handed games?

[Phatty_One]

I now understand that deciding to chop based on your cards is not considered good etiquette. Still, I'm not sure exactly why (other than minimizing rake for small pots) or if that kind of behavior from another player is a justified response to the situation.
If you were at a table paying time (no discernable rake), would the same situation hold true? How about in NL with the low blind structure and the possibility of taking an entire stack in any given hand?

[Edge34]

Its been said a lot, but while you're allowed to do this, its considered a major douche move. This is exactly why I never look at my cards until its my turn to act.

On a somewhat related note, why had nobody asked for a rake reduction playing 4-handed at 1 am? The manager would likely drop it to keep a game going if you just asked for something like $1 a hand or something......then you don't have to worry about pissing off locals with your selective chops.