Trying poker for the first time

By Mark Lasser

It’s hard for me to remember the very first time I played poker. It might have been at summer camp or on the playground.

In those first games, we didn’t have chips or even pennies. We played with toothpicks or Legos … whatever we could amass a few piles of. And – it almost doesn’t need to be said – we weren’t playing Texas Hold’em. We played 5-Card Draw and Double Draw. We played 7 Card Stud with variations like Baseball and Deuces Wild. We played Between the Sheets and both High and Low Chicago.We played GUTS and some variations that I can no longer recall. It was fun and exciting to be new to the game.

I’m recalling this because recently, my wife, who is avowedly not a gambler or a card player of any type, has taken an interest in the subject of so much of my writing. She has, on her own initiative, set up an online poker account and has been playing No Limit Hold’em as well as Razz and both Sit-n-Go and Multi-table Tournaments.

What’s really cool is that she’s good. Really good. She has great instincts for bluffs and betting amounts and has been killing the tournaments. She’s not intimidated by a raise when she has good cards and can play back at an aggressive raiser. I’m beyond impressed. I would also tell non-poker players who have watched the game on TV to certainly try playing in a free account on one of the major poker sites. It’s a very easy way to learn the game and there is the opportunity to play a lot of hands in a very short time period.

Watching her has been informative for me as well. I sometimes forget what it’s like to not know so much about the game. After all the books, magazines, television and hours playing, I assume some times that beginners often get confused. There are certainly some rookie mistakes being made. She sometimes forgets which is better between straights and flushes. I think she may be making too many minimum raises when a 3-bet or a 4-bet would be a better choice, but these are certainly nuances that will come with time.

Of course the next step will be live play. Right now, that seems a daunting leap. My first time in a casino card room was pretty frightening too. I remember not knowing how to bet, when to bet, how to handle chips, how to handle cards and being panicked when I had to make a decision. The worst was thinking I had to fold or bet and not fully appreciating that I could check. Looking back, it all seems pretty funny. Card rooms are as comfortable as kitchens and living rooms, and handling the mechanics of poker is as routine as using a knife and fork at dinner.

So I’ll leave this with two bits of advice, one for new players and one for experienced players. For the newbies, don’t be afraid. Believe me; the players at the casino are more than happy to help. Don’t expect to win your first time out, but also don’t expect you’ll be the worst. There are truly some horrible players out there and many will pay off your flushes, straights and boats because they will assume you don’t know what you’re doing.

For you experienced players, be welcoming of new players. They are the lifeblood of the game and they can often be a good source of profit despite their best efforts. Remember, you too were once new to the game and had no idea about how bad it is to bet out of turn, and you too at one time didn’t know what a string bet was.

Mark B. Lasser is Denver writer and international poker player. He regularly plays in Colorado, Arizona, California, Missouri and Nevada. You can hear him talk about gambling and casinos every Friday at 5 PM on KEZW AM 1430. Readers can send questions and comments to him at ColoradoPokerMark@comcast.net.