When it comes to poker "Fish" is a term for a player who will lose his money because of a lack of experience. It is an old poker saying that if you do not know who the fish is it is probably you.
To avoid being instantly marked as the fish make sure not only appear as if this is not your first time in a texas holdem poker room in a casino but that you are there often. Make sure no matter how impressed by the place you are, you appear as if this is just another day playing texas holdem in the casino. If your skills at texas holdem will not allow you to go unnoticed then pick another game like roulette or blackjack.
If you thought you could walk in and learn the game as you play the only thing that is going to happen is that you are going to go broke fast, and then you are going to hear laughter as you walk away from the table with your head down and defeated. Make sure you know all the inns and outs of the game before coming to play in the casino. At home on the computer online playing against computer opponents is the best way to start, then eventually join a weekly texas holdem game with friends then go online and play fro real money before going near a casino poker room.
If you were a spy trying to infiltrate into Russia during the cold war the CIA would have you trained on how to speak Russian and the proper idioms and accent as well so that you blend is as a local, well texas holdem has its own language as well and if you want to blend in as an experienced player you have to know the language as a native speaker. This means understanding what others are saying and being able to use the common expressions correctly in normal conversation. Not laughing at a joke because you did not understand it will make you stand out and some people are bound to notice and figure out you are not all you seem to be.
You may have seen people playing Texas Holdem on television dressed with advertisements for poker tournaments and poker related products and if you go to some stores you can buy this type of apparel. Do not let yourself think that you can go into a casino dressed like this and get away with it. The people on TV are paid to wear that stuff because they are professional texas holdem players and have a good chance of being seen on TV. In the casino poker room a first time player will not be on any TV except a security camera getting laughed at by the security officers as you lose all your money. No one will take you to be a real player if you are dressed like a fool.
The reason it is best for you to not let others now you are new to the texas holdem poker room in a casino is so that they will not be focused on you. If they know you are new they are going to be testing you on every hand till they all know all your tells and believe me you have plenty of them even the best players have then it is only thru years of experience they have managed to hid them. |
