Re: [ba-poker] learning by doing

[EAEven(deleted the rest)]

At 05:15 PM 12/9/2004, Nick Christenson wrote:

> At any one time in a single room, there may not be enough
> novices ready to begin a free learning game, and they may not
> wander in just as your daily scheduled lesson is about to
> begin.  Moreover, dedicating people to customer education
> costs money, and this is wasted if there's nobody to teach.
> But that doesn't mean that there's nothing you can do.  I'm
> shocked that every significantly sized card room in
> California doesn't have a big sign just inside every entrance 
> that says, "FIRST TIME IN A CARD ROOM?" in huge letters and
> provides some advice (and who to talk to and what to say) in
> slightly smaller print.  I'm appalled that every floor
> person doesn't have a well-crafted 25 word script memorized
> about what to say to someone who indicates its their first
> time.  How much would it cost to make an ultra-cheap cheesy
> video and set up a small TV/VCR with head phones in a corner
> somewhere to explain what's going on?  The problem is that
> these things require thinking ahead, effort, and employee
> training, all things that it seems that nearly every poker
> room manager despises, or at least views as a cost center.

When I started out, and was playing 1-2 HE regularly at Hollywood Park in LA 
circa 1998-99, they did indeed have a cheesy video playing constantly at the 
main entrance showing how to play all the games.

I had already "learned" by discovering poker through AOL Masque games, and then 
on a whim, decided to get off the freeway one day to check out the Commerce.  
Like someone else mentioned, I easily dropped $100, only it was 1-2 Draw for me 
(amazing to me now that the Commerce still spread 1-2 Draw then!)  That was 
June 1998; I next went to play 1-2 HE at HPC on Labor Day Weekend and didn't go 
home for two days...the rest, as they say, is history.

Since I haven't played at HPC in ages, I don't know if they still play that 
cheesy video; but I do know that the Bike has consistently advertised their 
"Poker School."  I don't know if they also have instructional tables.  Whatever 
one may think of "women only" events, the Bike's "Queens" tournaments have been 
enormously successfully at helping women feel comfortable in the cardroom 
environment.  I often met women in these events who drove from distances (Big 
Bear, etc) with their 20-year home game buddies for whom this was their first 
cardroom experience.

I got lucky that I didn't get too intimidated in my first experience since I 
went by myself...and it was at the Commerce even!  (Now that I'm a more 
experienced player, I don't even *like* playing at the Commerce.)  I've had bad 
experiences at other cardrooms as a first-time visitor, but fortunately it 
wasn't going to turn me off poker altogether because I was already a regular 
player.  I generally just won't frequent those cardrooms again.

Also, I think Bay101 has a table set up for instruction -- and has pamphlets 
available about the games -- but I don't remember if I ever saw anyone actually 
giving lessons.  There has been someone at an information table near the 
entrance to answer questions, and some props try to be helpful to newbies.

However, I do agree with Nick's assessment that most poker room manager 
"despise [anything which] require thinking ahead, effort, and employee 
training, or at least views as a cost center."

Beth