Poker Articles

The Newcomers Guide to Public Cardrooms -- How to Play and Win
(Part 2)
By Lou Krieger

In the first part of this four-part series we talked about some of the differences between home games and cardrooms. Today you'll learn how to get into a game, and who your opponents might be. You'll meet recreational players, regulars, pros, and props, and I'll give you some tips about playing against each of them.

In a large card casino, you may see a white board full of players' initials. These initials are listed under games that are available. You might find seven players ahead of you waiting for a $2-$4 hold'em game. Just give your initials to the board attendant and indicate the games you want to play. You might say: "My initials are ABC. Put me up for the $2-$4, $3-$6, and $5-$10 hold'em, the $5-$10 stud, and the $4-$8 Omaha high-low split games." That's all there is to it, and you'll be called as seats becomes available. If the board for a particular game is so long that the club can start another, the attendant will announce that game, and call the first nine players. When you hear your initials, go to the table and grab a seat. You're in the game.

If there's no board, give your initials to the floor person and tell them which games you want to play. In small cardrooms, where there are only one or two tables, just ask the dealer if a seat is available.

When you enter the game either a floorperson or dealer will ask how much you want in chips. Each game has a minimum buy-in. Give them your money and you'll get your chips. Large casinos have chip attendants. One will take your money and announce to the table that "...Seat five (or whatever seat you occupy) is playing $200 behind." That means you bought in for $200, and the casino is in the process of fetching your chips. You can play that hand even if your chips have not yet arrived. The dealer will either lend you some chips, or keep count of how much you owe the pot. Your chips should arrive before that first hand is played to its conclusion.

If you play in low limit games, don't worry about running into last year's World Series of Poker winner, the eight toughest card players in your hometown, Bat Masterson, Doc Holiday or any other legends of the game at your table. While there are many ways to classify players, the easiest is to group your opponents into three types: Recreational players, Regulars, and Professionals.

Recreational players love the game, but when push comes to shove, they don't really care whether they win or lose. They play for the fun of it. It's a hobby, and no matter how much they lose, it is less expensive than keeping horses, restoring classic automobiles, or a hundred other pastimes that devour money. No one, however, will come right out and tell you they don't care if they win or lose! Few will even admit to being recreational players. If they do, watch out. They probably are not, and you're forewarned: Take heed when they fire a raise at you.

Naturally, you'd love to play exclusively with recreational players. If you can't beat a table full of players who don't care about winning, you might just want to find something else to do in your spare time.

Regulars come in a wide variety. Some are recreational players, but are at the cardroom every day. They may think they beat the game, but they probably do not. Others may be retirees who play on their pensions. Among these regulars you'll find housewives, students, people with no fixed job hours, dealers who playing before or after their shift, and almost anyone else you can imagine. For now, all the regulars you encounter will have more playing experience. Even if you are a stronger player, but are just transitioning from home games to casino poker, they will have the best of it for a while. After all, they are in playing shape. You, on the other hand, are in spring training, and need some time to adjust to this entirely new environment.

Regulars comprise the vast majority of players. Some are good. Most aren't. But they're in action on a regular basis. As you begin to refine your player categories, it is this category of regulars you'll be subdividing.

Professionals and semi-professionals will be found in most of the larger cardrooms. Generally speaking, you will never encounter them at limits below $10-$20. In low-limit games, you'll be competing with regulars and recreational players, not professionals. But when you graduate to the higher limits you will encounter players who earn their living playing poker. You need not be afraid of a pro or two in your game. Because they play good, steady poker, they can be a stabilizing influence in games which otherwise might be very loose. While a good player will ultimately earn more money in very loose games, the fact that each pot has a multitude of active players in it, and is often raised and reraised, means that the element of short term luck is stronger. The result: good players in loose games often undergo large fluctuations on their road to success. A pro or two will stabilize these games, if for no other reason than they won't be betting and raising every hand. While a good player's win rate might not be as high in more temperate games, he won't need as large a bankroll to sustain himself; and if you emulate him, neither will you.

Whenever a game is short, you're likely to encounter a proposition player, or prop. Props play on their own money but are paid a salary by the house to help start, or prop up, games. A prop's life is tough. They play in short-handed games, or games struggling to get off the ground. Props typically play no better, no worse than most regulars. Many cardroom newcomers panic at the thought of a prop in their game. Since the prop is paid an hourly wage by the casino, players often believe they have a big advantage. Not true. They gamble their own money, and as long as they are reliable and generally do not insult the clientele, management is happy with them. So long as they maintain a playing bankroll the house cares not a whit whether they win or lose.

If you've watched a few games while you're waiting for a seat, the first difference you'll notice about casino games is that players do not play as many hands as they do in home games. While there is seldom a spoken agreement to play every hand in a home game, because of the chummy atmosphere, many times there is an unspoken understanding to play most hands - if not all of them.

Players are more selective in a casino. Still, the biggest mistakes most players make is that they play too many hands, and they call when they should have folded.

Coming from a home game into a casino, this may seem like a paradox. It's not. Even if you think your regular home game is tough, take it from me; your home game is much too loose. If you simply play better starting cards than your opponents in low limit games, you will be a favorite - but not right off the mark. Since it will take you some time to get familiar with cardroom play, you ought to give serious consideration to starting out in very low limit games. You'll probably be paying for lessons the first five to ten times you play in a public cardroom, and there is no reason to pay through the nose for them.

In the next segment you'll learn the first decision to make when you enter a cardroon, and why it's critically important. We'll examine the differences between seven-card stud and hold'em, and I'll offer some advice you can use the next time you play. And, if you want to become a student of the game, I'll point you in the directions of some very good books on the subject.