If you have never been to a casino or public poker room before, your first trip can be filled with excitement, anticipation, and exhilaration. It may also cause you a little fear and apprehension. This article gives you a few pointers and some information about how things work in most casinos and public poker rooms. Let's get started with a major part of any casino experience -- the staff.

One of the most important things to remember is that the staff of a casino or poker room is there to make your visit as comfortable as possible because they want you to come back. If you can't find the card room or if you have any questions at all, don't hesitate to ask a staff member.

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The dealer is also part of the staff. If 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 sure you aren't doing anything incorrectly. You may be amazed at how helpful and useful someone can be when you show them a little respect and ask for their help. Many times, especially at the lower-limit tables, other players are also helpful.

Also, most poker rooms have a place to sign a waiting list for a particular game. Some have a white board with the games and limits available along with the waiting players' initials. Others will just have someone who writes initials or names on a sheet of paper. The card room calls the next person on the list when a seat becomes available. Simply ask whoever is in charge of the board -- or a staff member -- to place you on the list for all of the games you are willing to play. If you are in a small poker room with no visible sign-up area, ask a dealer how to enter a game.

Well, now that you've found your table and you're ready to play, here are some general tips for casino poker:

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• Wait for the big blind (The big blind is the largest forced bet at the beginning of a game designed to stimulate betting. The player who has to contribute the big blind rotates one position to the left after each game.) to get to you before playing. Use this time to watch your opponents, and get a feel for the way they are playing. It's amazing how much some players reveal if you just pay attention.
• Most players tip the dealer when they win a pot. This is not required, but if the dealer is doing a competent job, you should tip. Dealers are like waitstaff in that they make most of their money from tips. A sample plan would be to tip the dealer .50 on average size pots and possibly $1.00 on larger pots if the dealer is doing a good job. Also, you can watch what the other players are tipping to get an idea. Remember though that every dollar that goes to the dealer is reducing your winnings. You should be able to come to a happy medium with experience.
• Act when it's your turn. Never act before your turn. This is very poor etiquette and can change the outcome of a hand. The other players will understandably get upset with you.
• Make sure your cards are in plain sight.
• It is a good idea to place a chip on them to show that they are still live and protect them because the dealer won't take them when the chip is on them. If you leave your cards unprotected, the dealer might muck them (mix with discards) by mistake, and there is no way you can retrieve them. Most players keep their hand on their cards.
• When you win a pot (the total amount of money bet in a single game), don't reach for it. Let the dealer push the pot to you. Do not surrender your cards until the pot has been awarded to you on a winning hand.
• If you aren't sure whether you have the best hand at the end of a round, turn your cards face up, and let the dealer read the hands. If the dealer makes a mistake, it can often be corrected. If you throw your hand into the discard pile (often called the 'muck'), you are not eligible for any of the pot even if you made a mistake and had the best hand.
• Don't throw your chips into the pot (called 'splashing' the pot). Place all bets in front of you, and let the dealer pull them into the pot.

For more information on playing poker and other casino games, try the following links:

• To see all of our articles on poker rules and advice, go to our main article on How To Play Poker.
• Learn How to Play Texas Hold 'Em Poker, and you'll be ready for the most common poker game.
• If you think you're good enough, you might want to test your skills in a high-pressure situation. Be sure you know How to Play Poker in a Tournament before you ante up.
• As long as you're in the casino, you might as well drop a few bucks on some other games. Keep these Casino Gambling Basics handy.

In addition to the variety of poker games and betting variations there are also different game formats and it’s important that you understand the differences. The two main formats of playing poker are cash games and tournament play.

Here are the main differences between cash games and poker tournament play:

• Cash games are played on one table. Tournaments can be played on one table but can also consist of multiple tables.
• In cash games players exchange money for chips, and there is usually a minimum and maximum buy-in amount, depending on the stakes. In tournaments, players buy-in for the same amount and are all usually given the same amount of tournament chips.
• A player has the option to quit a cash game at anytime, and can then exchange any chips for cold, hard, cash. Tournaments end when there is one winner who has all the chips. Players are paid based on where they finished in the tournament.
• In cash games the blinds stay the same for each hand, depending on the stakes (e.g. $1/$2). In tournaments the cost of the blinds escalates (e.g. increase every 15 mins).
• If you lose your chips/money in a cash game then you may buy-in again and continue playing. If you lose all your chips in a tournament, you’re done and are out of the game.

Clearly there are some fundamental differences between cash games and tournament poker. Let’s take a look at each format in a bit more detail, starting with cash games.

Cash Games

This is the format where most players are first introduced to poker, many times played around the kitchen table. As the name implies it is played for cash not matchsticks, coupons, or any other medium other than cold, hard cash. This type game is played regularly all around the world in homes, clubs, lodges, casinos, cardrooms and on the internet.

Depending upon the stakes of the game there is normally a minimum buy in to get started. Many times in no limit play there is also a maximum buy in as well. This is actually a form of protection for the players. No-limit or pot-limit cash games generally require a buy-in of 20 to 100 big blinds. Therefore in a no-limit game with blinds of $1/$2, you can generally buy-in from as little as $40, but a standard buy-in would be $200.

Fixed limit tables usually require at least 10 times the small bet. Therefore a $2/$4 game would therefore have a minimum buy-in of $20. The buy-in amounts will vary from venue to venue – as will the stakes.

There are real money cash games to suit all budgets, particularly if you play online. In online poker the stakes are nearly always grouped into different levels such as micro stakes, low stakes, medium stakes, and high stakes. Here are typical groups you might expect to find at an online poker room:

No-Limit hold’em:

• Micro ($0.01/$0.02 to $0.05/$0.10)
• Low ($0.10/$0.25 to $0.50/$1.00)
• Medium ($1/$2 to $4/$8)
• High ($5/$10 +)

Fixed-limit hold’em:

• Micro ($0.01/$0.02 to $0.25/$0.50)
• Low ($0.50/$1.00 to $3/$6)
• Medium ($5/$10 to $10/$20)
• High ($15/$30 +)

This is just a fuzzy guide to illustrate the range of stakes available when you play online – there’s literally something for everyone. When you play live, such as in a casino, it’s highly unlikely you’ll find stakes as low as the ones listed here. In most casinos the lowest stakes are usually $1/$2 for no-limit and $2/$4 for fixed-limit – although you might find lower stake games in some venues, and in home games people often play for pennies.

Full Ring vs. 6-Max Cash Games

Cash games are often called “ring games” and a table that seats 9 or 10 players is known as a “full ring” game. With the advent of online poker short-handed play has become very popular. Short-handed means the tables are usually limited to a maximum of six players. As such, short-handed cash games are normally referred to as “6-max”. These games have developed a large fan base because they are action packed. Players get to play more hands than in a full game and play their hands more aggressively. This is due primarily to the fact that strategically one cannot just sit back and wait for premium cards as the blinds come around much more quickly.

Even though the size of the table is the only difference between the two formats, they play very differently. These differences are highlighted in our separate poker lesson on full-ring vs. 6-max cash games, but as a beginner you’re much better off starting out by playing full ring games before trying your hand at the more aggressive 6-max games.

Tournament Poker

In a standard tournament format all players enter for the same amount of money which also carries a fee which the entity running the tournament keeps. As an example, “Casino Pokerology” might offer a no limit hold’em tournament that has a $50 entry cost plus a $5 fee to play. Once you post the $55, $50 of which goes into the prize pool and the other $5 is the fee to run the tournament, you may get $2,000 in non negotiable tournament chips. The blinds might start at $10 and $20 and escalate every twenty minutes. The continual escalation of the blinds forces the players to “gamble” more versus just playing conservatively and waiting for premium cards. This format is how the attrition of players whittles the number of starting players down to the eventual winners.

The number of winners is normally dependent on the number of starting players but typically in a tournament with a $50 entry fee, if there were 100 starting players providing a prize pool of $5,000 it may pay the last nine or ten players at the final table. First place might be in the neighbourhood of 30 to 50 percent of the total prize pool, with less for second, third, forth, and so on. This example is meant to demonstrate how a tournament can work, not to state as fact how they all work. The number of your starting chips, beginning blind levels, the length of time at each blind level and the prize pool distribution is at the discretion of the tournament organizer and can vary significantly. Always make sure you understand just what is being offered for your tournament dollar.

Remember that the values of the chips used in a tournament are only relevant to the tournament itself. You may have the more chips than anyone else after an hour, but you can’t walk away and exchange the chips for real money. The chips only related to your position in the tournament, and to get paid you must finish in the positions that get paid. For example, if a tournament plays the top 10 players out of 100, then you’ll get nothing for finishing 11th-100th. You might have the most chips with 50 players left, but it doesn’t count for anything unless you make the top 10.

In addition to the standard tournament format explained above wherein for one cost you’re in it and several players, such as ten, share in the prize pool there are a few other ways tournaments can work. We’ll highlight several formats.

Freeze Outs

A freeze out refers to any tournament format in which you cannot rebuy or add to your chip stack – aside from winning pots. The cost of entry and the amount of starting chips is set in advance as explained above. If you lose all your chips, you’re out. Freeze outs are the antithesis of rebuy tournaments, which are explained next.

Rebuy Tournaments

Under the list of how tournaments are different from cash games the first difference listed was – if you lose all of your chips, you’re done and are out of the tournament. Well, not so in a rebuy tournament. This tournament format allows you to buy-in again if you lose all your chips. Depending on the format, you may be able to rebuy as many times as you wish, normally within a predetermined time limit, such as an hour or two. Many of these tournaments also offer what is termed an “add-on” which is just the ability to purchase additional chips, until a certain point such as before the first break. This format changes much of the normal strategy of tournament play as the participants are not as fearful of being busted out since they can rebuy. These players play significantly looser until the rebuy period expires. Once the rebuy period is over the tournament becomes a freeze out with no further chips added to play.

Satellites

Using our WSOP reference once again, a one table satellite tournament to qualify for the $10,000 buy-in championship would require each of the ten players to post $1,000 (don’t forget the fee of $100) with the winner gaining free entry into the World Championship. “Free entry” actually means he would have put up $1,100, won $9,000, and gained a seat into the tournament for a total cost of $1,100.

Satellites offer a potentially cheap way of gaining entry into high buy-in tournaments. There are also satellites which win you a seat into another satellite, and so on. There are some that start with a free entry (referred to as “freerolls”), or just a couple of dollars. If you play online poker you will notice complete sections for satellite tournaments, for all sorts of events, such as the WSOP, WPT, and other special events and high buy-in tournaments.

Sit & Go Tournaments

This type of tournament was started by the online poker sites but has now spread into the bricks and mortar cardrooms. They are played both one table as well as multiple tables. The name comes from the fact that to sign up all you need do is sit down. When the players in the tournament have all sat down – it “goes”. As an example, you enter an online poker site and select a one table sit & go (SnG), pay your entry fee, sit down and wait. The tournament starts when the last player who will complete the table sits down. These type of tournaments on the internet have become extremely popular, so much so that sometimes you need to be very “quick to click” in order to get in before the table fills up. One table sit & goes normally pay the top three finishers.

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Conclusion

There are many forms this intriguing game of poker can take. Some people prefer the challenge of playing cash games, and others prefer the buzz of playing in poker tournaments. It really comes down to personal preference, so you should decide for yourself if you prefer cash games or poker tournaments.

Each format has it’s own unique strategies and we’ll cover these in much more detail in the poker lessons throughout the site. Many of the poker lessons on Pokerology are applicable to both formats but we also have separate lessons devoted to cash games and tournament strategies. By following all the lessons here on Pokerology you should become skilled in both disciplines.

By Tom 'TIME' Leonard

Tom has been writing about poker since 1994 and has played across the USA for over 40 years, playing every game in almost every card room in Atlantic City, California and Las Vegas.

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