As a professional poker player of close to five years, let me be the first to tell you, you have to start somewhere. Luckily, like most newcomers, I learned the game with a group of friends in my college dorm’s study lounge where I wasn’t nervous about being ridiculed or chastised for not knowing the rules, when it was my turn to act, or even what beats what. Hopefully, with my help, you won’t have to worry about any of that either.

The first time you walk into a casino, whatever your game of choice may be, you’re probably going to be a little intimidated. Granted, you’ve played countless five dollar buy in tournaments with you home game buddies, but this is the big time now man! The flashing lights, the cocktail waitresses, and countless players with their “I’d Check Raise My Own Grandmother!” t-shirts, with matching sunglasses, it can all be a little scary. Here are a few tips for the first time you walk into the poker room:

1. Know what game you want to play

Most card rooms spread a variety of poker games. Limit and No Limit Hold ‘em, Omaha Eight or Better, Pot Limit Omaha, and Seven Card Stud variations seem are the most popular so you don’t need to concern yourself with the more complicated games yet. One way to blow your cover as the new guy is to ask what each game is and how they work. A lot of poker rooms give poker lessons where they send about half an hour teaching the basics of each game, telling you when it’s your turn to act, hand rankings, and basic etiquette (i.e. not talking about hands while they’re in progress).

2. Handling the chips

Sure, you may have seen Antonio Esfandiari flipping 15 poker chips from finger to finger and pulling them out of people’s ears, but believe me, you won’t be able to do that. One sure giveaway that you are out of your element is attempting to shuffle your chip stack, only to have one fall into your drink and the other six all over the floor. Of course, there is no reason not to play around with the chips. Familiarize yourself with them, and get comfortable stacking them into intimidating clay fortresses. For the most part though, the chip tricks should be practiced at home, where only your spouse will make fun of you when you hit yourself in the face with a loosely flipped chip.

3. Handling your cards

I can’t even begin to count how many chip stacks I’ve called off with two hearts in my hand and two on board, only to find one heart in my hand and two on the board. Or, how many river bets I’ve looked up with what I thought was top and bottom pair, finding out I was good, then being embarrassed that I wasn’t and in fact I had bottom pair and a kicker that didn’t even play. Sure, you may look inexperienced checking your hole cards five times during throughout the hand, but at least you’ll know exactly what your hand strength really is. Of course, it is best to memorize your cards so you don’t give off certain tells, but if that’s not an option right away, remember, it’s more embarrassing losing a pot with cards you thought were different than it is winning a pot with cards you stared at for 30 seconds.

4. Card room etiquette

a. Acting in turn. There are pre set opportunities for you to check, bet, call, raise, or fold. If you’re paying attention to the game, like you should be, acting in turn should be come second nature pretty quickly.

b. Putting your chips in the middle. Sure, you’ve seen Layne Flack spin his chips through the air directly onto the rest of the pile, but you’re not Layne Flack, and if you try that, you might hit break the dealer’s glasses (yes I have seen that happen.) Remember this chip movement mantra, “stack, then glide.” By always using the same chip movement repetition, not only are you less likely to get yourself into trouble, you’ll give away less information about your hand.

c. Protecting your hand. Keep a card protector on top of your hole cards. Maybe it’s Casper the Friendly Ghost, maybe it’s a fossil or a poker chip. No matter what it is, keep something on top of your cards so the dealer doesn’t mistakenly grab them and toss them into the muck. It has happened at the World Series of Poker, it could happen in your card room, and it’s never a situation that ends well.

d. Keep your cool. Sure, Mike Matusow didn’t earn the nickname “The Mouth” for nothing, and Phil Hellmuth may really be a “Poker Brat,” but one thing to remember is you’re watching characters on TV when you see them throwing a tantrum on ESPN. Away from the table, Matusow is considered one of the nicest guys in the game and when he calls someone “a idiot,” most likely he knows them off the felt and it’s generally friendly banter for the cameras. You aren’t going to look cool, or be offered a sponsorship deal if you knock over chairs and scream obscenities at every 93 year old grandmother at the table every time you lose a hand.

There are other things to remember during your first few trips to the casino. First, don’t bring more than you can afford to lose. I know it sounds cliché, but it’s important. If you haven’t played for a long time, you don’t know what your poker pain thresholds are yet. Some players can lose ten or twelve buy ins and not tilt, others have a “stop loss” set in place, where they may quit the game after losing just one or two. Another reason to not bring every dollar to your name is there are a lot of opportunities that may pop up that you weren’t ready for. Maybe somebody at the table wants to play black and red (betting on what color Hold ‘em or Omaha flops are going to be). Maybe you’re riding a winning streak and you may as well gamble a little for fun. Well, trust me, it doesn’t take long for the winning streak to end and the “for sure” money in your stack has disappeared along with your “fun little gamble” stack.

Also, be sure to have a pre-established bankroll. If you have a full time income away from poker, this isn’t as important as if you are playing semi-professionally, in which case, you are probably already familiar with the other tips in this article. If you have the disposable income to learn to play poker with, it’s probably not a good idea to bring it all. There is a lot of mathematical variance involved with poker and no matter how good you might be playing, you could still lose more than your fair share, and if you don’t have your whole bankroll with you, don’t worry, the game will still be there tomorrow. On the flip side, if you go on a hot streak and ride the wave provided by lady luck, then you won’t need the whole roll anyway!

This may seem like a lot to take in at once. And some parts may seem scary, or intimidating, but really, poker is a great game and a lot of fun. It’s more fun though, when you step into the card room and you already feel comfortable and confident enough to come across as a winning player, even if you’ve never seen a card before.