Written by Tim Lavalli
 NEWS/Thursday, 08 November 2007

All Las Vegas casinos offering free gaming lessons. They, of course, want you to know how to play the various casino games so that you will be more comfortable taking a seat and gambling. Most of the casinos with poker rooms have at least one session a day on how to play poker and we recommend them for two reasons.

First, if you are with a group that includes a family member, particularly a spouse, it’s just good relationship advice not to try and teach them a new game. Let the professionals in the casino take on that task.

The lessons are usually offered in the morning each day. Besides the basic of poker, which you may not need, they also cover any “House Rules”. The rules are not the same in every cardroom in Las Vegas. Local rules on betting lines, buy-ins, short-buys, must-move tables and any other rules that might affect your play will be explained.

More importantly and this goes for everyone who might play in the room, during the poker lesson the casino poker host will explain all of the Jackpots or promotions currently running in the poker room. The High Hand Bonuses, Bad Beat Jackpots, Comps and Freerolls are very different and changing all the time in most rooms. Local players will check the current status of these bonus promotions before they sit down; sometimes the Jackpots are high enough to actually make it profitable to alter your play with starting hands like low pocket pairs or suited cards to a royal flush.

Best to know all your options for winning before you put your money into play.