Does smack talk affect your play? Personally, I may think somebody’s a douche, or in Life360 play they stink, literally, but it doesn’t affect my play.
No, it is not illegal to run a home game. But what is illegal is taking a rake and charging for food or drinks. This is considered running a casino without a license. You can play poker for money you just can’t make a profit off of running the game.
I don’t think the technology cares whether you’re a new player or a consistent player. Just like I don’t think the technology cares if you’re a bad player for a good player. The cards are the cards.
I’m very fortunate as I don’t tilt. I’m able to ignore the table talk, the bad beats, etc. my motto is there’s always another hand. There’s always another game.