Sitting at a casino Holdem table for the 1st time

[Junk Pocket]

Hi all!

I just found this site and I think it is great!

I am going to a small casino in IA in a couple weeks and I am planning on sitting in at a holdem table. So what am I to expect? Ive always only played BJ at the casinos and have never even stopped to watch a poker table. I play alot with my buddies on the weekends so I know how to play. Can I just walk up and plop my butt in a seat like BJ? Can someone walk me through what happens and what to do/not do so I dont look like a complete idiot!

Thanks all!

[ballbp]

I just got back from my first trip to a casino and it's nothing to worry about. Depending on what time you go, you will probably have to sign up on the waiting list. Once your name is called you're directed to a table and you buy in from there. The best advice I can give is while you're waiting watch one of the tables to get a feel for it. I found that everything went as I expected as far as betting. The main thing to watch is when you're raising be sure to say "raise" so it is known you're raising and not just calling. At the casino I was in, there was a circle in the middle of the table that once you put chips past that line, that is all you can put in. I saw a few people break that rule and the dealer and some players were quick to call them on it. Basically, it's no different than any other place you would play. I must admit, it does feel really good when you rake in that first pot in a real casino. After I raked in my first $50 pot with my pocket K's I was shaking. I know that's a bad tell but I couldn't help it. Good luck and let us know how it goes.

[Junk Pocket]

This is going to be great! Ill be so excited that everyone will probably read me like a book.

Whats a typical bye-in and typ. blinds?

[ballbp]

Where I played, they had tables from $4/$8 up to $40/$80. Of course the blinds are like any other place you play. Small blind is half of the small bet and big blind is the small bet. In other words, on a $4/$8 table the small blind is $2 and the big blind is $4. As far as the buy-in, most people say to sit down with at least 50 times the small bet. So on a $4/$8 table you should buy-in for at least $200.

[Saso8910]

I've played at the Isle of Capri in the Quad cities. I noticed a few things there that you may want to becareful of. I have been playing for about 5 years and you get accustomed to "regular" players. But this place was the worst. Hopefully, you are going to be playing a low limit game (3/6 or 5/10) but what you have to understand in lower limit games is that bluffing doesnt work! Your A/K will get beat more regularly than a no limit game and remember that you are not at a final table of a 100k tourney (most players who play tourneys do not play money games- at least they don't play low limit money games) I sat down at this lower limit game and got stuck with all these 20/40 players who were waiting for their regular 10pm game- they raised ever chance the had and laughed about it like the game was beneath them! I have always said that if you can afford a higher limit game (10/20) then play it tight and only play premium hands- if you don't have a monster flop or 15+ outs to make a great hand then be very careful.

Its a lot of fun in a casino- but when I began playing a I was 22 years old and I was the kid by at least 10 years. Now I'm 27 and I seem to be the elder! Experience in a casino will make you money- not home games for 100 bucks.

If you cannot afford a higher limit game- thats ok. If you sit down at a 3/6 or 5/10 you will find that everybody calls your bets (that can be good or bad). A couple of hints on poor player bluffing are:
1) If the flop has 3 cards of the same suit, watch the players who check to see if the have at least 1 of their 2 hole cards being the same suit. Chances are if they need to look, they didn't flop a flush (they would have remembered that) Also, look for players who immediatly look at their chips and not their cards- that usually means that they flopped a flush and wants to know how much money they have to raise with.
2) If a player looks away (to their side) that usually means that they have an outstanding hand. (Mike Caro says that its due to the fight or flight theory. They know they don't need to fight you since they feel their hand is unbeatable, so they act as if they don't care about the cards on the table)
3) Look at the people at the table- its said that a player plays like they look. If you see a person slouched back and their chips perfectly stacked in order = that usually means they wait for good hands and have patience, they are orderly. If a player looks like crap, and is leaned forward anticipating the next card, with chips all over the place(not stacked)= you want to call this person more since they play recklously and feel that they need to win soon.

One other thing that may help you out a little. Lets say you have an open-ended straight draw or 4 cards to a flush. You are last in action (last to bet)- Just about everyone checked but you noticed the guy to your right is pondering to bet or not and has chips in hand. You don't want to pay to see the next card, but you don't want to fold if someone bets. You want a free card! So, when its the guy to your rights turn to bet- Immediatly grab enough chips as if you are going to raise him/her! This person will then think twice in betting if they think you are going to raise him/her. The person will likely check, then you will check to see the free card! Becareful, this will only work once or twice until the table catches on to you, so make try it out when theres a big pot only! Good Luck and have fun in Iowa! --SASO

[Junk Pocket]

Holy crap Im going to get so screwed if the people there are anything like you LOL! Im 27 as well, later blumer. Im going to go to have fun and thanks a bunch for the advise.

What are typical bye in amounts at the casino?

[mindgame]

Here's a good rule of thumb.

Buy in for 50 times the smallest bet ($250 in a 5/10 game).
Once you've lost 40 times the bet, you are DONE. Period. Go read a book. The other $50 bucks is if you are down, say, 190 bucks. You don't want to be sitting there, waiting for the hand of your dreams and have no money to play it with. THAT is the single biggest mistake I see--and I even see very, very experienced players do that. It tells me that they do not trust their own self discipline enough to get up and go home when they've exceeded their limit.

Oh...single biggest tell by casino newbies:

They peak at their hand 3, 4, 5 times during play. Suddenly they aren't peaking. I KNOW they have a pair. That mean if they raise I must beat trips or get out. VERY useful information.

Now think about how you can screw people up with that.....possiblilities are quite intriguing. Use it.

[Saso8910]

Mindgame knows what he's talking about- but in your case I would disagree with some of his suggestions. Sorry Mindgame. If you are still interested in playing Junk Pocket- after I unintentionally scared the hell out of you-LOL. I do not suggest buying in for as much as mindgame suggests. Especially at the Isle of Capri. Having a large stack of chips and being able to call a lot of raises is important to intermediate and seasoned players. If you are new- and you do sit at a 5/10 table (hopefully you can find a 3/6 game) do not buy-in for anything over $100! You are not a JACKHAMMER! (jackhammer is a player who has so much money - they can afford to raise on anything to scare other players)

A lot of player do this at your level. That is, buy-in for $100 and play. Some new players get frustrated when they loose, so they try to win by chasing cards- I'm not saying that you will do that, but why put yourself to the test? So, buy in for a bill, and if you loose it all - then do so. If you want to keep on playing, take out a couple of $20's, or so, and buy back through the dealer. A lot of players do this and it's a great way to learn the fundamentals of money management. I love saying this- but when people say, "I won $500 last night." Does that really mean he/she won $500??? Usually, what that really means is that they bought in for $200 and left with $500. They didn't win $500, only $300! Don't be one of those players! Be a money management player!

DO NOT GET MAD AT YOURSELF if you call a bet by move all-in with the rest of your $100 and then end up winning. You, the dealer, the cards, and other players had nothing to do with you loosing and had nothing to do with you winning that specific hand! Trust me man! If you sit down with a couple of hundred at a 5/10 and players pick up on you being new- you might as well hand your money over to them and go home early!

Don't be intimidated! We all had to learn and have to keep on learning to beat this game. Have Fun and Good Luck!
-SASO

[mindgame]

Wow, this could be an interesting debate.

I'm not sure why you'd advise going in for less than the 200/250 (in, say, $5/10). I see a guy do that (playing shorstacked) and I'm going to attack him. More than one writer advises doing exactly that because it WORKS. I think at the most BASIC level it betrays lack of confidence.

Well, lack of confidence = weakness = opportunity to be exploited by people like me. Are you trying to feed this minnow to the sharks? Not that I'm a shark....just a little bigger fish...but I am sure out there to be sinking my teeth into the smaller ones (Krieger: "Go after the weak players...that's what they're there for..." etc.)

Touche.
(That's supposed to be the fencing term, don't know how to put the accent on it, sorry)

[JohnnyCache]

I do . . .press and hold alt, while holding it type 0233 é . . . incidentally, you can use this method to conjure quite a few weird little things as well as any normal character, just experiment with different #s for the other forigen marks. . . ê,ë,ì,í, etc. . .

I think saso is saying what he's saying because you usually get cleaned out the *first* time you sit down . . .

[cayouche]

That's extremely good advice you have there Junk Pocket.

As for the starting money, I'm between mindgame and Saso8910 on this one. Say for the 5/10 table. If you start with $100 and get involved in a hand with a few calls and raises, and you lose, you're out of the game already.
With $100, you can only afford to lose once, maybe twice. However, with $150-175, it gives you a little more room to breathe. Sure, I wouldn't go with $250-300+, because if I can't win a hand with $150-175 when I play safe, then it's not my night. Again, for less experienced players, more money means they can call more and this is a big no-no.

I'll give you one tip, if/when you win a decent pot, of course you'll be more comfortable chip-wise, but don't start to play any looser because you'll lose that money as fast as you won it. Play tight, and keep playing tight. That's the only other advice I can give you.

I hope you kick a$$ out there.

I think saso is saying what he's saying because you usually get cleaned out the *first* time you sit down . . .

For me, it was the exact opposite. First time, I kicked a$$. Second time, I got cleaned so bad... because I was too confident, I made so many obvious mistakes. Third time, I did better... and so on...

Books can teach you how to play poker... but only experience can teach you how to play at casinos.

[Saso8910]

I just don't want him to loose his bankroll in an hour on the his first visit to a live game. You never know, he may not like the atmosphere and this way he at least has an option. You know as well as I do, it's only easy leaving a table when your either way ahead or dead broke. Plus- He never did disclose what casino he was going to, but- the only smaller casino/poker room that I know in Iowa is the Isle of Capri- and I had a bad experience there with players.

Being a player as I, we all have our own opinions and I wish I had these poker forums prior to my first visit to a casino poker room. My ass got cleaned out in about an hour at a 1-5 stud game!!!-- and I bought in for $100. LOL, looking back, I have no idea how I lost that money in such a low limit game- I must have called everything. -SASO

[mindgame]

I, too, wish I could have found a forum like this when I first plunked my toe in the riverboat water--my dough might have not gone kerplunk! quite so dramatically.

After further review, I'll shift my position. A regular $5/10 player should walk in with about $500. That shouldn't be more than 1/3 of his poker stake. He buys in for $200, 250...and if he loses it he does an honest assessment of his game and the players. Maybe he rebuys, maybe not--most days I'd question my own ability to be a dispassionate observer and I'd head for the car.

But the neophyte...that IS a different story. Probably $150-175 is about right. You lose $140 and you're done. You should be playing supertight, only loosening up around the button, stay in Sklansky's top 5 groups, don't chase with pocket pairs unless you flop the set. Don't slowplay, be staightforward and agressive.

MOSTLY you are there to WATCH. You probably are NOT the fish, even though you will feel like it. Don't try any tricky moves--your stack isn't deep enough. OH...and go on Saturday morning about 4 or 5 am--no kidding--make this as easy as possible.

But if you think you are just there to have fun, go ahead and kiss that money goodbye. Let everyone else be there for the fun. Go in there for the money. Define fun as leaving with more than you came in.

[jwrussell]

After I raked in my first $50 pot with my pocket K's I was shaking. I know that's a bad tell but I couldn't help it.

Don't worry about it! I've never been to a "Casino", but I play at a local poker room at the Horse Track nearby. I STILL shake everytime I rake the first pot!

[JohnnyCache]

I just laugh. I mean really laugh at loud in a why that probably isn't appreciated, but it's not at the other players . . . winning just feels so damn good!