Whether to use a card protector

Is it generally good to use a card protector? I personally don't use mine since I am not consistent with my body language and fear opponents will be able to pick up on tells with how I use my card protector

as best i know, card protectors (aside from being totally cool and all that shit) tell the dealer that the hand is still in play, and thus they won't mistake your cards for mucked if they happen to be sitting unusually far from your hands/chipstack. i've personally never seen a dealer muck a hand which hasn't been quite blatantly deliberately folded to them, so i don't use one. but i have heard stories of dealers mistaking (or "mistaking", if you get on their nerves enough) face down cards as mucked cards and costing someone the pot, which is (i think) within their rights unless your hand, or a chip, or a "card protector" or something is covering them. i don't really know how your opponents could get tells from you beause of a card-protector though. the only abnormal activities you'll be using are putting the chip on top of your cards (learn and perfect a certain robotic motion for doing this if you are particularly worried about tells), and removing the chip to muck your cards (you're about to be out of the hand anyway)

In my local southern Indiana Casinos, if a player mucks his cards and it touches your cards, your cards are automatically mucked as well, unless they have a card protector. Thats a pretty good reason to have one. For cash games, I just use the highest denomination chip i have because if I am all in, they will likely know it, but in tournaments, I always use a card protector. Last year in WSOP a woman in the 10 seat went all in and the dealer took her cards. She said she had Aces but the floor would not allow her to play her hand. Dealers make mistakes too and the casino will not make amends for their employees errors. CYA.

Use a rock... as big as the casino will let you and paint it a bright color. The dealer won't ever miss it and you'll make some new friends.

Originally Posted by paratrooper99

In my local southern Indiana Casinos, if a player mucks his cards and it touches your cards, your cards are automatically mucked as well, unless they have a card protector. .

good point. as best i know this rule is pretty common so i guess its a higher EV decision to just put a chip on them than it is not to, for the few-and-far-between instances when this happens and you have the nuts.

Originally Posted by paratrooper99

Last year in WSOP a woman in the 10 seat went all in and the dealer took her cards. She said she had Aces but the floor would not allow her to play her hand. Dealers make mistakes too and the casino will not make amends for their employees errors. CYA.

For the above reason the only time I use a card protector is if I'm in seat 1 or 10.

I always protect my hand. Just use a chip, no need for a fancy actual card protector.

at venetian they were using an All in button that you could use, it was handy. Not protecting with something is really lazy, chip is fine. you will see hands get killed/mucked by accident.

there is no tell, protect every hand.

just use your fucking hand and don't let go until the hand is over for you... i.e. you muck or the chips are shipped to you.

Originally Posted by ChezJ

just use your fucking hand

^

No reason not to use them, just get into the habit of always putting the protector on your cards if you dont muck.

using your hand means in the biggest pots you play where you need to use both hands to put chips in the pot your hand is not protected. It also means you devote some small amount of mental energy to that task rather than the many other ones you actually should be thinking about.

I use my hand when I'm waiting for the action to get to me and then I look at my cards. If I decide to play, I'll protect with a chip in my stack.

Seems weird that this discussion got as long as it did :P it's a no brainer to protect your cards.

I got in the habit of always using a chip. Even if Im going to fold I'll use it, then when its my turn take it off and muck. Is pretty much for the reasons of other people throwing their cards at yours or dealers taking hands accidentally.