I'm taking my girlfriend to Inn of the Mtn Gods for there 330 wsop sat on apr 16-17 this will be her first time to the poker room. We have been dating for 6 months and she has read a lot about poker, lurked 2+2 and even read and bought me DUCY? she has watched me play online MTTs some plo rush and heard one too many live NLHE "badbeat stories." Going with a BR of $300 she wont play the sat but wants to play live, the room will have lots of $1-$2 nl and $3-$6 lh game. I'm looking to get a womans perspective on what game is less a better option for a first timer. the room will be packed and odds of us being at same table are not good, also second question if she watches me play do i not show her my cards to prevent tells ? ldo i assume

Lowest LHE you can find. Does she play online? If she gets a bit of experience playing micro LHE, the game, itself, will be pretty simple. It's all the getting used to keeping track of where the button is and who's turn it is and such that is a challenge.

Tell her to play tight, don't be afraid of appearing new, guys love to help out the woman, sometimes not value-betting when they can. Tell her observe the other players more than anything. Have her go to Poker 1 and watch all of Mike's live tell vids and make a game of spotting them and not giving off any herself. Make sure she has at least 20 BBs to sit with, so she has time to get into the game.

WATCH OUT FOR COLLUDERS. She could have a great time and not even bother showing up to watch you. And no, don't show her your cards unless you know she can keep a poker face.

This is my first post in this forum, the regs here may have a different take on the whole thing. But I think sitting at NL the 1st time at a casino would be disastrous.

Oh yeah. Maybe have her post here if she wants.

I agree sitting at the lowest LHE table would be best for her first time. The first time I played in a casino I already had a decent amount of success online and was clearly more than competent in the game, yet I still found the live table very intimidating and overwhelming. Tell her not to be afraid to let people know it's her first time. Most (of course not all) people at the lowest LHE tables are just there for some social interaction and free drinks. They will most likely be more helpful if they know it's her first time, and they might even go a bit easier on her which is a nice bonus. Tell her good luck!!

+1 for Limit for the first time. There are a lot of differences between live and online, so it's worth starting in a lower risk/variance game while she figures out some of the basic stuff. Even winning online players need to adjust to things like 6x bb raises getting 4 callers, where online sometimes a 2.5x bb raise takes the pot.

Low Stakes Limit will have more casual players, she might actually have more fun there too.

And if she is sitting with you and the table doesnt seem to mind you showing her your cards, go for it. She was nice enough to come play poker with you!

My first visits to the poker room live, I played LHE. I think I was less nervous as I couldn't lose my whole stack in one hand. Also, before a live tournament, I'll play LHE table to loosen up and get used to live play again as I mostly play on-line. I usually play the $2-$4 LHE tables. Wish her gl!

Edit: Also may tell her about the Kill button as some of the LHE tables have this.

I'll cast another vote for Limit on her first casino visit. That's what I did when I started off, and it was great for building my confidence. This is how I see it: I'm a triathlete, and when I do practice swims, about half my workout is drills--focus on legs this lap, then arms, then this particular arm movement, etc. And you do that because when you put everything together, overall it improves your form and therefore your efficiency and speed. When you are just starting in poker, playing Limit is like drilling--you work on one concept at a time. You don't have to worry about bet-sizing or when you get your stack all-in, so you can focus on understanding ranges, observing other players, and learning how to play position. Strengthening these skills will prepare her for NLHE if she wants to go that route--and she may even decide she likes limit!

Good call on the kill button. The first time I played in a casino I felt like I was finally getting the hang of it. Then they started playing "Kill" and I was like "wtf?"

lol.....that's what happened to me too and why I mentioned it!

Yeah Kill games are fun if you are experienced and rolled for it, but not for beginners.

+1 on limit, it's just a lot less nerve racking than making decisions for stacks when you're facing live competition for the first time.

Does she only play hold'em? I guess I grew up in an era where we all learned stud first, and were more familiar with that game than others.

Shauna

I only sat at 2-4 LHE tables in my first two years of playing poker. Don't have her play NL unless you want her to break up with you.

I freaked out when I sat down at a Limit table as my first time in a poker room. Prior, all my reading and experiences about poker had been about NL, so suddenly being plopped into a game that was limit was very disorienting.

thanx for all the info i just hope they have a lhe game going because most time they dont but it will be a big weekend. as far as the live tells she got a brief run of weak means strong and strong means weak stuff from caros out dated books but i dont need to start with triple range merging. We met at work and i was first attracted to her because she could spot a bluff and knows how to use her woman charm when she wants i like the idea of having her play some online lhe cash c.01-c.02 and build a basic strat

grinding update-

set her up on Fulltilt with a 10c-20c BR of 600 BBs but she does not like the limit games and wants to play no limit. i was thinking of having her try HU sit&goes but that wont help her for cash games

"Have" her post here and we'll chat with her about what she wants to do.

Don't they have 1c 2c NL games on Stars? When she goes to the casino is she wanting to jump right into a NL game or is she willing to play limit live?

Is this thread beginning to remind you, or anyone, of talking to a parent about a child? I presume his gf is an adult woman and if she plays online and wants advice from us, she can come in here. I'm just trying to figure out why we are talking to him about what she thinks and wants, instead of her.

Maybe, but I think his intentions are probably honest, therefore i'm willing to respond.