Hey guys I recently started playing somewhat seriously again. Mostly at a couple home games where I was trending upward. Usually had winning sessions against what I would call half decent players. A bunch of us went down a local casino today and playing some 1/2 NL. They were running a high hand special ad everyone wanted to go so I joined. I never played at a casino before and felt VERY out of place. I thought a played a little tighter than I usually do and tried to be paitient, but really didn’t get good cards at all. Had a couple suck outs and ended up down 700. Has anyone else felt this way playing in a new atmosphere? I am not upset with how I played, although I don’t like losing. I am more surprised I felt this way and really never got over it today. I would like to go back again and see if it was just a first time thing or if I am going to have to work on my basics a little more before I play there again.

first time I played at a casino, I was nervous af and played terribly , this Is completely normal (I was 17 lol) but still it is way different atmosphere than homegames

It's still poker though, these feelings with fade with experience

First ever hand I got dealt in live poker I gii ai pre KK vs JJ and lost to a 2 outer OTR
You shouldn't feel bad about suckouts as long as you know you are making good decisions and have the roll to deal with these swings
With experience these feelings of nervousness will go away and you'll be more comfortable in your surroundings

Yeah feeling weird and uncomfortable at first is completely normal. It passes.

I’ve played thousands of live hours and still get mild anxiety sometimes, especially in a big pot.

Very few of us didn't feel out of place and off the first time we played in a casino. That's normal. A lot of it has to do with playing in a new environment and becoming aware that there are more "do's and don'ts" than are usually in place during a home game. As you go back over time, it will become familar to you and those feelings will subside.

If you are going to take the game more seriously, I suggest participating in this forum. Don't just skim over the hand histories. One good technique is to read the first post, then come up with what you would do in that situation and write it down. You don't have to create a post, but writing it forces you to think about why you would take a certain line. Then read the rest of the posts to see if they agree or disagree with you. You'll learn a lot from the few posters that will tell you why.

Good luck.

I have played for many years and many hours. At one point poker was my main source of income.

I had and still have regularly felt some stress and anxiety when playing, though it varies in intensity

My first time was after college. My Filipina neighbor learned from my GF that I had been beating .25/.50 and perhaps up to $1/$2 online. Limit. So she staked me and drove us an hour and a half to an indian casino to play $3/6 limit. I was pretty scared. I actually tried to talk her out of it because I'd never played in a big game before, but she had total faith in me and was certain she was making a good investment.

This was San Manuel. We didn't realize that Commerce and Hollywood Park existed and were minutes away.

When we got to the table, everyone was so convinced that they were an expert and seemed very comfortable, suggesting they played all the time. Some were even on a first name basis with the dealers. They had all these cool card protectors and wore sunglasses and could do tricks with their chips. I figured my physical tells would make me an open book for all these sharks. But they were not as good as they seemed and I held my own. Eventually, I flopped top 2 with AQ and it was rammed and jammed. Someone hung in with 55 and hit on the river and that wiped me out.

The neighbor was pretty mad at me for losing that hand. We were stuck at the casino for like 9 hours more while she degened. I had no idea people gambled that long, or where someone living in our building could get enough money to. Casinos like this one are more boring than the DMV and we felt like we were in purgatory.

Many lessons learned. People are just fronting 90% of the time and are really clueless, in most areas. Don't share a car going to a casino. 100% of Asians are gambling addicts. Etc.

Anyway, it didn't take me long to be totally comfortable once I had the BR to play higher stakes on my own, and before long I even stuck at 4/8.

I've played 4300+ hours of 1/3 NL in a casino and still get in spots where I feel uncomfortable at the table. But basically the more you play the more you'll feel at home, plus the more you'll understand what your comfort spot is (where you can then play to that comfort spot).

Git'llcomeintime,eventuallyG

Completely normal in my opinion. I would imagine I would have felt the same if I jumped right into 1/2 NL. Fortunately for me, my first casino action was 2/4 limit lol. By the time I transitioned to NL it was still uncomfortable but much less so since I was used to the environment and just not comfortable with the bet sizing and being able to lose your stack at any time.

Yes, it is normal. I get this feeling anytime I play a new room or when I have taken a >month long break.

The real question is...once you feel totally normal in a room...is that, "normal?"

OP if you didn't feel weird your first time in that environment, then THAT would be abnormal. Totally fine and basically what all of us have experienced. Keep going back and it will become much more normal (might even begin to feel like a second home....yikes!).

Gl