Spannerdeth
Rock Star
I usually play $2 buy ins online or £10 home cash games, so it was quite something to play £200 at a casino (£40min, £300 max). It was a bit of a shot take, but I had a night free in the city, made $350 online and really wanted to play live poker properly and see if I'd survive being stacked completely til morning. Here's the things I learned, but I'm sure some others might have other tips to add.
1. BRING PHOTO ID! It was tremendously hard to get a game in a couple of casinos because it was a requirement (that wasn't mentioned when I asked on my last visit or online, but it is what it is). I signed into the one remaining place as a guest as was lucky enough to start. Cashed out about 3,30am with a £98 profit, but it was still difficult to withdraw without ID as they run my name through the system over and over and was a drawn out process. Again, I felt like this should of been apparent before I started playing poker because if I can cash in, I should be allowed to cash out. And what's stopping me from using an alias or a different name? But I got my money eventually with a lesson. Bring photo ID next time!
2. Emphasize having fun. Whether what fun means to you means great table talk, or playing a bit loose and wild or playing your A game - you should treat your maximum buy in amount as if it was set on fire and try and enjoy the ambiance of the poker table. Play well, but don't take it so seriously for the first time. If your worried about losing all of the buy in amount completely, I'd argue you shouldn't be playing those stakes at all.
3. Play tight until you get settled. I don't think there's any shame in playing like a total rock on the first couple of hours of your first proper game. Some new people at the table buy in for the minimum and go all in with junk after half an hour, you don't want to look that person! Cultivate a table image that you're here to play properly. Take all that time folding profiling your opponents. What are their bet sizes? What are they showing down with? Will the peeps to your left defend against stealing the blinds? Once you have a gist where you feel skill-wise among the table and know who you'd rather enter pots with, and when your much less nervous and settled at the table - loosen up and get stuck in!
4. Don't drink! Or at least don't get too tipsy. This is obviously a personal preference but I didn't want alcohol to cloud my judgement or lessen my focus for what I hoped would be a long night playing poker. Whatever your comfortable with, at a home game I'm getting drunk with friends but here the stakes are much higher and you don't want to play or look like a tit. I had a pint when I couldn't get into the first couple of casinos, but went right back on the coffee when I finally got into game!
5. Check the dress code. The places I went to suggested smart-casual, but one place didn't like my steel-toecap boots.
6. Be a good sport and have good ettiquette! State your intentions in the pot clearly. Because throwing in a single chip usually means 'call', you need to clearly define it when you raise with a single chip. If a crappy dealer chucks a wonky card at someone, tell the table what card you saw for a re-deal. You'll be treated in kind when the dealer doesn't hear you say raise when you put in a single chip, but those next to you will back you up when it's contested. For the tiny amounts of equity you lose from negating these angles, you gain in respect and credibility.
7. Generosity. Tipping culture is weird in the UK, but the customer service was so good it was impossible not to tip the waitress a couple of quid. I didn't tip the dealers on my first visit, but I would next time when the dealer is doing a smashing job and joins in a little bit with the table talk because one such dealer did elevate the experience more than the others. If not tipping, I recommend joining in with some straddles later on in the night just to keep some action on the table.
I think that's about it, what do you think?
1. BRING PHOTO ID! It was tremendously hard to get a game in a couple of casinos because it was a requirement (that wasn't mentioned when I asked on my last visit or online, but it is what it is). I signed into the one remaining place as a guest as was lucky enough to start. Cashed out about 3,30am with a £98 profit, but it was still difficult to withdraw without ID as they run my name through the system over and over and was a drawn out process. Again, I felt like this should of been apparent before I started playing poker because if I can cash in, I should be allowed to cash out. And what's stopping me from using an alias or a different name? But I got my money eventually with a lesson. Bring photo ID next time!
2. Emphasize having fun. Whether what fun means to you means great table talk, or playing a bit loose and wild or playing your A game - you should treat your maximum buy in amount as if it was set on fire and try and enjoy the ambiance of the poker table. Play well, but don't take it so seriously for the first time. If your worried about losing all of the buy in amount completely, I'd argue you shouldn't be playing those stakes at all.
3. Play tight until you get settled. I don't think there's any shame in playing like a total rock on the first couple of hours of your first proper game. Some new people at the table buy in for the minimum and go all in with junk after half an hour, you don't want to look that person! Cultivate a table image that you're here to play properly. Take all that time folding profiling your opponents. What are their bet sizes? What are they showing down with? Will the peeps to your left defend against stealing the blinds? Once you have a gist where you feel skill-wise among the table and know who you'd rather enter pots with, and when your much less nervous and settled at the table - loosen up and get stuck in!
4. Don't drink! Or at least don't get too tipsy. This is obviously a personal preference but I didn't want alcohol to cloud my judgement or lessen my focus for what I hoped would be a long night playing poker. Whatever your comfortable with, at a home game I'm getting drunk with friends but here the stakes are much higher and you don't want to play or look like a tit. I had a pint when I couldn't get into the first couple of casinos, but went right back on the coffee when I finally got into game!
5. Check the dress code. The places I went to suggested smart-casual, but one place didn't like my steel-toecap boots.
6. Be a good sport and have good ettiquette! State your intentions in the pot clearly. Because throwing in a single chip usually means 'call', you need to clearly define it when you raise with a single chip. If a crappy dealer chucks a wonky card at someone, tell the table what card you saw for a re-deal. You'll be treated in kind when the dealer doesn't hear you say raise when you put in a single chip, but those next to you will back you up when it's contested. For the tiny amounts of equity you lose from negating these angles, you gain in respect and credibility.
7. Generosity. Tipping culture is weird in the UK, but the customer service was so good it was impossible not to tip the waitress a couple of quid. I didn't tip the dealers on my first visit, but I would next time when the dealer is doing a smashing job and joins in a little bit with the table talk because one such dealer did elevate the experience more than the others. If not tipping, I recommend joining in with some straddles later on in the night just to keep some action on the table.
I think that's about it, what do you think?
