Robots.txt Question

[NickM]

I just want to confirm that if I want to disallow all robots from an entire directory and all its subdirectories, that I just have to disallow that specific root directory.

i.e., To disallow the following directories and all content contained in them:

/poker/
/poker/sites/
/poker/sites/pokerstars/
/poker/sites/pokerstars/review/

I only need to disallow the "/poker/" directory right?

User-Agent: *
Disallow: /poker/

Also, what is the consequence (if any) of not having a robots.txt file as opposed to a generic one like:

User-Agent: *
Disallow:

Any ramifications?

[themike537]

Yes, you just need to disallow the root directory.

I don't know of any consequences of not having a robots.txt file.

[Trikkur]

The only downside of not having a robots is you might get some errors in your webmaster tools applications. I think it's probably better to upload the default one than not have one though.