First Time Playing Poker At A Casino

Every so often I think back to the first time I anted up at the felt, for real, in a Las Vegas casino. Growing up in Los Angeles, my parents used to take the family to Vegas about 5–6 times a year. They had promised me that they’d take me to gamble along with them for my 21st birthday. Though that didn’t end up panning out, I was able to make my first visit to Vegas as a legal adult back in 2004, when I was 23 years old. In the immediate wake of the prior year’s Moneymaker poker boom, I was determined to “follow in his footsteps” as it were, and play poker at Binion’s Horseshoe, the then-home of the World Series of Poker.

But before heading off to the “big stage”, I felt the need to “test out the waters”, so I headed over to the Excalibur poker room, of all random places. This was back when Excalibur had a poker room, and it was stocked full of real tables, not the electronic PokerTek tables. Like I said, this was WAY back when in the wake of the burgeoning poker boom every Las Vegas casino wanted a slice of the action.

Sometimes, Even the Best Laid Plans…

Upon entering the room I noticed that a free poker lesson was about to begin, after which a real cash game would commence among the participants. With a grand total of about 1.5 years of sporadic home game experience under my belt at the time, I figured that I could bide my time sitting through the lesson for half an hour and pretend not to understand the game at all, ask stupid questions, etc. Then, when the cash game would start, I planned on “flipping the switch” and taking everyone’s money. I remember feeling absolutely 100% confident that my scheme would work.

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As an aside, I remember feeling exactly the same way, 100% confident that I’d win the first time I pulled a slot machine lever, because I’d read a couple books on how to “beat the casino”. Naturally, I was completely wrong about the slots, losing my $20 roll of quarters at Wheel of Fortune (this was before Ticket In/Ticket our technology really took hold).

Anyhow, as you probably guessed, I was totally off regarding my “post-lesson plans” for the poker table as well. I got wiped clean of my initial $50 buy-in in just under an hour.

Reexamining My First Vegas Casino Poker Session in Retrospect

How to play poker at a casino for the first timeIf you are sitting down at a poker game in a casino or card room for the first time, tell the dealer that it is your first time and ask them to please keep an eye on you to make how to play poker at a casino for the first time sure you aren't doing anything incorrectly. If you’re new to playing poker in the casino, the best game to start with is Texas holdem because that’s where most of the action is. Your goal is to win the pot, either by getting all the other players to fold, or by making the best 5 card hand at the showdown. In Texas holdem, you only get 2 cards for yourself.

Looking back, it’s likely that half of the other people sitting through that free poker lesson had the same “brilliant idea” as I had and were far more skilled and experienced than I was. I might of course be exaggerating, but it’s possible that many of them were even locals who woke up each morning licking their chops at how they were going to suck dry the bankrolls of unsuspecting recreational players taking poker vacations like me.

Of course, nearly a decade later, I realize how silly and absurd my “plan” was. But you’ve got to remember, this was 2004, an eternity ago as far as poker is concerned. “Know-it-alls” like me saw poker on TV and thought it was easy; fish were a dime a dozen, and practically nobody sitting around the felt in those days had done any sort of serious studying of the game.

My, what anyone playing the game today, even recreationally, would give to be transported back in time to those golden years of the poker boom, but armed with a decade of poker knowledge and experience… It’s practically a shoe-in that even if you wouldn’t make it as a star, you could at the very least grind out a pretty darn nice bankroll in a relatively short amount of time.

Oh well…

All these years later, it’s fun to laugh at myself when reminiscing about my first live poker session in Vegas. At least I sustained just a $50 loss. Plus I got a really quick, painful lesson in humility that I’ll never forget.

Oh, and as for my poker session at the Horseshoe, that’s a story that’ll have to wait for another time…

Did you experience something similar in your first foray into a Las Vegas poker room? Share your memories with us in the comments section below or on our Facebook page.

1. Don't worry about looking inexperienced

Everyone has to start some time. There's no shame in being new. The good players know this and will be accepting and forgiving of any mistakes you make. It's only the jerks who will be rude or condescending. Pay them no mind. If they were really any good, they would welcome with warm and open arms any inexperienced player.

2. Look at your cards deftly

Home game players often pick up their cards, pull them back from the table, or even put them on their lap. Public poker rooms are much more concerned about cheaters and so require players to follow certain rules when handling cards. You may not hold your cards below the table. You are discouraged from picking them up above the table. You are encouraged to shield them from other players (though you alone are responsible for protecting your cards from the prying eyes of your opponent).

Accordingly, you should adopt a standard, simple, and effective way of bending up the cards so you can see them, without exposing them to others. You can practice this at home. I find that you can simply use your right hand to bend up the left corner of the cards for you to view while using the left hand to keep the exposed corner out of the line of sight of your opponents. It should only take you a few minutes of sitting at a table with a deck of cards to master this technique.

3. Make sure to act in turn

Acting in turn is easy if you make sure to follow the action. You don't want to act before it is your turn to do so. Similarly, it is really annoying to others if you don't act when it is your turn to do so. Avoid having to say, 'Is it to me?' or 'My turn?' The action moves clockwise, one person at a time. It's an easy concept to understand. Act in turn!

4. Don't needlessly delay the action

When it is your turn, act quickly. If you have a tough decision to make, by all means take the time you need to decide. But don't turn every hand into a major, time-consuming ponder. Avoid daydreaming, engaging in conversation, and playing a game or talking on your phone unless you are out of a hand. While you are in a hand your attention and focus must be on the game.

5. Don't anticipate the action and broadcast what you will do before it is your turn

Two actions fall into this category. Don't grab or count out the chips you expect to be betting until it is your turn to act. And don't hold your cards in such a way as to indicate you are going to fold. Doing these things gives other attentive players an advantage to know what you are going to do before they act.

6. Make your bet (or raise) in one motion

It's against public poker room rules to make what is known as a 'string bet' or bet in two or more motions. You must make your bet or raise in a single motion. When you see poker players in the movies say 'I bet $200' and put out $200, and then dramatically add 'and I raise you another $300' and put out $300, that's a string bet — and that's not allowed when you play in poker rooms.

Accordingly, before making any betting motion, think about exactly how much you want to wager — the total amount. Then say what you are doing before you act. If you make that verbal announcement first, you then are allowed to go back and forth to your stack to put out the bet you have announced. For example, if there is a $10 bet to you and you want to raise to $30, do not put out $10 and then go back to your stack for another $20. Say, 'I raise to $30' and then make your bet.

7. Don't take chips off the table

This is called 'ratholing' and is generally forbidden in casino play. When you win money it must stay on the table. The only time you may take chips off the table is at the end of your session.

8. Ask questions of the dealer, but ideally not during the play of a hand

No one is expecting you to be an expert. You will have questions about the policies and procedures of the poker room that will pop into your head while you play. Resist the urge to ask the dealer these questions while you are in the middle of the hand. Wait until the hand is over, then ask.

Alternately, you could go up to the floorperson, the brush, or the poker room manager and ask any of them. Keep in mind that it is distracting even for the best dealers to try to carry on a conversation during the play of the hand, so avoid it if you can.

9. Post your small or big blind punctually and without having to be prompted

This falls under the category of not delaying the action, but it merits a separate mention. Hold'em and Omaha are played with blinds. These are forced bets that are supposed to be placed before the cards are dealt. Avoid holding up the game by not posting your blinds when it is your turn to do so.

Poker Games At Casinos

10. One person to a hand

No one but you should be looking at your cards or making decisions about your betting action. You may have a friend sitting with you or even a cluster of friends standing by to cheer you on in your poker playing session. Do not share your hand with them or discuss your betting action with them during the play of the hand.

11. Resist the urge to celebrate your win

Don't draw attention to your good fortune by celebrating or even talking about a hand you just won. It's annoying to the player who just lost the hand. Take the pot, stack your chips, and then move on to the next hand.

12. Don't 'slow roll' your winning hand

Again, the movies are partly to blame for this one. In your home game it might be acceptable for the winner to dramatically turn over his or her cards slowly, drawing out the suspense before the big reveal. But in a public poker room, such 'slow rolling' is boorish behavior that you should absolute avoid.

When you're called, turn over your cards right away — win or lose. If you call your opponent's final bet, turn over your cards right after your opponent does. Show your winning hand without unduly drawing attention to the moment.

Playing Poker At Casino

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These 12 suggestions will not turn you into a winning player. But they will help you avoid embarrassment or annoying other players while you are learning the basics of how to take their money.

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Ashley Adams has been playing poker for 50 years and writing about it since 2000. He is the author of hundreds of poker articles as well as Winning 7-Card Stud and the brand new Winning Poker in 30 Minutes A Day. He is also the host of poker radio show House of Cards. See www.houseofcardsradio.com for broadcast times, stations, and podcasts.

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