Determining Where to Play Your First Poker Game
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Now that you've decided to play a live poker game, you need to decide where to play, and what game to start with. Generally speaking, we'll give you some brief pointers and criterion of what to look for in chosing your location, knowing that in the "real world" your ability to find a location with all of the "amenities" we describe may be near impossible. That said, it is a good idea to have an idea of what to look for, and to be able to scout a location to a degree before sitting down to play, even if the only choice you have is the small Indian Casino located two hours from home.

Getting started
If you have a choice of a number of poker rooms for your first gambling experience you'll want to gather some information about the poker room rules and amenities before walking into the room and plunking down your chips. For example, some poker rooms are very large offering a wide array of games while others offer only one or two different limit games. Some rooms allow smoking while others do not. Others pump in music while some have an endless barrage of flat panel TVs tuned to the latest sporting events. Some or all of these things may (or may not) be important to you. Being aware of the differences between the available rooms, will give you a good chance of selecting the poker room that is just right for you.

To begin your research, we've compiled a simple checklist of some items that may be of interest to you while playing, and offered a few personal comments about each item. You should be able to find a good deal of the information about the poker rooms you are considering online (either through the casino's website, or via Independent Poker Sites like this one) and any questions that go unanswered are usually easily addressed with a quick call to the casino poker room. (Don't be hesitant to call, poker room staff are happy to answer your questions about games, play, amenities, and other related items as they want to turn you into a regular patron.) In some rare instances, you may wish to visit the poker room yourself to get a bit more "hands-on" information, but for the most part, you can gather a good deal of information prior to ever leaving your home.

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