A lot of people play poker online because this is very convenient. You do not have to go out of your house and dress to play your favorite game. You will not be hassled by traffic or heat. Then again, if you’ve been so used to playing poker online, playing the real poker game in a real casino, for the first time, can be a very tedious, if not scary, task.
Once you enter the casino, you’re not entirely sure on how to sign up for games. You can’t just stand up and move to another table. Everyone was, of course, a beginner but not everyone wants to look like one.
Here are a couple of tips that will help you survive the jungle, if ever you decide to come out and explore:
1. Secure a player’s card. It does not matter where you play, in whatever casino you play in, the first thing that you should do always is get yourself a player’s card. The player card will help the casino track your play and how they issue comps. You can also put yourself in the waiting list for games using your card. Some casinos also require player’s cards for you to play in tournaments.
2. Check out what is out there. As soon as you enter the casino, you have to look for two things: boards and brush. The board will give you the list of games currently playing. Some casinos have huge screens, other have whiteboards. Smaller casinos have clipboards.
Brush is the person that will sign you up for the games. You can look for podiums where brush usually stands at, others simply have a desk. 
It takes a different type of Texas Holdem poker strategy to win at Double or Nothing tables on-line. The first time I saw a Double or Nothing game I thought I had found an easy way to beef up my account. After all, I was pretty good at standard sit-n-go games and doing very well in various tournaments. But the Double or Nothing is a different game. I went into the game playing like I usually do and found, very quickly, that my stacked was running away faster than a roadrunner with a coyote on its tail.
Trying to bully your way through a Double or Nothing will usually end in disaster. The point of this kind of game is not to win the big stack and devastate your opponents, but to survive longer than five other players at the table. Don’t know what a Double or Nothing game is? Let me explain. It’s a single table ten seat Texas Holdem game with a twist. Ignoring the casino rake, the buy in is, for example, $10. The game is over when the first five people are eliminated and get nothing. The other five double their buy in and walk away with $20 each. As far as the game goes, it’s played like any other sit-n-go.
It’s very important to stay out of trouble and simply survive. There’s no need put a lot of pressure on the other players the way you would in a standard game. In fact, I’ve won many games by simply hanging back and letting the other players beat each other up. Most people will go into a D or N and try to dominate the table the way they see the pros on TV do it. This couldn’t be more wrong. I love it when these guys are at the same table I’m playing. Yes, they will probably walk away a winner, but they are taking a lot of chances in order to do it. I love to sit back and watch them risk their stack and take out the other players while I fly under the radar.
Another thing you need to do is be aware of everyone’s stack size. If you’ve been dealt good cards and the only ones playing in the hand have bigger stacks than you, get out. Remember, four other players will win the game and there’s no point in putting your position at risk by playing against someone that can put you all in. Target the small stacks. By playing carefully you can be sure that at least two or three people will have smaller stacks than you and you can safely play against them without risking being pushed to the rail.
