First time to Vegas... help!

[pipco]

First post, and first time to Vegas.

I'll be going to Vegas in a week. I'm staying at the MGM Grand and will hopefully get to play some poker while I'm there. I play online a fair amount (off an on for a couple years) and even though I think I'm good, I'm not sure how that will translate to low-stakes casino poker.

I have a few questions and hopefully someone can take the time to answer. Hopefully this is the right forum and that you guys don't mind these kinds of questions.

Here we go:

1. My goal is to spend a few hours a night at the tables having fun, maybe winning a few bucks, but I'm really trying to stretch my dollar. My plan is to find a $1/$2 table and bring a couple hundred dollars that will last me a couple days. Is this feasible? How much return can I expect with solid play against convention drunks?

2. I've heard the MGM poker room is pretty friendly to newbies, with a few low stakes tables. Is there anywhere else that I would have a better experience?

3. I'm pretty nervous about the actual process of playing in a casino. What are the protocols? Like, can someone walk me through actually entering a poker room, can I observe at the sideline before sitting, talking to a manager, finding a seat, changing my money, do I wait for the BB, tipping, how to get up, how to cash out... man, this is the stuff that keeps me up at night.

4. If I'm playing with a friend of mine at the same table, is there any problem from the casino's standpoint? What about the players standpoint?

5. Anything else a Vegas newbie should know?

Sorry for the volume of questions. If there is a good resource that I missed in my google searches, please let me know.

Thanks!

pipco

[xDiamond_CutteRx]

1. If you're playing No Limit, a few hundred might be enough, especially if you win your first couple sessions, but there is still a fairly significant chance you will lose your money, just because of the variance. My advice, if you want to stretch your dollar and are just starting out, is to buy in for the minimum to stay comfortable and make your decisions easier. The competition is pretty easy at the low limits, but DO NOT BLUFF. Just bet your good hands for value and hope they don't suck out on you. Don't go in expecting to win, but with a little luck, you can come out ahead if you play well.

2. MGM is fine, but most Poker rooms are pretty good. Personally, I really like the service at Venetian, but I would stay away from Bellagio and Caesar's if you're a beginner--Bellagio tends to ignore or scoff at low limit players, and the competition at Caesar's is usually tougher.

3. It's actually pretty easy. Just find the Poker room and go to the service desk there. Tell them what game you're interested in playing or ask what games they're spreading. Sometimes, you will get in a game right away, and sometimes you will have to wait a few minutes. In the meantime, it's usually OK if you watch the tables from the rail, as long as you don't interfere in the game. When they call you to a game, they will usually either take your cash for chips at the desk, or they will send a chip runner to the table (it's always OK to ask the dealer if you want/need more chips). At some rooms, you will have to either post or wait for the big blind, but other places it's not an issue.

Tipping: my general rule is this. If you win a pot over $10, tipping $1 is appropriate. There is no need to tip more than that at the low levels. Some people do it, but it's not expected.

Cashing out: it's usually fine to get up at any time, but a few points of etiquette. Don't get up in the blinds or on the button, as it disrupts the flow of the game. Also, don't get up immediately after winning a big pot; it's silly, but it's perceived as rude not to give someone a chance to win their money back (even if you just stay another round and never play a hand). Usually, you can just ask the floor manager for chip trays (sometimes they will be visible and available) and take your chips over to the cashier's cage to get your money.

Do not be ashamed to ask the dealer or floor manager if you are unclear on anything--the good ones are quite helpful.

4. No, this is no problem, so long as you aren't showing each other cards or otherwise out and out colluding. Friends sit together all the time, and almost no one will give you so much as a suspicious look. Poker is a social game, especially in a live setting, and there is nothing wrong with chatting with a buddy. One thing though: do not discuss a hand while it is in progress (ie what you folded, what you think another guy has, etc)--it is extremely poor etiquette.

5. Just try and enjoy yourself, and again, don't be ashamed to ask the dealers or floor managers anything you are unclear on. Good luck to you!

[golddog]

I guess I'd add to just watch a table for 20-30 minutes from the rail, that will give you a good idea how the play flows.

To answer #5 a bit more, just be wary, just like in any city where you're carrying money: while out, pay attention to what's around you, carry your money in your front pocket. The strip is quite a safe place, but with that much money and alcohol running around, things can happen.

Also, get out of the poker room on your first trip: see the fountains at Bellagio, go to a show (I recommend Blue Man Group), walk the strip, etc. Get all that crap out of the way so when you come back (and you will), and you're more comfortable playing, you can get to and stay on poker.

If you're a car guy, Imperial Palace has an Auto Collection that kills an hour or so to see. Free admission coupons available in the magazines in the taxi/hotel room usually.

[pipco]

Thanks for the great information. It sounds like the protocol stuff is pretty easy, although I'd much rather not look like a donk even before I sit down at the table. I guess just watching at the rail for a few minutes should get me up to speed.

Here are a couple more questions. At MGM it seems like they have 1/2 NL which has a $100 min buy in and a $200 max buy in. Does that effectively cap the max bet at $200, or if you win a couple pots can you continue to use your winnings, or do you have to keep limiting your stack to $200. I guess that doesn't really make sense, but it seems like with a max buy-in of $200 if someone doubled up a few times they could push everyone around with a huge stack.

Also, they have 2/4 limit. I've heard recommendations to buy-in for no less than 50 big bets, so $200 (or is it $400). Does that seem reasonable. I'm assuming that at that level, a lot of people see the flops and a lot of people go to showdown. What are average pot sizes? $50?

Great tips so far! Thanks!

[xDiamond_CutteRx]

Eh, maybe have 50 big bets with you, but I wouldn't buy-in for more than $100 at a time in a $2/$4 limit game because it looks silly. Average pot size is probably around $30-$40, because there are a lot of calls, but not many raises.

And yes, you can continually increase your stack in No Limit as you win more chips; in fact, once you sit down, you can always go UP to $200, but you are never allowed to take chips off the table without cashing out. It is not unusual to have a person or two with $400-$500 at the table. In cash games though, having a big stack doesn't really allow you to "bully" anyone, because there is no extrinsic benefit to knocking anyone out and $1 is $1 all the time. In fact, the short stacks actually have an advantage over the bigger ones, because they can see a showdown for less money. Cash games are not like tournaments in that regard.

[gumbie]

Tipping 1$ for a 10$ pot is ridiculous

[Dave B]

I tip $1 for a $3 pot, it isnt the dealer's fault.

Heck, I even tip if it is a chopped pot where the only profit is the blinds and a $3-4 rake is dropped. I am losing money on those.

[suitedaces84]

Here are a few things not to do:
-Don't slowroll. If your hand is clearly a winner, table it. Don't wait. If you bet the river and someone calls table your hand quickly. Don't give a speech then sheepishly show your cards.
-Don't comment on the play of others, unless you are being nice in a geniune way.
-If you think everyone folded to you don't give your cards away until the dealer is pushing you the pot. Sometimes a player is still has cards, and sometimes a player at the other end of the table called you and you didn't notice.
-Don't sit at a NL table with money you're not okay with losing. If you run $100 up to $800 and you're not comfortable dropping $800 in one hand, leave (assuming others have that amount in front of them aswell). Don't play with scared money, you'll play poorly.
-Don't wear sunglasses.

[Felting]

I tip $1 for a $3 pot, it isnt the dealer's fault.

Heck, I even tip if it is a chopped pot where the only profit is the blinds and a $3-4 rake is dropped. I am losing money on those.

I second Dave's comments, dealers make there living on the tips. Without them we can't play live. Tip the dealer! alright?

[Phil14312]

Here are a few things not to do:
-Don't slowroll. If your hand is clearly a winner, table it. Don't wait. If you bet the river and someone calls table your hand quickly. Don't give a speech then sheepishly show your cards.
-Don't comment on the play of others, unless you are being nice in a geniune way.
-If you think everyone folded to you don't give your cards away until the dealer is pushing you the pot. Sometimes a player is still has cards, and sometimes a player at the other end of the table called you and you didn't notice.
-Don't sit at a NL table with money you're not okay with losing. If you run $100 up to $800 and you're not comfortable dropping $800 in one hand, leave (assuming others have that amount in front of them aswell). Don't play with scared money, you'll play poorly.
-Don't wear sunglasses.

this should be a sticky

[lwestatbus]

I think your trip is probably over now or in progress but I wanted to mention high hand bonuses. You may want to visit my thread on this High Hand Bonuses.

You need to be aware of whether the card room has these bonuses as it increases the rake and should have an impact on how you play certain hands.

While I don't think that these bonuses would drastically change the way I would play a NL cash game preflop (since I will never again PLAY a NL cash game) I did find that it made sense to play certain FL hands differently.

E.g., I was playing Caesar's $3/6 FL when the bonus for a royal flush in clubs was over $3,500. I had A:club: K:club: UTG, normally a raising hand, but I decided not to raise with it because a necessary condition for winning the bonus was having 4 players see the flop.* At the Golden Nugget I flopped a set of tens to my pocket pair but did not raise the aggressive preflop raiser because I wanted to see if I could catch the quads (which I did on the turn). One poor guy made quad threes at Caesar's but didn't get the bonus because he had no action and there wasn't $10 in the pot--at a 3/6 game!! At least at the Golden Nugget the hand didn't have to go to showdown to claim the bonus. I'd ask about this to confirm. Also, two players could claim bonuses in the same hand, but I never did find out what happened if two players showed different ends of a straight flush.

The casinos that had the bonuses all had large flat screen monitors in the card room that scrolled through the various bonuses and their current values. I think I would consider it a tell if a bonus-enabling board appears and an opponent puts a crick in his neck trying to read the bonus monitor.

One other thing: My recollection of the rooms I played was that they all allowed uncapped betting in limit games if the play of a hand came down to heads up. I only saw this come into play once when one poor guy who had been driving 20 hours straight and came directly to the GN didn't notice the third rivered spade and went into a raising frenzy with his flopped straight vs his opponent's nut flush.

* I'm not actually sure how strict the casinos were on ensuring that there were four players to the flop for the bonus.

[Felting]

-Don't comment on the play of others, unless you are being nice in a geniune way.

How else am I going to tilt someone?

[Felting]

* I'm not actually sure how strict the casinos were on ensuring that there were four players to the flop for the bonus.

It's my understanding that they review the play of the hand via videotape prior to paying out any large bonus/jackpot.

[lwestatbus]

* I'm not actually sure how strict the casinos were on ensuring that there were four players to the flop for the bonus.

It's my understanding that they review the play of the hand via videotape prior to paying out any large bonus/jackpot.

I got two of these, though neither were large. In both cases (different casinos) the dealer called out "High hand!" and the poker room manager came over. The dealer had already started counting the deck, face down. The manager never asked how many players saw the flop and I just don't remember whether there had been four or not. The manager needed some ID (a business card worked in one case) just to record your name on a very informal hand-written log. I had to sign for the bonus which was paid in chips. They may have different procedures when you are into larger payouts. Maybe someday I'll find out. Anyway, this all went very quickly and I just don't think there was time for them to review any tapes before I was paid and the game resumed.

[Felting]

* I'm not actually sure how strict the casinos were on ensuring that there were four players to the flop for the bonus.

It's my understanding that they review the play of the hand via videotape prior to paying out any large bonus/jackpot.

I got two of these, though neither were large. In both cases (different casinos) the dealer called out "High hand!" and the poker room manager came over. The dealer had already started counting the deck, face down. The manager never asked how many players saw the flop and I just don't remember whether there had been four or not. The manager needed some ID (a business card worked in one case) just to record your name on a very informal hand-written log. I had to sign for the bonus which was paid in chips. They may have different procedures when you are into larger payouts. Maybe someday I'll find out. Anyway, this all went very quickly and I just don't think there was time for them to review any tapes before I was paid and the game resumed.

That why I said "large". Of course they are going to slow play over a small payout.