Most
people are intimidated on their first visit to a public cardroom. Knowing
what to expect and some simple rules of etiquette will help the first-time
visitor relax and have a good time.
Any cardroom with more
than a few tables will have a sign-up desk or board for the various
games being played. Usually someone will be standing here to take your
name if a seat is not immediately available. This person can explain
what games are offered, the betting limits, special house rules and
so on. This is the moment of your first decision: which game and for
what stakes?
Choosing a game is fairly
easy; you already know which game is most familiar to you. You may
be surprised to find that your favorite home games are not spread in
public cardrooms. Most will offer one or more of Texas Hold'em, Seven-Card
Stud, and Omaha Hold'em (usually hi/lo split, 8-or-better for low).
Sometimes you will find California Lowball (5-card draw for low), Seven-Card
Stud hi/lo, or Hold'em variations like Pineapple. You will rarely find
High Draw (5-card draw for hi), and will never find home game pot-builders
like Anaconda, Follow-the-Queen, 7-27 or Guts. Except for the joker
in draw poker, cardrooms never use wild cards.
Choosing a betting limit
is a bit harder. It is best to start playing at a limit so small that
the money is not important to you. After all, with all the excitement
of your first time playing poker there is no need to be worried about
losing the nest egg to a table full of sharks. Betting limits are typically
expressed as $1-$5 or $3-$6, and may be "spread-limit" or "structured-limit".
A spread-limit means one can bet or raise any amount between the two
numbers (although a raise must be at least as much as a previous bet
or raise). For example, in $1-$5 spread-limit, if one person bets $2
the next person is free to call the $2 or raise $2, $3, $4, or $5,
but cannot raise just $1. On the next round, everything is reset and
the first bettor may bet anything from $1 to $5. In structured-limit
like $3-$6 (usually recognizable by a factor of two between betting
limits), all betting and raising on early rounds is in units of $3,
and on later rounds is in units of $6. One only has a choice of *whether*
to bet or raise; the amount is fixed by the limit. One usually doesn't
have a choice between spread and structured betting at a given limit.
Keep in mind that it is quite easy to win or lose 20 "big bets" (the
large number in the limit) in an hour of play. Also, since your mind
will be occupied with the mechanics of the game while the regular players
consider strategy, you are more likely to lose than win. In other words:
choose a low limit.
If the game you want is
full, your name will go on a list and the person running the list will
call you when a seat opens up. Depending on the cardroom, you may have
trouble hearing your name called and they may be quick to pass you
over, so be alert. Once a seat is available, the list person will vaguely
direct you toward it, or toward a floorman who will show you where
to sit.
Now is the time for you
to take out your money and for the other players to look you over.
A good choice for this "buy-in" is ten to twenty big bets,
but you must buy-in for at least the posted table minimum, usually
about five big bets. Most public poker games are played "table-stakes",
which means that you can't reach into your pocket for more money during
the play of a hand. It also means that you can't be forced out of a
pot because of insufficient funds. If you run out of money during a
hand you are still in the pot (the dealer will say you are "all-in"),
but further betting is "on the side" for an additional pot
you cannot win. Between hands, you are free to buy as many chips as
you want, but are not allowed to take any chips off the table unless
you are leaving. This final rule gives opponents a chance to win back
what they have lost to you. If you bust out, you may buy back in for
at least the table minimum or leave.
Once you have told the
dealer how much money you are playing, the dealer may sell you chips
right away or call over a chip runner to do so. You may want to tell
the dealer that you are a first-time player. This is a signal to the
dealer to give a little explanation when it is your turn to act, and
to the other players to extend you a bit of courtesy when you slow
down the game. Everyone will figure it out in a few minutes anyway,
so don't be bashful.You may even ask to sit out a few hands just to
see how it all works.
There are three ways that
pots are seeded with money at the beginning of the hand. The most familiar
to the home player is the "ante", where each player tosses
a small amount into the pot for the right to be dealt a hand. The second
way, often used in conjunction with an ante, is the "forced bring-in".
For example, in seven-card stud, after everyone antes and is dealt
the first three cards, the player with the lowest upcard may be forced
to bet to get things started. The third way, often used in games without
upcards like Hold'em or Omaha, is a "forced blind bet". This
is similar to the bring-in, but is always made by the person immediately
after the player with the "button". The "button" is
a plastic disk that moves around the table and indicates which player
is acting as dealer for the hand (of course, the house dealer does
the actual dealing of cards, but does not play). A second or even third
blind may follow the first, usually of increasing size. Whichever seed
method is used, note that this initial pot, small as it is, is the
only reason to play at all. If the game has blinds, the dealer may
now ask you if you want to "post". This means, "do you
want to pay extra to see a hand now, in bad position, and then pay
the blinds, or are you willing to sit and watch for a few minutes?" Answer "no,
I'll wait" and watch the game until the dealer tells you it's
time to begin, usually after the blinds pass you.
Finally, it is your turn
to get cards and play. Your first impression will probably be how fast
the game seems to move. If you are playing stud, several upcards may
be "mucked" (folded into the discards) before you even see
them; if you are playing hold'em, it may be your turn to act before
you have looked at your cards. After a few hands you should settle
into the rhythm and be able to keep up. If you ever get confused, just
ask the dealer what is going on.
