Honestly, best way to get into casino poker to minimize your losses is to play 2/4 limit. Limit hold em is completely different from NL, but you can at least get used to the feel and rhythm of casino poker.

Download the app Bravo Poker Live, most likely your casino’s poker room is on it. It will tell you what games are running and also information about the poker room.

If one of the casinos in your area offer a 40 or 50 dollar tournament that might be a better way to get your feet wet without a lot of money.

Look for a tournament schedule and find the smallest buy-in. That will get you accustomed to live play the best without losing too much. You never know, you might win it!

When you enter the poker room go to the desk/counter. Ask what games are running and what the minimum and maximum buy ins are. Buy how ever many chips you feel comfortable playing and they will point you to your seat. I would suggest reading the rules as most poker rooms have slight differences in them. It’s usually hanging on a poster in the room somewhere.

Always protect your cards. Pay attention when it’s your turn. You’ll probably be too nervous to play well so have fun. It’s just like sex. Easier every time you do it.

Just makes me glad I don't bother gambling in Vegas.

Always tip your dealer. Know when its your time to act. Don't play out of turn. Stack your chips, cleanly. (Means don't mix whites with reds etc) Don't start arguments and you'll be fine.

They won’t kick you off. The regulars will be VERY PLEASED to see someone who doesn’t know what they’re doing playing with them. They’ll gladly explain what to do so that you’ll stick around a while. So don’t feel nervous. I was nervous my first time playing because I didn’t know any of the manners either, but they made sure I knew.

Ask this at /r/poker

They're more likely to have good advice on this topic.

Something I haven't seen mentioned yet: If you're going to raise, it has to be by at least the amount of the prior bet in that hand. For example, you're playing $1-$2. The player in front of you raises to $10. You look down at your cards and see a hand you want to raise with. You have to make at least a $10 raise, so $20 total. You can't raise $5 to make it $15 total.

Most people are happy to explain the rules to you. The downside if you mess up, you might be forced to put your money in. Like a string bet, look it up. You're also going to likely be chum for sharks, as good players regularly play these games.

Yes in tournaments it is all about where you finish. You sit down with x chips and cannot cash them out.

You play until you either get knocked out of the tournament or win everyone elses chips.

The payments will be made depending on the position you finish in.

So maybe 1st gets $500, 2nd gets $300, 3rd gets $200, 4th gets $150, 5th gets $100 etc. etc.

Something like 10-15% of the players will win a prize.

So if a tournament has 100 people enter maybe 12 people win a prize.

Here is a beginner guide:

https://www.reddit.com/r/BritishPoker/comments/1i7cpct/2025_beginners_guide/

here is a guide to playing live poker for the first time:

https://www.reddit.com/r/BritishPoker/comments/1i779i9/playing_live_poker_for_the_first_time/

GL dude!

Depends. For a non-tournament situation, you can play as long as you like, once you are seated. You need to sign up for a table at the preferred stakes you’d like. How long it takes to be seated is totally dependent on how busy it is. The house makes money on a rake, which means they take a small percentage of every pot regardless of who wins. Most tournaments are not winner take all, unless they’re really small. I think top 10% is a pretty common cash-out level, although the payout structure is definitely skewed towards the very top finishers.

Cash games if there is a seat open yes you more or less just plop down and play, if no open seat there is a first come first serve list you get on for next available seat, if enough are waiting and table+dealer available they may start a new table. Often there is a main table and a secondary “must move” table where they make you get up and move to the main table if a seat becomes available in order to keep it full and going.

And yeah people can watch, it’s called the rail or sometimes people have a guest sit behind them at the table to spectate. As long as players are protecting their hands cheating isn’t a concern but for example last years wsop the winner had friends on the rail running computer simulations which he would run over between hands to review which is kind of cheating

For cash games, you get chips from the cage, find the poker room manager, and they will assign you a seat/table. Then you just just start playing. Listen to the dealer, be nice, ask questions if need be. Don't be afraid to ask questions about the rules of betting etc, as different poker rooms have slightly different rules anyways, so even experienced players might ask questions in a room that is new to them. You'll do great.

There are basically 2 ways.

1. Most casinos take a 'rake' from each hand which is generally 3 - 10% of the pot. It is usually capped so big pots don't make them a lot more.

2. For tournaments and at some casinos there is a simple fee to enter or to play for a period of time.

I guess the third is that by bringing people in to play poker they will generally also spend money elsewhere, whether it is gambling or just buying food and beverage etc.

Keep in mind that poker is also a zero risk game for the casino.

There is always a house edge on all the other games and machines, but there is still a risk of losing money for them.

Poker, from a income/profit perspective, is an easy way for them to just bank on a very steady and known income stream.

What hasn’t been mentioned here is the real reason that casinos have poker rooms. They have poker rooms to get players in the door. A lot of poker players will also play pit games on their way in or out of the casino. Even if they don’t do this, their wife will sit at the slot machines and play for hours while they play poker. It’s all about getting customers in the door.

That’s…not what a loss leader is. Rather, casino poker isn’t one.

Casinos literally profit off of each hand played in a poker game, even though you aren’t playing against the house. They “rake” a percentage of each table’s pot, which varies by casino.

The casino generally takes a rake from each pot.

Alternatively I've also been at tables where every dealer change, all players on the table would have to put out a set amount, maybe $10 or so. So this way it brings in about $150 per hour.

adding in 1 more option this person didn't include.

in some cash games, there is no rake, but it's exactly what you asked - you pay to sit.

Each dealer deals for 30 minutes, after that a new dealer pushes in.

at "push" tables, you pay each time a new dealer pushes in.

I've been playing rake tables only for so long, I can't quite recall, but I think it's usually the equivalent of paying 1 small & 1 big blind. So if you're playing a 2/5 table, every 30 minutes, you'd pull $7 off your stack & pass it to the new dealer.

Casino Pit Boss here,

Cash games are either raked (X% capped at $X taken from each pot) or time charge (X$ per player per hour) Tournaments have a portion of the buy in going to the house so a $220 buy in would be $200 to the prize pool and $20 to the casino.

play is slower. In live play, you're looking at 20 - 25 hands per hour.

Far less than online play.

Sometimes it does get complicated & it takes a few minutes to sort out the main pot, side pot, who shows first, etc.

Rake: Most casinos take 10% of the pot (capped at $5) plus 1 or 2 dollars in promotional rake.

Some casinos do time rake, especially for higher limit games. That usually varies between $6-$12 (Yup, the King’s Lounge games had extremely high time rake!) per half hour/dealer change. These games typically don’t qualify for promotions such as the Bad Beat Jackpot or High Hands.

You also essentially pay for the dealers as it’s expected to tip at least a dollar each time you win the hand. (I’ve tipped as much as a $100 before).

As for tournaments, they take a portion of every entry fee as “rake,” and that’s how the casino profits from running tournaments.

These factors are why winning in the long run at Poker is incredibly difficult. Most people don’t realize that essentially $150 is leaving the table EVERY HOUR.

Have your blinds out before the dealer asks you. Always be aware of your position and turn to act. If you are under the gun, it is not impolite to act immediately, this will keep the flow of the game going. Don’t be afraid to have conversations, this is a social game, but do not let this impact the flow of the game. Have fucking fun!

ALWAYS TIP YOUR DEALER... I'm a poker dealer rule of thumb is a dollar every hand you win, how ever you do what you want.. I won a 2400 pot one time and drop the guy 100 dollars but again rule or thumb is a dollar

Expect to lose, make mistakes, rude people, lousy dealers and maybe a spec of luck.

If you fart at the table, own it

Verbalize your action. Tip dealer when you win the pot. Tip your waitress. Buy in for the max if you have the means. Assume they are playing straightforward, unless they give reason to suspect otherwise. Be patient, there's no time limit.

One chip is a call

Don't act out of turn

Don't tank pre unless it's genuinely a very marginal spot

You can take a picture of your stack (just don't when you're playing a hand)

Phones are fine. Some places have rules about taking a phone call during the hand.

Seats are saved.

People should always be nice to newcomers. Everyone has had their first time and so people will be nice to you...besides they want your money

Good Luck

The one chip call is key. I thought I understood this my first time live, but I didn’t. I was playing a tourney, the bet was 200, and I tossed in a 1k chip thinking to raise but it was interpreted as a call. Always say “raise” when you want to raise, and then you’ll be fine.

How much to tip is going to depend on the level you're playing. I tip $1 when I win a pot, no matter how small.

Leaving to use the toilet is not a problem. Your seat will be saved unless you're gone a long time. Just leave after your turn for the blinds and the button has passed, and you're not in the hand.

Photos and phone use are going to depend on the poker room. Don't take pictures of anyone's faces is a good general rule, and be discreet. Don't use your phone while in a hand.

The point is any chips in the middle are a call, unless you place multiple chips that exceed the bet in which case it could be viewed as a raise. Single chip is safe, typically on showdown

The old dude who limp - jams has aces, so fold anything that doesn’t beat aces when he does this (hint: most of the hands don’t beat aces pre).

So just play my good hands against a majority of bad players

Saves time and is just easier so that you don't have to count out the exact amount to then call. Also in all ins, when you call with the nuts you don't have to count out everything.

You don't have to call with just one chip. Most people just count out the amount and then call.

I said it, not so you only ever call with a single chip, but so that if you want to raise (to lets say $25) but only have one 25$ chip, you have to announce that it is a raise, otherwise itll be treated as a call.

I don't recall ever seeing classes like that.

Just sit at the smallest NLH game they have with a minimum buyin and do a lot of folding. Tell the dealer you're new to live poker and just watch everyone else.

There are some weird rules about how you put in your chips that take a little time to figure out. The best thing to do is verbalize your intentions before you move any chips forward. Say "call" or "raise to 20" or whatever.

The play will be different from what you see online. Players tend to be very loose passive, and preflop raises are bigger.

Usually the lowest casino stakes are 1/2 or 1/3 with $100-500 buyin ranges give or take. Go to the cage to get your chips then tell the desk you’re new to casino poker and ask where to sit and tell the dealer you’re new and to let you know any rules you mess up. The shit regs will be excited for fresh meet and everyone will love ya

I mean, if you are worried about etiquette, you could just watch from the side for a while. Or it would cost roughly $4 every half hour to sit at the table and fold every single hand until you learn the do’s and dont’s of how to bet appropriately without making any faux pas.

To put you at ease a little bit, I went on a trip with my father recently. He also knew how to play the game from playing many many online low-stakes sit n gos back when online poker was legal. He had never played a live cash game before. He looked a little awkward handling chips a few times, but never did anything outrageous, just from watching the other players for a short while.

And if you have any questions, the dealer is there to help facilitate the game, and will remind you to put your blind in if you didn’t notice it was your turn to do so. You will be fine, and even if you do something weird, oh well.

Find a YouTube video on poker etiquette. Then find a $200 max 1-2 game to get your feet wet.

The dealer and other players will help you, so don't be shy.

I’m sure there’s something on YouTube you can find about how to make a bet, how to call, how to not talk about the hand when you are not in it, etc.  most people just sit down at the table and make a dozen mistakes, like a string betting. If you made those same mistakes too, it wouldn’t be the worst thing.  For $1/2 you can buy in for $50, and observe how people act for an hour or 2.  Then the next time you can actually buy in for a decent amount like $200.  

Just play your game man. There’s not much else to it, you learn as you go. Tip your dealer

Since you’ve only played home games, you may be used to loose table talk rules -

If a hand is ongoing, don’t talk about the hand.

If someone is in a hand, don’t talk to them.

If you see someone’s cards before they table them (physically put on the table) and you know they have the winner but they might not realize it yet, don’t say anything.

Verbal all your actions and you will be very safe from ever making a mistake. Buy-in at 1-2 the first few times to get used to the game itself. Much different than the computer performing all the actions for you.

The first couple times you’ll probably going to want to buy in short until you get the hang of things. $1000 is a decent amount off $20 buyin games, but you can easily swing up or down $1K in just an hour of 1/3, so be aware of that. Try to make sure you’re rolled enough to where you’re emotionally attached to the game (it shouldn’t bother you to lose a flip for your stack).

Verbalize everything, be aware of the one chip call, be aware of where the action is, as casino pace is usually a little quicker than home game pace. But also take your time and don’t rush turn or river decisions, especially starting out.

Vibe of the card room really depends on when you go. Player profiles on the weekend in these Florida rooms at the lowest stakes is something like—

1-2 nits/tight old men.

1-2 OK regs, usually break even or small winner, pretty ABC and nitty, just avoid playing pots with them without premiums.

3-5 passive players, usually 30/10/2 pre flop, tend to put in 100 BBs with top pair, typically not making egregious mistakes, but maybe one per table that won’t ever fold a made hand for any amount that you can really target.

0-2 LAG gamblers, might only be LAG pre but some are bluffy postflop, super wide range of actual skill, some know what they’re doing but just splash around, others are clueless maniacs.

Ask waiters/waitresses to bring you whisky glasses filled with apple juice every half an hour, so that the table thinks you’re drunk