You've
seen the televised tournaments, you've listened to your friends
stories of glory at the casino poker tables, and maybe you've even
played in a few home games, but now comes the big task, sitting
down for the first time at a casino poker table. Unlike your home
game where you're generally surronded by friends and the games can
be laboriously explained to any newcomer or novice, live poker at
a casino table is a bit more serious venture. The fact that the
other players are not your friends, and the general play and rules
are not explained once you sit down, can make playing live poker
in a casino poker room quite an intimidating experience for the
novice player. But before you get too discouraged, read on.
We
remember what it was like the first time we walked into a casino
poker room and asked meekly what games were available and how much
the buy in was. And we'll show you everything you need to know to
walk into your first game with nary a bead of sweat on your brow
and with the intelligence and knowledge to play well enough to make
it a positive experience.
Before
we get started, we want you to consider a few things as you read
this article. Before sitting down to play at any table, you have
to have some generally defined goals. So as we work our way through
this article, we'd like you to consider why you are playing poker
and what you hope to accomplish in both the long and short term.
Are you looking for a good way to entertain yourself once in a while
without blowing too much cash. Are you simply trying to find a way
to hang out at the casino while your wife plays the pennies without
losing hundreds at Black Jack or Let it Ride? Do you want to start
small and learn the ropes with the eventual goal of playing in the
WSOP at Binions? We ask you to think about these things because
to varying degrees they will all affect how you play and how you
experience playing casino poker.
For
example, if you're looking to sit back and play a low dollar game
while your wife blows her hundred on the pennies, you'll have a
totally different mindset than if you are walking into a game looking
to play some No-Limit (a la World Poker Tour) and hoping to get
a pair of Aces pre-flop and move in. Without giving this too much
more space, just realize what you are hoping to get out of the experience,
and have a realistic set of expectations and we'll show you how
to make those goals a reality below.
Step
One, Deciding Where to Play...
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