Your First Visit to a Casino Cardroom

Before you even enter a casino for the first time, there are a few things you should know. If I were you I would bring a jacket. I can't tell you how many times I have been at a table and froze to death because my seat was under the air vent. The funny thing is, the temperature outside was a blazing 101 degrees and here I was freezing. I always bring a jacket because of that reason and it has saved me countless times.

One other thing to know before you enter a casino to play cards is that you should be planning to be there at least four hours. If you can only play for an hour or two, you should wait until you have more time to stay at the table.

Once inside the casino, find the card room and then find the host or hostess of the room. They can usually be found at a desk with either a dry erase board or a flat screen TV showing players waiting to play. Give them your name and what variation of poker you would like to play. A helpful hint to you is that if you know how to play Omaha hi-lo and you want to sit down and play as soon as possible, then put your name under the Omaha game. You will be in immediately or within a few minutes versus waiting a half hour to two hours for a seat. You can always play Omaha while you're waiting for a hold'em table.

Once you're at the hold'em table, you need to do a survey of the players. Beware of any player that is handicapped and uses hand crutches or a wheelchair. They always play tight and will check raise you with vengeance. I guess they have more patience and will wait for the right cards.

Also beware of the older women with lots of rings on their fingers. They are usually quiet and have a decent stack of chips in front of them. They are weird and I can always find one in every card room I go to. If you ever go up against one of them, they will more than likely win since they don't get into a pot without a strong hand.

Watch the other players and make sure you watch them even if you're not in the hand. Be mindful of the stacks in front of the other players. Are their stacks rising? Are the dwindling? I will usually call or raise a player that came to the table with a big stack and now has very few chips. That's always a good sign.

Watch for the guy at the table that re-raises anyone's raise pre-flop. If he does it continually, he is generally trying to push everyone out while holding a middle pair hoping the other player has A K. I have seen this time and time again and it isn't a bad strategy.

When a player continually bluffs and whether he wins or loses he always shows you his cards. He OBVIOUSLY does this so that when his hand is strong, he can "act" like he is bluffing and gets paid off. Watch out for these players as they will take your entire stack if you're not careful.

I hope some of this advice is useful to you as you enter a card room for the first time.