Casino Poker Question

So I am going to turn 21 after I finish this school year and I plan on going to a Casino in Indiana to play some 1/2 NL Holdem. I was wondering if anyone had some advice on what to expect at these tables. I play a pretty tight game, I feel I play a lot better live than online but that has been with friends for the most part. My older brother told me some of his experiences but he plays in Florida where there are more senior citizens in his games and less 21-25 year olds. Also what do you guys feel about tipping dealers? I know a lot of people have different views on this but I feel after I hear some ideas I can judge for myself what I feel comfortable with. Thanks

What you definitely do not want to do is go in wearing sunglasses and a hoody, then sit there looking really serious and not talking to anybody. People will assume that it's your first time in a casino and you've been watching too many poker shows on TV!

Just try to relax, maybe talk to a couple of people that you sit next to, take it easy and try to have some fun. Ask questions if you need to, nobody will usually bite your head off, and try not to be too much of a smartarse.

I was just about to throw up a thread on this myself. I just turned 21 last week and am thinking about going to a casino sometime in the near future to see how live casino play compares to online play. I'm guessing that in person its a lot more about playing the person and less about playing the cards.

As far as tipping goes, well, while playing blackjack I tend to tip a few dollars here and there if i'm up big, but if I'm down I more or less lay off on the tips. Its always polite to throw a few dollars at the dealer, but its not absolutely necessary. Though from previous experience dealers will be a lot friendlier if you tip, and they can turn into huge....uhm...dbags if they aren't getting tipped at all. Again this is from blackjack experience as I haven't played any live poker in a casino.

If the poker tables have a 'rail' somewhere close, spend some time just watching. It's time well spent.

Keep in mind there is NO requirement to play any hand. You're talking about 1/2. Pay a couple of blinds and watch the action during the orbits. That can be money well spent when it's your first time.

You might also want to consider a 'limit' table to start (if they have them). Don't be over-anxious about making that 'get rich quick all-in' bet too quickly.

Live casino play the first time can be a little crazy but just take a deep breath and try to have some fun.

Take your time (not too much) there is NOT a 15 second time limit like online.
Play tight for awhile to see what the others are doing at the table.
On a 1/2 dollar table I usually tip the dealer a dollar for a win. A really big pot maybe 2.

Don't DRINK!

I can't really comment on tipping, as it's not allowed in the casinos that I have visited.

I do not think i will have a prob with the sunglasses and hoody, not a big fan of those to begin with. Thanks for the rest of advice on tipping. I have heard it is a great idea to let the blinds go through or watch the action before getting to involved in a table. Hopefully I'll have a good experience and play smart poker when the times comes.

Actually, I have to disagree with "looking like it's your first time playing" being a bad thing. If you can actually play, it's a great thing. Good friend of mine loves sitting down at a table and asking "is this as easy as it looks on TV". People assume you can't read anything and try to push you around early, and get hurt if you know how to push back. Secondly, standard tip is a dollar per hand (unless of course you barely won more then 5). Depending on how much you win, you can escalate the tip. Me personally, if I win more then $50 in the pot, i'll give 2, more then $100, 3-5, etc. The more you win, the bigger your tip should be. But that's me, do whatever you feel comfortable with.

Don't worry about a thing. You will be nervous the first time, everybody is. I am a poker dealer in Niagara Falls, NY and I can always tell when it is somebody's first time. I can also give you insight on tipping. The dealers work for their tips, and really do appreciate them. A buck a hand is the average with bigger tips coming on bigger pots. The tipping is really up to you, I see a wide range of generous tippers (which is highly appreciated) and also the stiffs (people who never tip). I am lucky because the room I work at has a lot of regulars and the majority of them make sure the dealer gets at least a buck for the hand.

So just have fun, play smart and give me a holler if you are ever in Niagara Falls.

Take your time, watch whats going on, generally players and the dealer are good about helping you out. If you have played only online then remember to not fold out of turn and to post your blinds.
I've played many 1/2 dollar tables in a couple of Indiana casinos. Throw raising to 3 to 4 times the blind out the window, its usually tons of limpers or the raises usually are about 15 dollars. I know it sounds crazy but believe me its basically like the micro cash games online.

Don't you get wet? How can the dealers work for their tips? Does this mean that the casinos don't pay their dealers enough money, so the dealers have to rely on tips to feed their family? I am not aware of whether tipping of dealers is allowed in the UK, but I know that the casinos I have used in the UK do not permit tipping of dealers. Surely if a dealer is "working for their tips" then it implies that they are doing more for people who tip them than they are for "the stiffs"? I'm a bit confused - help me out here...

I only get wet when there is excited action :P

As far as working for tips, this is standard in the United States. The poker room I work for pays me less than minimum wage and the tips are what are my main source of income. They really don't see tipping as a possibility for a dealer to "stack the deck" to make a good tipper win, they see it as incentive to dealer faster and more accurately, because the more hands/table dealt = more tips for the dealer and more rake for the house. I had an insane tip yesterday: Guy wins a decent $300-$400 pot in 1/2 NL $200 max, the winner is a dealer at a different casino about 3 hrs away. I know he is a good tipper and I am mentally prepared for a red bird ($5 red chip) (and of course would be very pleased with this) but he throws me 7 RED BIRDS. Thats a $35 tip from a $300-$400 pot, which is insane! I was shocked and said, "Hey man, thanks a lot, I really appreciate it!" He just nodded and said "Of course". On the contrary to that, I have shipped people $2000-$3000 pots and didn't receive a tip, so it all really evens out I guess. I love dealing though, it is a fun way to improve my game and making good money doing it.

OK, thanks for the clarification, there are also some jobs in the UK where they don't pay you enough to live on, and you need tips to survive financially. Being a waiter/waitress in a restaurant is one of the most obvious. A lot of retaurants pay cash in hand and pay less than the statutory minimum wage, even though the government have put a lot of effort in recent years into trying to stamp it out.

1. Live 200NL games are ridiculously soft. Like super crazy ridiculously soft. I'd equate them to like 5NL online games. Don't fool yourself in to thinking anyone there is any good, because they aren't, period.

2. Before you play, read the house rules. There should be a big poster (usually several) on the wall with all the rules. The action line is especially important to learn about if that particular casino uses them on their tables.

3. Spend some time watching before you sit down.

4. I tip 1 small blind for every pot I win that reaches the flop. If it's an unusually large pot, then maybe 2 or 3 big blinds. And yes, most casinos pay their dealers minimum wage or less, so most of their income comes from tips. It's just an incentive system for them to work faster. The more hands, spins, or rolls they get in an hour, the more tips they will make, and the more money the casino makes.

Is that a line on the table which, if any of your chips have gone over it, you are deemed to have put them into the pot?

Yeah some places call them a racetrack. We don't have these the poker room I work at. They create room for players to try and fake other players out. I have seen players put chips out right before the line to try and get a fold, and if they get a call they say, "THEY NEVER CROSSED THE LINE!" I prefer the non racetrack tables 100x more, for this reason.

Yes when I first played at our local casino I was quite surprised they didn't have one, as I had assumed they were standard, but as you have said some places have them and some don't.

I actually prefer the line, for this reason. Without a line, techincally speaking any chips in front of your cards would be considered "in play". Therefore depending on where you hold your cards it could get ugly. Having the line ensures nobody "accidentally" bets and allows for people to shuffle chips etc without worrying about betting.

The safest thing to do while you're learning the ropes is to simply announce your action before moving any chips forward. Say "I call" or "I raise to 10" or what have you. That way you don't have to worry about pushing forward the wrong chip denomination or moving them in the wrong way. If you mess up you'll be prompted to correct it, rather than having to abide by what happened with the chips.

Don't be afraid to ask questions. If you aren't sure what the procedure is, whether the action is on you, how much the bet is to you, etc, just ask. The only thing really taboo is to discuss a hand while others are still playing in it. For example telling the guy next to you that you folded pocket 4's when the board comes out A44 while two other players are still in the hand.

This thread helped me a lot. One of my friends who plays live all the time told me I had to learn poker table etiquette before playing live. He also told me that if you make a mistake and bet out of turn then it's a bet even if the the player before you raises then you have to match. I was a little confused about the tipping, but you cleared it up. You tip if you win, do you tip when leaving the table?

Some players will tip when they get up to leave, if they are up of course. Usually it would be the left overs that don't fit into their rack or they round to an even number and give the dealer the extra. It's just up to you and if you like the dealer, lol.

I had this one time on a 2/5NL table, it was 3 handed. The last 3 guys were done playing but they wanted to run one hand for $100 (they all threw in $100 and had me deal them face up, winner gets $300). I said I would do it for them and the one guy says, "Hey guys lets give Jordan all of our whites." Usually at a 2/5 game whites are not that common as they are only used for small blinds and each pot won throughout the night has only one in it (left over from rake). Well these guys accumulated a nice amount of whites from playing for 8-10 hrs, I got a $67 tip to run one hand face up

It varies by casino, but usually you have to at least leave you money in. Say you bet 10 thinking it was your turn. The player before you decides to raise to 20. You then have the choice of folding and forfeiting the 10 you put in, or adding another 10 to call. I've never seen a casino not allowing you to fold in that situation. What if he went all in for 200 instead? Does your friend play limit poker? That's the only case I can see this rule making sense.

In any case, this is where asking questions and not playing a lot of hands at first helps. Don't worry too much - just go have fun, play tight and work your way through the jitters.

I don't know a lot about casino poker, but I was playing in a friendly game that started up at a party poker at a friend's house. One hand I wanted to raise, but apparently I didn't say it right. I said "I call your $2.....and raise you $2". They wouldn't let me raise because I said "call" first. Seems like a technicality to me, but it wouldn't hurt to know the rules.

Yeah, they did the right thing by making you just call there. If you want to raise, say raise. Once you said "I call your $2", you called and cannot do anything other than that.