1. How To Go To A Casino For The First Time
2. Casino First Time Tips

At the same time, booking a room closer to the lido deck will cut down on the time you spend going back and forth to your room. And if you’re prone to seasickness, booking a cabin midship is your best bet, since the rocking caused by rough seas will be felt the least. So if you look around like that, that’s going to get out attention and we’ll stop to figure out why. One place the casino probably isn’t watching you too closely: the poker rooms. Westgate Las Vegas Resort & Casino/Oyster. First-time Vegas visitors often devote most of their trip to the casino floor. And while we’re all about gambling in Vegas, it would be a mistake to miss out on one of the world-class shows.

• When you first enter the casino, you must take a walk around and get your bearings before you decide on what game to play or which table to play it on. There are some tables which are for high rollers or experienced players, and those are the ones you may wish to avoid.
• In casino poker, you play for table stakes. This means that you play with the chips 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 that pot up to that point.

When you’re ready to visit your first casino you’ll be excited and curious all at the same time. I hope you enjoy yourself and come away with great memories.

Everyone has their own idea of what to expect in a casino.

Wondering how realistic the movies and TV shows are in depicting the casinos?

Many of them are filmed in real casinos. The lights, the sounds, and the huge variety of games–they’re all realistic.

The action on TV and in the movies, though, is, of course, staged.

Wouldn’t it be great if you could memorize a sequence of actions to follow and win a jackpot at a slot machine (ala Ocean’s Thirteen)?

Of course it would.

But that would also be illegal.

What most people don’t know is that real criminals have enjoyed engineered success like that. They’ve also been arrested and charged with felonies, so I don’t recommend cheating at casino games.

The essence of gambling is taking a risk on the outcome of an unpredictable event. If you cannot predict the outcome and the casino cannot predict the outcome of a game, then it’s a fair transaction.

I say “fair” but you need to understand that the casinos only offer games that provide them with a statistical “edge”. In other words, they expect to win more often than they lose. Worse, they also expect you to put all your winnings back into their games, so even if you win “big” (say, a few thousand dollars) you might leave the casino with nothing.

I wish I could offer you sure-fired ways to win, but I can’t. No one can.

But I can offer you some tips to help you keep your wits — and your winnings — about you as you enjoy the experience.

1. Pick a Great Casino Resort to Visit for the First Time

Over 1,000 commercial and Native American casinos operate in the United States. The difference between a “commercial casino” and a Native American casino should be obvious.

The Native American casinos are all located on native American reservations, and they are owned and operated by those nations.

A commercial casino is operated by a licensed corporation operating in only a few states that allow commercial gambling. Nevada is the most well-known state, but you’ll find commercial casinos in about 18 states.

In addition to traditional casinos, many other establishments provide games of chance where you can bet real money. Depending on state law, you may find slot machines or gaming rooms in a lot of small establishments:

• Highway convenience stores
• Airports
• Racetracks
• Bars
• Restaurants

Most of the casinos I have played in were modest to large. I’ve walked into and out of a few small “casinos” that immediately made me feel uncomfortable.

Why did I feel uncomfortable?

Because I like big casinos.

Some people are comfortable in the smaller casinos. They may even prefer to play in those places. If you add occasional casino gambling to your entertainment budget you may gravitate toward the smaller, less grandiose casinos.

Still, I think you should pick a nice resort for your first experience. Get a feel for what it’s like to stay in the hotel for a couple of nights. Enjoy the restaurants and at least one show. Your first casino experience should be about more than sitting at a table and playing cards or pushing a button on a slot machine.

You do get a rush from the suspense of not knowing if you just threw away $5 or if you’ll win $100. The excitement you feel while gambling for the first time is a real thing.

But there’s so much more to look forward to. Some of the larger casinos offer spas, shops, and other non-gambling vacation amenities.

Also, a great casino resort should be located close to other entertainment venues. That includes other casinos, auditoriums, theme parks, and more. I wish my first casino experience had included a trip to a theme park with the family; it would have been more memorable. I’m not even sure I can remember the first time I went into a casino. I know I lost my stake quickly and left within an hour or two.

That’s not the way you should remember the experience.

Go for a robust, full entertainment experience your 1st time out.

2. Join the Casino’s Member Program Immediately

As soon as you walk in the door, find the customer service desk and sign up for the casino’s loyalty program.

Even if you never go back to that casino again, join the program. They’ll explain the rules to you and show you how to claim any rewards you earn.

One of the most common rewards you get from these programs is a free meal or drink. Gambling eats up the time. In fact, casinos are designed to help you lose track of the time.

But you’ll eventually grow thirsty or hungry. You’ll need a break. Instead of spending yet more money, if you have earned enough points you can get a snack or drink at one of the less expensive restaurants.

The membership is free. You can keep the card as a souvenir or throw it away when you’re done. That’s your decision. You can always get a new card next time you visit the casino, too.

Casino members may get special bonus points from time to time. Each casino sets its own rules ahead of time. Check their website to see which days they award extra points and games. These are almost always “off peak” days and times.

In other words, they won’t have a big crowd (usually). You’ll find it’s easier to play the games you want to try and you won’t be as confused by all the noise as you would if you go on the busiest night of the week (usually a Saturday night).

If you don’t want to sit in a near-empty casino (and many people don’t), then pick an evening time after most people are off work. The action usually picks up around 8-9 PM in the evenings. If you arrive around 6-7PM, that gives you time to join the member program, try out a few games, and wander through the casino to get a feel for the lay of the place.

3. Take Someone with You on Your First Trip

Honestly, I hate gambling alone for the most boring and practical of reasons.

I’ll explain that below.

Here’s why I think you should go with one or more friends your first time:

It’s more fun to share that experience with someone. You have someone to chat with and you’ll feel less like a stranger. My first (barely memorable) trip to a casino, I went by myself. It’s no wonder I lost my money so quickly and left with hardly an impression. In fact, I didn’t go back to a casino for about two years. I just didn’t enjoy my time in there.

Going with family or friends on your first trip heightens the excitement–especially if at least one or two of your companions have never been to a casino before. Your memory of that first time will be stronger and the shared experience is good for your friendships. When you have a few casino trips under your belt, you’ll tend to head for your favorite game even if you go with a group. Everyone just splits off and does their own thing. A good mentor will invite you to try a few games and sit with you on your first trip, but their excitement won’t be in sync with yours.

Another reason to go with one or more friends on your first trip is that you won’t have a game plan for managing your time. When you’re sitting alone in a crowded casino and you feel the need to visit the men’s or ladies’ room, you’ll agonize over leaving the game you’re playing. Sitting beside a friend is much better when those needs arise. You can feel better about leaving your seat. Ladies, you should keep your wallets or purses with you at all times, but if you have a companion you can leave your valuables with (someone whom you know and trust deeply), you’ll feel a little less anxious about that.

As the casino fills up, regular players quickly claim spots they won’t give up for hours. Some people will leave a chair leaning against a slot machine as a sign that it’s being played, but there’s no casino rule that requires people to honor that claim. In fact, casino employees may come and clean up the slot game and put the chair back. Having at least one buddy to hold a place for you pays off when the place is teeming with people and there’s a line waiting for the game you are playing.

The buddy system also makes it easier for you to get snacks and drinks. Yes, a great casino has servers wandering the floor.

But their services are in high demand at peak times. You could wait 30 minutes to an hour for a drink.

And the servers may quickly prioritize you as a customer if you never tip them.

4. Avoid the High Roller Games

It’s tempting, especially if you have just won a jackpot, to go try your luck at the high roller games. You may read conflicting advice on the internet about whether the high roller games pay better or worse than the main floor games.

That doesn’t matter.

Your first trip to a casino is not the time for you to try being a high roller. A typical high roller game might require you to bet hundreds of dollars for one spin or one hand of cards.

How likely are you to win a jackpot?

I won several jackpots within 30 minutes of walking into a casino. Big, busy casinos may pay out jackpots throughout the day. Any win that requires a casino employee to come and check the machine counts as a “jackpot”.

That could amount to $1,000 or $1,000,000. You’re far likelier to win a $1,000 jackpot than a $1,000,000. The largest jackpot I remember winning was about $8,000 on a $3 bet. Most of the jackpots I won were in the $1,000 to $2,000 range.

By playing the lower stakes games your money will last longer. You really can’t prepare for that first casino visit by playing free casino games on the internet or your PC. It’s just not the same. The lights and sounds are almost overwhelming. (It’s still worthwhile, though.)

If you choose a high end casino (and many Native American casinos fit into that category) for your first experience, you’ll be blown away by everything: the luxurious architecture of the building, the artwork lining the walls, the carpets, the lounges–everything is designed to make you feel like you are living a life of luxury.

Enjoy that feeling, but don’t throw your money at the casino.

Whether you sit at a table game like roulette or blackjack, or play a slot game, or bet on a race, or place bets on a lottery game like keno, you’ll have the opportunity to raise the size of your bets. All these games offer minimum and maximum bet limits. You’ll feel your heart beat hard enough when you go from betting 25 cents to betting 25 dollars.

High roller games are a different level of entertainment, and you should save that first time experience for another day.

5. Make a Simple Plan that Is Easy to Follow

By simple plan, I mean make it impossible for you to impoverish yourself.

From choosing which casino to visit, to deciding where to park, to how much money you’ll bet, you should know before you enter the casino’s parking lot what you are going to do.

Start by setting a budget. This is the most common advice offered to new gamblers.

It’s also the most important. If you only have $200 to gamble, don’t take your credit cards, check books, or debit cards into the casino with you. Don’t leave them in your car, either. Make it as hard to get more money as you possibly can.

If you walk into a casino with $200 and find yourself wishing you had more, give yourself a moment to realize what just happened: you just paid $200 for (hopefully) an evening’s entertainment. At this point, it’s time to cash in your comps and go home.

Plan for when and how you will leave the casino.

Don’t leave desperate, frustrated, and broke.

No casino owes you anything more than the experience you’re willing to pay for. They provide a safe entertainment experience, not a guaranteed income. The games are designed to give a little bit but take a little bit more.

The casino will let you bet everything you have on the first throw of the dice, but they’re prepared to wait out even the most stingy and conservative players.

So there’s no need for an elaborate “strategy”. Set one rule:

You leave when you have X dollars.

Maybe that means you lose everything you take in.

Maybe that means you triple your money.

But take a watch with you, or make sure your smart phone keeps proper time. Set an alarm to tell yourself when it’s time to go–especially if you’re visiting a local casino and you have to be somewhere the next day. The casino is not going to tap you on the shoulder and say, “Is it past your bedtime?”

You’ll be shocked to realize just how late it is when you finally leave the casino (assuming you don’t lose all your money quickly like I did my first time).

6. Do Not Try to Take Pictures or Videos of the Games

You have undoubtedly seen a lot of photographs and videos taken from inside casinos. People post them all over the Internet.

So why shouldn’t you do that?

The reason is actually quite simple:

Someone who works for the casino may ask you to stop, or they may force you to leave. Casinos used to be more tolerant of inside photography, but things have changed over the years.

It’s probably safe to take pictures when you are away from the games. If in doubt, ask a casino employee what the rules are. I’d be surprised if any casino agrees to let you take video or pictures of a slot game. That is because eastern European criminals were caught using a supercomputer to rig slot machine games.

The story about the phone cameras and slot machine games is too long to include here.

But suffice to say that several people were arrested at American casinos for sending live video back to the supercomputer. The casinos do not want you to take video of those games why they are spinning. It might be okay to take a picture after the reels have stopped and you have a jackpot.

Ask before you get into trouble.

Obey the rules.

The casinos usually post signs with rules around their floors to help people quickly see what is and is not acceptable behavior.

But you can also always ask a casino employee what is allowed.

If you must take a phone call, step away from the game. This is also considered courteous to other players.

By the same token, keep texting to a minimum–especially if you’re playing a table game. Concentrate on what you are supposed to be doing at the casino.

Step aside and find a semi-private space for phone calls and text messages.

7. Do Not Drink or Use Drugs While Gambling

No matter how well you think you can “handle it,” the casino is counting on players getting at least a little bit tipsy. They make sure it’s easy to get alcohol even if other types of drugs are not available. As you become more inebriated, your judgment becomes impaired. Just as you should not drink and drive, so you should not drink and gamble.

And that goes for over-the-counter medications that can make you drowsy.

It also goes for prescription medications that can make you dizzy or drowsy. It might feel good to you when you’re stoned, but you won’t like waking up in jail or completely broke because you blew your rent money.

Don’t try to prove you can “handle it”. Prove you can manage yourself and have a good time without the help of alcohol or drugs.

If you’re feeling so sick that you need strong cough medicine or antihistamines the day you’re supposed to go to the casino, it’s better if you delay that first-time experience until you’re feeling better. You really don’tt need to sit in a casino for 6-8 hours if you’re sick. Not only will that drain you (and if there is cigarette smoke you’ll worsen any breathing problems you have), you could make other people sick.

Visit the casino when you are well, sober, and ready to have a great time with a few trusty friends or family.

And on a budget, naturally.

Conclusion

There’s so much more I wish someone had told me before I went into a casino for the first time. You devote most of your forethought to learning games so you can “be ready” for that first time experience.

You know what?

All that practice goes out the window. You’re overwhelmed. You just want to get in there and play, play, and win, win.

But in reality, you’re never ready for that first visit.

Your first time experience should not be about winning. You should not visit a casino because you’re short on money and need a quick cash injection. Don’t burn your first time like that. Save it for when you can relax, enjoy the company, and marvel at the environmental experience of being inside a huge, glitzy casino.

Be safe, have fun, and create memories you’ll cherish for the rest of your life.

Best of all, teach yourself good gambling habits early in your experience. Make sure you’re there for the entertainment.

You’ll have more fun that way.

Ed. note: For those who might have missed it before, we're reprising Robert Woolley's series of articles for poker players who are new to live poker. The series is great for newcomers, and likely useful as well to those with experience playing in casinos and poker rooms. Below find an introduction that answers some of the questions players have when deciding to play in a live poker room for the first time.

This series of articles is intended for people who have played poker online and/or in home games, but have little or no experience playing in a 'brick-and-mortar' casino.

Casinos have rules, procedures, and points of etiquette that can trip up players on their first few visits — or at least confuse and mystify them. I hope to explain these for you in advance so that you don't get intimidated or embarrassed. Understanding them might also keep you from losing money by inadvertently breaking a rule during the game.

Articles in this series focus specifically on how poker in casinos differs from what you have learned from playing online poker or in home games, particularly in what might be termed its 'procedural' aspects. I work from the assumption that readers have enough experience under their belts at one or both of those other types of poker games to feel comfortable playing them and would like to try adding casino poker to their repertoire.

For this first installment, I'll give you a step-by-step guide for getting into a cash game. I'll cover entering a casino poker tournament in a later column.

Figuring Out What Games Are Available

So you've taken the trip to Las Vegas, Atlantic City, Tunica, Los Angeles, or any of the other many poker destinations that are now available in the U.S. and around the world. You've selected which poker room to patronize. Now what?

Your first step is to know what games are available. Poker rooms vary in how they communicate game availability to would-be players. Most now have a large-screen TV listing the games and the names of any people waiting to play. Some use a manually updated white board. The smallest rooms sometimes still use one person behind a desk with a simple piece of paper, and you have to ask what games are available.

Let's say that by one of these methods you learn that the choices are listed as follows:

• 2-4 limit hold'em
• 4-8 limit hold'em
• 1-2 no-limit hold'em
• 2-5 no-limit hold'em
• 4-8 Omaha-8

Often you'll see a number in parentheses after such listings, which tells you how many tables of each game are in play. Some places display the actual table numbers. (Each table in a poker room has a fixed identification number.) If there are names under the game heading, that tells you who is waiting to play.

What the Numbers Mean

The stakes of the game are communicated by the pair of numbers in front of the name of the game. Confusingly, the numbers mean different things for different games.

In hold'em and Omaha (i.e., the so-called 'flop games'), fixed-limit games are named by the size of the bets you can make. For example, '4-8 limit hold'em' means that the bets and raises are each $4 for the first two betting rounds of each hand (before the flop and on the flop), and $8 on the turn and river. The blinds in these games are typically one-half of those values, or $2 and $4 in this example, though some casinos use different structures.

Stud games (and draw games, if you can ever find one) follow the same convention — the numbers in the name of the game represent allowable bet sizes.

But just when you think you understand that, you discover that no-limit games are listed differently. '1-2 no-limit hold'em' does not mean that the bets are $1 and $2 — that would violate the whole concept of a 'no-limit' structure. Instead, these games are named by the size of the two blinds, in this case the small blind being $1 and the big blind $2.

To make it even more confusing, a few casinos — most notably the largest ones in southern California — eschew the conventions I've just described in favor of a bewildering hodge-podge of buy-ins and blinds as the titles of their games.

For example, a '$40 NL' game will mean no-limit hold'em with buy-in of exactly $40 — no more and no less — with blinds unstated but understood to be $1 and $2. There are other variations used in these places that are too numerous to detail here. But don't worry — just tell them that it's your first time there, and they'll be happy to explain what the words, numbers, and abbreviations mean. Just about everywhere else, the explanations above will serve you well.

Buying In and Taking a Seat

Okay, so let's say you've decided which of the offered games you'd like to play. Now just approach the person poised to greet you at the entrance to the poker room and tell him or her what you're interested in. You will either be put on the waiting list for a opening, or, if you're lucky, directed or escorted directly to a vacant seat in an active game.

If you have to wait, be sure that you don't wander off to someplace where you can't hear your name being called. Some poker rooms now offer to call or text your cell phone when it's your turn, in which case you're free to go do something else while you wait. However, I think it's a better idea to stick around and watch (from a respectable distance) a game of the type you plan to play, in order to get a sense for what's happening.

Next you'll need to convert some cash into chips. But how much? The amount for which you can or must buy in to a game is related to the sizes of the blinds and/or bets, but not in any obvious or standardized way. Most commonly, the buy-in is capped at 100, 150, or 200 times the amount of the big blind in no-limit games. However, you can find poker rooms with substantially smaller buy-in caps, and some with no caps at all.

There's no reliable way to figure this out on your own; you just have to ask an employee. Limit games are often officially uncapped, but you'd be looked at oddly if you bought into a fixed-limit game for more than about 50 big blinds, because stack sizes are not usually an important factor in how the game plays.

Let's suppose you're going to play $2/$4 limit hold 'em, and you've decided to buy in for the maximum this casino allows for this game, which is, say, $200. There are four different ways you might exchange your cash for poker chips.

1. The person at the front podium who signs you in might also serve as the room's cashier.
2. He or she might direct you to a separate cashier's 'cage' to purchase chips.
3. You might be instructed to buy your chips from the dealer when you sit down.
4. After you take your seat, they might have a 'chip runner' take your money and bring you chips.

Again, which method a given place uses (and it can change depending on how busy they are) is not usually obvious, even to experienced players — you just have to ask.

How To Go To A Casino For The First Time

Congratulations! You're past the first set of hurdles, and seated in your first casino poker game, with a fresh stack of chips stacked neatly in front of you. In the next entry, I'll start to delve into what the casino expects of you as a player at one of its tables.

Casino First Time Tips

Robert Woolley lives in Asheville, NC. He spent several years in Las Vegas and chronicled his life in poker on the 'Poker Grump' blog.

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