• What game do I want to play?
• Why am I playing? Is it to maximize winnings? Gain experience (practice)? Just learn?
• How much am I prepared to play for? This is the risk factor. Each table will specify minimum bets and limits (or say there is no limit).
• Should I practice online? Yes, many of today's poker champions began playing online. If you feel you need to practice before you go public, you can choose a list of recommended poker rooms here.

Other considerations are whether the room is empty or crowded, and what sorts of play-ers are already there. You may have a personal preference to play when the room is quiet (or noisy) or at a certain hour.

A player should also scope out the dealers, to decide which ones seem helpful, inviting, professional, friendly, or whatever else is required at that moment. If a table happens to be empty, and the dealer is otherwise not busy, it is OK to talk with them.

Look for the game you have decided upon. Check the felt on the table, as it is easy to mistake one game for another just by looking at the deal. Then check for the sign that states the betting limits. The color of the sign may also match a chip color, to make it easier to find the table you want.

Getting Set up at the Table

Anyone who hasn't come from another table and already has enough chips to play will need to purchase chips from the dealer. A new person will not be able to join a game until the dealer shuffles. By putting your money in front of you, you are telling the dealer to sell you chips at the first convenient opportunity. (All the money will go for chips; there's no change making at the tables.)

Dealers are not allowed to give or take anything directly into or out of the hands of a player. The house may require that you have a minimum "buy-in" of at least ten times the maximum bet for a game, so you don't run out in the middle of a round. The chip colors are almost always the same as the sign denominations: white ($1), red ($5), green ($25) and black ($100). Two dollar and Two and a half dollar chips are also common, in varying colors.

The circle (every once in a while it is a square) on the felt layout on the table in front of each player is for betting. Once chips enter the betting circle, players are not permitted to touch those chips again and (obviously) never permitted to touch the chips of another player) When play is over, the dealer will collect the chips and pay out the winnings. Bets should be placed as a single stack of chips, larger denominations on the bottom.