Anxiety for First B&M

[Mercman572]

Hey guys, I'll be playing live in a casino for the first time next week. Typically I play online (.5/1 6m NL if it's important) because I'm not 21 yet, but I'll be going to the Dominican at a resort where the legal age is 18. Since I've never played in a caino, or much live either for that matter, I'm a little nervous and don't know how best to attack this transition. So I've got a few questions, I'm sorry if they've been answered but I dind't see them in the FAQ and my search results didn't really yield anything.

Importance of tells: I am paranoid that my mannerisms/expressions will give away my hand, and that I will no longer be able to notice it when my opponents do this as well. For the purpose of a (hopefully) good game, need I be concerned with more than simply viewing my hole cards in a consistent manner and controlling the hand shake? I feel that this probably won't be an issue, but just want to see how alert of it I should be. Last time I played live I was totally unaware of anyone else's reactions. I've read Caro's book but just haven't been able to focus.

Sitting down: I'm adequately rolled for 200NL, but have never played it. It's my understanding from these forums that live games are generally much softer than internet games (even party I hear!). I also hear the rake is much higher in small stakes live games. For those reasons I'm assuming I should sit as high as I can without the bet sizes/ roll limitation restricting the effectiveness of my play due to psychological effects. Is this logic valid?

Moving up: I have also heard that many vacationers play a small game, and when they double up will try a bigger table. The reasons they do it are likely just to try to gambooool it up, but can this be a legitimate strategy or is it just more likely to eat away winnings? For example, if I'm at a $200 and win a $300 pot, would I be a fool for giving the 500 game a shot? I think this most likely depends on my own comfort, but if I have a 4500 roll after that win, is it just a baad idea to try this even if I'm comfortable? I would not rebuy at this level if I lost even as a favorite, so is that enough reason not to try it?


Thanks for reading this, I don't know how interesting it is to anyone else, and I'm sorry if this is redundant. I have just been thinking about this alot lately and feel that my biggest problem would be the timidness of sitting at a live game and at a b igger game than I normally play. I'm hoping to hear some words of reasurance or tips to help me enter this situation in a way that makes me feel a bit more comfortable. Thanks alot.