With the recent surge that poker has experienced, slews of people are leaving their nickel-dime home games to test their skill at casinos and Internet poker rooms. Of course, the structured environment of the casino can be a drastic change from the laid back atmosphere of the typical home game. So if you've never played poker in a casino, but are ready to give it a shot, here are a few tips on table etiquette to help you make the transition from home poker to casino poker.

Play in turn.

Wait until it's your turn to act before you check, bet, or fold. Even if you have a horrendous hand, wait until it's your turn before you fold. Otherwise, you give the players in front of you an advantage and effectively hurt the players behind you. Take the following scenario: Three players remain on the last betting round of a hand, and you're second to act. You miss your draw and decide to fold, so you toss your hand into the muck before Player 1 has acted. Immediately, Player 1 realizes that he now has only one opponent, so he decides to take a shot and bluff with nothing. He bets, Player 3 folds his weak hand, and Player 2 takes down the pot uncontested.

On the other hand, what would've happened if you hadn't folded out of turn? In this case, fearing that you might have a good hand, Player 1 checks. You check, Player 3 checks, and Player 3 ends up winning the showdown with his weak hand that was still better than yours or Player 1's. By acting out of turn then, you gave Player 1 the advantage of knowing that you were going to fold, and you effectively lost the pot for Player 3. This example illustrates an extreme case, but regardless, playing out of turn is always bad etiquette.

Don't splash the pot.

Despite what you see in the movies, it's never proper etiquette to take a pile of chips and toss them into the middle of the pot when you're betting. This is called splashing the pot, and when you do this, it becomes difficult to identify what amount you actually bet. Instead, take the chips that you want to bet and place them in a pile about 6 to 8 inches in front of you. You don't have to announce the bet amount, but if you place your chips clearly out on the table, the dealer will be able to count them and announce the bet for you.

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Don't make a string bet.

A string bet occurs when you use more than one motion to bet your chips. For example, if you want to bet $100, you make a legal bet when you simply put out four $25 chips, all at once. If, however, you put out two chips, then reach back into your pile and grab two more, you've used two separate motions, and that's considered a string bet. This is another thing we see in movies all the time, mainly because it's a great way to create suspense. I'm sure everyone can recall a scene that goes something like this:

[Squinty-eyed man stares down his opponent, grabs a pile of chips, and tosses them into the center of the pot (splashing the pot, of course).]

"I call your five hundred..."

[Long dramatic pause, cue suspenseful music.]

"...and RAISE you two thousand more!" [Now he throws in another pile of chips.]

Sure, it adds suspense to the scene. But the problem with the string bet is that it can be used as an unethical way to gauge your opponent's strength: You call the $500, notice that your opponent looks uncomfortable, so you decide to bet an extra $2000. Or, you call the $500, notice your opponent smile with glee, and you decide to put no more money into the pot. Thus, instead of committing $2500, you only commit $500, then give yourself the unfair opportunity to make a second decision about the other $2000. Well, there's no "testing the water with your toe before you jump in" when it comes to poker. If you want to make a big bet, all of the chips have to go into the pot together. Thus, we have to rewrite the above scene somewhat:

[Squinty-eyed man stares down his opponent, grabs $2500 worth of chips, and sets them neatly on the table in front of him.]

"I call your five hundred and raise two thousand more!"

[Cue suspenseful--but now anti-climactic--music.]

Remember, real life is never as dramatic as the movies.

One player per hand.

This one shouldn't take much explaining, and yet, it's something we see in home games all the time: two players remain in a hand, one bets, and while the other is pondering his next move, everyone else starts discussing what the first player might have. Can this possibly be fair to either of the players? Home games let people get away with table chatter, but cardrooms will rarely tolerate any breach in the one-player-per-hand rule. Besides, discussion--or even just the sharing--of hands, can often lead to distaster. Here's another scenario: you take your new girlfriend to the local cardroom to show off to her what a fantabulous poker player you've become. She sits down behind you at the hold'em table and watches you play. Not long after, you get dealt two aces. She sees them over your shoulder and--not being the stoic poker player that you are--gasps perceptibly. Sure enough, everyone at the table now folds. Gee, don't you wish now that you had told her about the one-player-per-hand rule?

Well, there you have just a few tips to get you started on your first journey into a casino poker room. Next time, I'll address even more aspects of casino poker etiquette. Until then, good luck at the tables!