When a poker player goes to a live card room or casino he usually has several decisions to make regarding what he wants to play. These decisions will range from the choice of Ring Games (also known as Cash Games or Side Games) or playing in Tournaments. He certainly may choose to do both, but obviously not at the same time.
Cash Games are games that will require the player to purchase chips, or "bullets", to use as ammunition at his table. When the cash player sits down to play in a cash game, he is risking his own money. The amount he can lose is only limited to his financial resources. The casino will take his cash and trade him "checks" or "chips" in denominations that will be easy to understand. The denomination of chips are usually the same in all casinos. The colors are almost always the same, but, some casinos tend to change their chip color which is often confusing to the players. Generally speaking, the chips are most often in these denominations and colors:
White - $1 In some casinos you will find a $10 chip, but not often.
Red - $5
Green - $25
Black - $100
Live games are set in an area by themselves. The poker room manager determines which games will be offered depending on demand. In the United States, Texas Hold'em, Omaha Hi and Omaha 8, along with Seven Card Stud, are the most popular.
Once you determine which game you want to play, it is wise to take inventory of the amount of money you are willing to risk. Each game has a "spread" which indicates the range of the structured bets allowed. For example, in a Texas Hold'em $2-$4 spread, the little blind will be $1, the big blind $2 and the betting structure will be a $2 bet on the first two rounds of play, and $4 on the last two. Normally, there will be one bet and three raises allowed per round.
A rule of thumb for how much money to bring for your bankroll is approximately 25 times the big bet. So, to sit down in a $2-4 game, it is wise to have at least $100. All games are considered to be "table stakes." This means that you will not be allowed to go into your wallet for more money during a hand. Some people believe that one should have up to 80 times the big bet to allow for "variance." Variance simply stated is the swing of the positive or negative direction of cash flow. If you have entered a game where there is a lot of betting, meaning many raises, then you must be prepared to stay in and have plenty of "bullets" to manage a big win. If you are an aggressive player, and take more risks, then the variance can really fluctuate.
One nice thing about playing in a casino (and this applies to online games as well) is the ability to change tables if you don't like the one you are playing on. Suppose the floor man sits you in a seat at a table where everyone seems to know each other, and are all "locals." You might ask for a seat change in order to find a spot where you are on a more level status with the other "strangers."
Some people are not too thrilled to sit at a table with aggressive players. Especially being a beginner, an aggressive player will "bully" you into folding more often than you should. A maniac player will play just about anything and get you into hands you probably should have won but don't because the maniac plays to the end no matter what he has and draws out on you. So, choosing a table that has certain types of players that make you feel comfortable is best. Some people like a table where the betting is tight pre-flop and then play for all the gusto after the flop hits the table. This is because after the flop, 71% of the cards have been seen and it gives some players that extra amount of security to bet.
Some casinos have a "bad beat" jackpot. This means that every pot has an allotted amount of chips removed and placed in a jackpot container to be won by someone who has a predetermined "huge" hand. Usually, but not always, the bad beat has to be done this way. A player must beat another player with Aces full and both your hole cards must be used to win. Some times it has to be quads over quads. When and if this happens, the entire table benefits. The person who had the hand that was beaten gets half the money in the jackpot, the one who did the beating gets 25% and the rest of the table splits up the remaining 25%. It is often that a player does not want to be involved in a game with a bad beat jackpot because of the amount of money lost out of each pot to the jackpot stash is unreasonable in comparison to the chances of winning it.
The house also takes a rake from each pot, or in some places, may make the player pay for the time he sits at the table. Beware that when you play in a cash game, money will disappear from the table and go to the house on a regular methodic basis. Think about it this way: Sit down at a table and play poker for 24 hours straight with the same 10 people. Each of you start with a $100 stake ($1000 for the table). By the time the 24 hour period is up, at a 5% rake, or maximum of $3 per hand, with approximately 12-15 hands per hour, the entire $1000 would be in the hands of the house. Scary thought.