You will have winning and losing sessions. You need to have enough money in your poker bankroll to withstand the losing sessions. It has been advised that a good bankroll is one that is equal with 200-300 times the big bet. For $3/$6 Hold'em this would be $1,200-$1,800.
I have always advised anyone who visits a casino on a regular basis to maintain a separate bank account for his or her gambling activities. Money in that account should be earmarked for casino play only. That way you will always have the money needed when you head out for a session. You should never use money needed to cover the rent or other living expenses for any gaming activity.

I further advise that you set up a separate poker bankroll and keep this aside from money you may use for other casino games. Too many players win at the poker table and then go blow the winnings somewhere else in the casino. You should make it a habit to put your winnings back into your poker account. This will allow you to have the money when you decide to move up to higher limits of play. It is also a good exercise in discipline.

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We have all seen the Western movies where the tough desperados in black and the good guy in white sit around the poker table in the local saloon. At one point the hero will shove his stack of chips in the pot and say, "I don't think you have enough to cover this cowboy!"

At that point the bad guy, who just swindled the beautiful heroine out of her ranch, will whip out the deed to the property and say, "I think this will cover it." The hero proceeds to draw to an inside straight to beat the desperado. The girl gets the ranch the hero gets the girl, and the credits roll. It makes for great entertainment but has no bearing on reality in regards to casino poker.

In some kitchen-table games, a player can force out another player by betting more than his opponent has on the table. In other home games, you may allow someone to reach into their wallets or play "shy" to cover the bet. This does not happen in a cardroom.

Limit-Texas Hold'em has structured betting limits. You can not bet more than the limit designated for the game you are playing in. In $3/$6 Hold 'em, the first two betting rounds are $3 and the last two rounds are $6. You are not allowed to bet or raise a different amount than these set limits. In most casinos there is a limit to the number of raises that can be made during each betting round. This is usually limited to three or four raises, unless the play becomes heads up between two players. In that case the number of raises becomes unlimited. If you are new to a particular cardroom, you should check to see what the rules are regarding the number of raises before you sit down
In casino poker you play for table stakes. This means that you bet only with the money that you have on the table. You're not allowed to go into your pocket for more money in the middle of a hand. If you run out of chips, you announce that you are "all in" and you will only be eligible for the money in the pot up to that point. Any additional bets made by other players will be put in a side pot. You will not be eligible for this side pot even if you have the best hand. This means that once a player is all in it is possible for a player with the second best hand to win some money from the remaining players in the hand.

You are allowed to buy more chips at any time between hands. You may also have money other than chips on the table that will be counted as part of your table stakes. Say you were to keep a $20 bill under your stack of chips. This would be counted as $20 on the table. In the middle of a hand, if you ran out of chips you would be able to place the money in for a bet and you would be given your change in chips. It counts because it was on the table before the hand was started. Some cardrooms permit chips only, so in such cases you will have to convert your cash when placing it on the table.

One of the most common questions asked about casino poker is how much you need to play. Most casinos have a minimum buy-in for each game. This is the minimum needed to sit at the table but it is usually a lot less than what you may actually need. In the $3/$6 Texas Hold'em game where I play, the buy-in is $30. This is only ten times the minimum bet of the first two betting rounds. This does not give you much of a cushion if you were to lose a hand or two. If you were to play a hand of Hold'em from start to finish, calling a bet on each round with no raises involved, it would cost you $18 if you lost the hand. I recommend that you start with about 15 to 20 times the big bet. In a $3/$6 Hold'em game I buy in for $100. This gives me enough money should I get involved in a big hand. There is nothing worse that running out of money and having to go "all in" when you have the winning hand. I learned this from experience one night while playing in a $4/$8 Texas Hold'em game at Foxwoods Casino.

I had bought in for $100, which is 12 times the large bet. I was not planning on playing too long as I was meeting some friends for dinner. I had a few second-best hands and my stack of chips was fading away. I had about $32 left when it was my turn to post the big blind. I posted my $4 big blind and was dealt a 7 and 9 of diamonds. Four players entered the pot and when it came to me, I "checked" my option to raise the pot. The flop was 7 of clubs and 8 and 10 of diamonds. I had a small pair as well as a four-card open-ended straight flush draw. The small blind had folded and I was the first to act. I bet $4 leaving me with $24. Two players called the bet and the flop brought a 2 of clubs, which was no help. I bet again and all but one player folded their hands. The last community card (the river) was the Jack of diamonds, giving me a straight flush. I bet $8 leaving me with only $8 left. The other player raised my bet immediately. I went all in with the last of my money. I had the "nuts" which is the best hand possible. Unfortunately I had no money left to re-raise the player. I was "all in." The other player turned over his Ace high flush. He was shocked when I showed my straight flush. He thought he had the best hand with his Ace high flush. He had not noticed the possibility that a straight flush could be made. As the dealer was pushing me the pot, the other player looked at me and said, "I am sure glad you were all in. I would have re-raised you until the cows came home!"

That lesson taught me to always back up my table stakes by putting more money on the table between hands when I get low on chips. Those types of hands don't come along too often, but when they do, you want to be able to capitalize on them. You can't do that if you are short on chips.

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In some cardrooms there will be several games being played at the same limit. When you have a choice, you should pick a game that you think will be profitable for you. A game filled with rocks, who only bet when they have the nuts, will not be as profitable as a game with one or two calling stations. You should evaluate the skill level of the players in a game and determine where you fit in. If you feel that you are outmatched by the players at one table, you should look for a different game. Game selection will be a big factor in winning.

Comps
The word comp is short for complimentary. Comps are freebies that the casino gives to its customers as a reward for their business. It is a Way to promote good will and to entice player loyalty to the establishment. Some cardrooms give you credit for your play in the form of comps. You may get free rooms, meals, an entry into a free roll tournament or points on a player's card that can be spent in shops or restaurants. Some casino poker rooms require you to join the casino's player's club and use that card as means of keeping track of your comps. At the Tropicana in Atlantic City, the poker room issues a separate Poker Club card to the players. Always ask at the desk when you sign in if the cardroom offers any comps to poker players. Anything that you get for free is just an added bonus to you.

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Game selection is very important. You will find that some games are more profitable than others. You may sit down and find that everyone is so tight that you can't make any money. At other times, you may find yourself at a table with players more skilled than you. If you take a seat at a low-limit table and see all the regulars who usually play in the $30 / $60 game killing time until their game opens up, you may not want to play there. Some cardrooms will have more than one game going at the limit you want to play. If, for any reason, you find you don't like the game at the table where you are seated, you can request a table change from the floor person. In some places you may be moved to a different table even if you like the game you are in. This happens when a cardroom opens up a must-move table.

The first table that opens at a particular limit is the main game, you walk in the cardroom and want to play $3/$6 Hold'em, and there is only one game going on, you will be put on the waiting list. If there are enough players on the waiting list the cardroom may open up a new $3/$6 game. They will designate this a must-move game. They want to accommodate as many players as they can but they also want to keep the main game full. Therefore if a seat becomes open at the main table they will take a player from the must-move table. The players will be determined by the order in which they were seated at the must move table. The first player seated will be the first one to move to the main game.

If it's later in the evening, players will slowly trickle to the main game and the must move game will shut down. If it is earlier in the day, a new must-move table may open and the present one will become a permanent game. There have been times when I played at a must-move table that was very profitable only to have to move to the main game and found it was not to my liking. Unfortunately, the rules say you must move. If you don't want to move, your only other option is to take a break and then come back in to the cardroom and get put on the waiting list.

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When you are first seated at a table you may not have a choice of seats unless it is a new game. This does not mean you can't change your seat once you are in the game. If a player is leaving the table, you can request his seat by telling the dealer as soon as you see him get ready to go. The main reason to change seats is to get the weaker players to your left and the aggressive players to your right. If you have a player who raises a lot you want that person sitting on your right. That way, if he raises, you can fold all but your stronger hands. If that person is sitting on your left, you may call with a borderline hand only to find that it will cost you a raise as well. Conversely you would like to have the weaker player on your left. A weaker player is predictable and, if he is also a calling station, you can profit from raising and knowing that he will call you.

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Taking a Break
Sooner or later you will need to take a break. You can get up and leave the table to go to the bathroom, stretch your legs, or take a break for any other reason. What you can't do is take your chips with you if you plan on returning to the game. The chips must stay on the table. The dealer will deal you out of the hand while you are away from your seat. If you do not miss any blinds it will not cost you any money while you are away from the table, as you want be involved in any hands. If you are gone from the table and miss your blinds, abutton will be put in front of your chips showing that you have missed a blind.

When you return from your break you will have to make up one big and one small blind if you have missed them both while you were gone. You can post it right away or wait until it is your turn to be the big blind again. The money for the small blind you missed will be put in the pot and the money for the big blind will act as a live bet. Even if you missed more than one big and small blind, you will only be required to make up one of each in most card-rooms.

I used to try and take my breaks after it was my turn to act as the blinds. I noticed one problem with this. I was always leaving the table when I was in late position giving up the advantage that acting later gave me. I discovered that if I had to leave the table and would miss more than a couple hands, I could actually turn this to an advantage. Instead of taking a break after the blind, I leave the table one hand before I am the big blind when I am going to be under the gun. Since this is the worst position, where you have to act first I don't mind missing this hand. I then return to the table after the dealer button has passed me. I post my big blind and I am now in the hand in late position with the option to check or raise when it is my turn. After the flop, I am second-to-last to act, putting me in extremely good position. Granted I have to forfeit my small blind, but most of the time I fold these if I don't have a playable hand. For the price of the small blind I have bought myself excellent position.

Most of the cardrooms I have played in are fairly liberal about the amount of time you can be away from the table. I think most of them are too liberal. If you are away from the table when there is a dealer change you are given an absent button. Every time a new dealer comes on board you get another one. If you are gone and get three absent buttons, they pick up your chips and give your seat to another player. Dealers change about every twenty minutes in the rooms where I play, which means a player can be away from the table for a full hour before losing his seat. I think this is very unfair to the players on the waiting list. It is also not fair to the players who then have to play short-handed. I have sat in on some games when two or three players are gone from the table at the same time.

One time a player returned to the table just as they were about to pick up his chips. One player asked him where he was and he told them he had gone to dinner. I asked him why he didn't just leave the game and come back after dinner. He glared at me and said he didn't want to lose his seat and have to be put on the waiting list. Three hands later, he picked up his chips and left. Some people have no consideration for others. If you think you are going to be gone for an extended period of time, give up your seat to a player on the waiting list. Remember, the shoe could be on the other foot some day.

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In many casinos a new player sitting down at the table has to post a bet equal to the big blind if he wishes to be dealt into the next hand. This is not mandatory and you may elect to wait until it is your turn to be the big blind before you enter the game. Waiting has a few advantages. It will give you time to observe your competition and determine the type of players at your table; notice the quality of starting hands being played and who is playing them. Is the table tight or lose?

Observing the table while you wait will give you an insight about your competition. Waiting will also give you a few minutes to settle in and get your mind emotionally prepared for the game. If you can't get immediate seating when you sign in and find yourself on the waiting list for a game, it is advisable to watch the game in progress. Then when you do get a seat at the table you can post right away as you will already have a feel for the table. (See Railbirding.)

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