'Hey, How'd I Get Here?'

"Welcome back my friends to the show that never ends, we're so glad you could attend, come inside, come inside."

- Emerson, Lake, & Palmer

This column is meant for everyone, but especially the new player.

To those of you who know me – welcome! To those of you who don't, I hope to welcome you back as my friends as we get into poker issues from the standpoint of your humble beginnings, where you're at now, where you want to go, and where you want to be. I hope that this will create a forum for you the beginner, a place to ask questions, get answers, and find your way in the world of online poker, tournaments, and your local casinos, where you will ultimately heighten your skill level and desire for our great game.

The show that never ends is, of course, poker, and it goes on 24 hours a day, seven days a week in every suburb, city, state, and country, in kitchens, backrooms, barrooms, cardrooms, casinos, and online. The show starts the moment you enter the room, and stars the rattle of the chips, the shuffle of the cards, and the special lingo known only to the anteing, check-raising, pot-stealing actors we lovingly call players.

Eventually, you will become more competent and secure in this show, and will perhaps invite your friends to come along with you. Those of us who are interested in seeing our great game grow are so glad you could attend, as this column is for you.

When you come inside, come inside, you will find an atmosphere that is not much different from your home game. You'll make friends, find instruction tables, and rules posted, be able to buy and sell chips and choose your game, and have food and drinks. You will find many people like you who are new to casinos, and those who are veterans. You will see losers and legends. Mostly, you will fit right in.

My humble poker beginnings occurred when I was 16. Sitting behind my father at a bungalow colony in upstate New York watching and learning, little did I know that many years later poker would be my vocation. I eventually got to play in that game, and was hooked.

Bundles, crisscross, bingo, spade in the hole, baseball, wild cards, jokers – ah, those were the days. Buy in, play every hand, and get lucky or go broke. But, the camaraderie was unbeatable – the beers, and the stories of the week. Then one day, the light went on. I really liked winning. It was time to venture out. Next stop, Las Vegas.

Las Vegas was a dream to me; sure, I had been to Las Vegas nights at local churches and Elk's clubs, but they were nothing like Vegas! I went directly to the poker room at the Stardust. There were 10 tables; wow, the most I'd seen in any room was two. And they had seven-card stud. Stud was the staple on the East Coast where I grew up. What were these other games? Hold'em, lowball, Omaha. I started to become intimidated. Then, right in front of me at the rail, I saw a game using $5 chips. People had hundreds of dollars in front of them! I was really intimidated now. I was ready to buy in for 50 bucks when then the floorperson came up to me and started a conversation. He explained all of the games – including the buy-in and how the list worked to get into a game – and told me seats were available in the $1-$5 stud game. I took my $50 and got chips, and sat down and started playing. I won that session, but even if I had lost, my feelings would have been the same. The dealers were friendly, the players helped out, and the action was good. Most of all, the game was the same as it was at home. The cards were dealt the same, the betting was as I had expected, and the winner got the pot. All in all, I got very comfortable very quickly.

At that point, I had gotten over the intimidation factor. After all, the game had only eight players in a room with only 10 tables. I thought I could overcome it, and I did. Then, my father and I took a ride to visit my relatives in Los Angeles. The City of Angels was very large! After we hit the L.A. County line, we still drove for two hours to get to my aunt's house. Wow, what a big place – 400 miles of county connected by 7-Elevens. My dad and I decided to check out the cardrooms in California. We went to the Bicycle Club. The intimidation I had experienced in Vegas was nothing compared to what it was here. The place was huge. There were more than 200 tables, an Asian or California games section, a top section, celebrities, food servers, chip runners, and every ethnic background imaginable. I said, "Dad, let's get out of here, we're out of our element!" "No," he told me. "Just remember, when you sit down, there are still just eight players at a table." "OK," I said, "I'll give it a go." I stood on the rail while waiting to hear my name, and heard them calling out initials. Had I done something wrong? As it turned out, I was the only one who used my entire first name. I was embarrassed, but walked up to the board when they called my name. Once again, I sat down in a stud game. The game choices were the same as in Vegas, but they also had lowball. At the time, I thought it was a special game indigenous to L.A. I later found out that in the early days of poker in California, you could play only closed card games such as draw and lowball. Well, stud was my game, and that's what I played. During a break, I noticed an instruction table, where I got my first lesson in Texas hold'em. I was so excited to learn a new game that I left the stud game and went to the hold'em instruction table. Later, they taught Omaha. All of this showed me that no matter what the game is, where it is played, or the size of the casino, things remain the same. People were friendly, the games were good and honest, and the only intimidation I had was in my own mind. When I got back to New York, I told my buddies about my trip, and the next trip I took was with five of them. We had a blast.

So, now you know a little about me, and in the coming months I hope to share more. I also hope to get to know a little about you, and to answer any questions or address any comments that you might have about your game. But to do so, I must hear from you, so send your E-mail to [email protected], or write to me in care of the Card Player office. Remember, we all have beginnings, and as scary or exciting as yours might be, I'll be here to try to help you.