Observations From My Recent Vegas Trip

[SheridanCat]

I just got back from five days in Las Vegas where much poker was played. This trip I stuck to mostly low-limit hold'em, and I played at a bunch of different card rooms. Normally I like to play 10/20 or 15/30, but since I just bought a house I restricted myself to the lower limits. I played 2/4, 3/6 and 4/8 hold'em at Bally's, Aladin, Bellagio, Mirage and Monte Carlo.

I'm sure most of you know the things I'm about to say, but I want to voice them just in case there's something to learn from what I saw.

1) Don't string raise. I saw more string raises in five days than I'd seen in five years previous. Be sure your actions are clear. Verbalize your intention before you start moving your chips out, if you want to be safe. Bellagio now has a betting line on their tables, so maybe that will help.

2) Act in turn. Watch the other players. If you're not sure whether another player has cards, ask the dealer. If someone habitually hides their cards, ask the dealer to have them moved forward. I saw lots of acting out of turn due to inattention.

3) Know the betting structure. Nothing will mark you as a complete newbie more than not knowing what the bet is to you. I played with a guy for two hours who had to be told every single time how much it was to him. Not knowing how much one could bet/raise (or whether you could check) was rampant.

4) Keep your cards on the table. Why is it that players feel a need to lift the cards from the table to look at them? I saw a surprising amount of clutching of cards to chests going on. Sometimes the dealers caught it, sometimes they didn't. I once saw cards go into a lap, even. Maybe this is okay in the home game, but not at a card room.

5) Stop talking and start playing. Televised poker makes it seems like every hand should include banter. It shouldn't. You won't psyche anyone out, just play poker.

6) Stop talking about the hand. If you're not in the hand, you really shouldn't be talking about it. I saw a lot of commentary by players not in the hand either to themselves or to other players not in the hand. It seems trivial, but it can influence how a hand is played. I saw one case where a guy called because a non-playing neighor told him he should. The dealers usually catch this, but they don't always hear it.

7) Think ahead. Very few decisions in limit poker require more than a second or two of thought. If you've been paying attention and have a strategy in mind, you'll have narrowed your actions to just a couple possible moves by the time it's your turn. I saw a great deal of thinking, thinking, thinking about whether to call an $8 bet or not. What could they be thinking? The excessive indecision and staring at the board puzzles me.


8) Don't be a stiff. Remember to tip the dealers. If you forget because you're excited, you can tip when you remember. Just say "I think I forgot you". Or, if you don't remember, ask the dealer if you tipped or not. They're allowed to tell you, though they aren't allowed to ask for a tip.

Alright, that's my rant about the low-limit games in Vegas. I'm sure most folks reading this already know it all, but I had to get it off my chest.

Regards,

T