Beginning in Poker

[Faramund]

Not sure if this is posted in the right spot, apologies if it Isn't! So I have an interest in poker, i enjoy playing it socially with friends and even watching it occasionally on TV when i can, but I've never played it at a venue competitively. There are reasonably small tournaments in my town, which from what i understand are satellites to regional and bigger ones. My questions are how much do you think players at the tables are willing to accept new players who might not fully understand all the rules? How could i get better before i went to one of these tournaments? The buy ins are like $10 up to around $50 locally so i mean i get that it is still very amateur but i don't want to go and be an annoyance or look stupid in front of the strangers. Any advice or tips are much appreciated. How did you start playing? and when did you feel confident to go to public tournaments? Thanks

[Bart(UK)]

Hi Faramund, It's always a little daunting to play live for the first time, but try to relax and not worry about it, everyone sat at the table has been in the same position once so the vast majority will understand. Most will allow you a little flexibility whilst you get used to handling chip stacks, sizing out bets etc, and some will genuinely try to help especially at the lower buyins. You might encounter the odd person that doesn't like being "slowed down" by someone who's fairly new to the live environment, but that is their problem and not yours. Best piece of advice I can give is to pop down to your local casino during a quiet time (or ring ahead of going down) and ask the card room if it is possible 1 of the card dealers can spend a few minutes going through the basics with you. Most casinos will be more than happy to help players starting out. They can explain and show you 1 to 1 where to place chips, how to make a raise/call/fold, what to say and what not to say during a hand. There are quite a few rules or rather table etiquette that need to be obeyed, most are available via an internet search, but will post a couple of the main ones below to get you started. Again don't worry, you will soon pick these up and they become 2nd nature without thinking too much about them.

• Always keep all table chips on the table and in full sight at all times, you must never remove any chips from the table except when asked to move tables by the tournament director. They will provide a see-through box or container in which you can take your chips across to the new table, you must use only this and not your pockets or hands to carry chips.
• As a general rule you are not allowed to talk about a hand in progress. There are some exceptions when still involved yourself, but it's always best to start out avoiding the topic altogether. You can chat to other players about anything unrelated, the weather, sports, tv etc.
• Verbal declarations are always binding, so be careful using words such as "call", "all-in", "fold", "raise", and try to avoid any combination of their use such as "i think i have to call" as this may be misheard by the dealer. It is often useful when starting out to always verbally declare your intention first, then put the relevent chips into the middle. This avoids any mis-handling of chips or mis-reading the value of a certain colour of chip.
• The dealer is your friend. If you mishear something, not sure how much has been raised or whether another player is all-in, it is ok to ask the dealer for confirmation. Always ask the dealer though and not another player.
• Try to keep concentration on what is happening on the table at all times. Be aware when it is your turn to act and obviously don't act before it is your turn. Always know how many players are still involved in the hand, where the button is and how much the current bet is.
• "1-chip rule". Placing a single chip in the middle without any verbal clarification is treated as a call.
• If you are intending on raising with a single chip, just state "raise to 500" or whatever first, then place the chip.
• Stay in your seat until you have folded a hand. Looking at your cards and then walking away from the table is deemed to be a "fold out of turn", i.e. you are giving away information (your intention to fold) to the table before your turn.
• When placing a bet, place all of the relevent chips in a single motion, throw or better still push out the chips at exactly the same time. To understand why, search "string betting", it will explain why you cannot just keep adding chips to a pot 1 after the other.
• "no collusion". As with online poker, you must always just play your own hand and not collude with any other player.
• If after a hand is finished you show your cards to 1 player, you must show the whole table. If you forget, the dealer will flip them face up for you.
• Keep any large denomination chips out at the front of any chip stack so everyone is aware you have them.

There are many others, but don't want to confuse or put you off, as a general rule just be clear in every action you intend and communicate it clearly to the table and if unsure on anything, just ask. Playing live is a great experience and after your first couple of times everything becomes clear very quickly, you will relax and enjoy your time at the table. You're doing everything right by starting off small and building up or satelliting into bigger events as/when you can. Let us know how you get on and remember have fun :ok

[Bart(UK)]

And apologies if you are already aware of these, never hurts to restate them to help anyone else that is reading but not as experienced with poker yet as you are.

[Faramund]

Hi Bart, thanks heaps for the reply, very useful stuff! Hopefully i should have most of the basics of poker handled, but i am worried about more complex things like straddles that i wont react to properly. Are there any common changes from basic play that i should try to make myself aware of?

[Bart(UK)]

Hey no problem, good place to ask, we have a lot of experienced guys & girls around here who will always be happy to help you with anything you'd like to know. As far as I know straddles tend to be something used only on cash tables, it's a forced or voluntary bet from UTG before the cards are dealt. It increases the size of the pot before any cards are dealt and therefore encourages more play. Think all players have to agree to it, or you can just voluntarily do it occasionally yourself. Each casino may have slightly different rules on these though so best to check locally. Straddles don't really occur in tournament play. In theory I don't think there is anything stopping a player (under the gun only) from making a blind bet before cards are dealt, but it is a very unwise move strategy wise where tables often break and chipstacks get moved from your table. Can't think of any non-standard or unusual plays made specifically in a live event, anyone know of anything? Main difference from online poker is that you have to handle chips, decide on the bet sizing, be aware whats happening on the table at all times yourself manually, rather than it all being prompted for you by the online software. The dealer will help prompt you if it's your turn, usually by looking at you or tapping the table in front of you. A quick word on pot sizes, you can't ask the dealer to count the size of the pot, but you can ask them to "spread the pot" to make it easier for you to estimate how much is in there. It's a good idea to get into the habit of remembering betsizes and number of players involved on each street. This together with the blinds & antes posted will give you a good idea of the pot size enabling calculations to be made.