Evaluating the Poker Game
 
Before sitting down, good poker players stop and evaluate the game, especially when they have many games to choose from as they do in Las Vegas, California, or New Jersey. However, a serious player should evaluate even a weekly private game before deciding whether to become a regular.

There are two reasons for evaluating a game. One is to determine whether the game is worth playing. The second is to determine how to play in that particular game. When professional players consider whether a game is worth playing, they estimate their expected hourly rate and decide whether that rate is satisfactory.

Social players in a home game are not generally so concerned with hourly rate. However, even they do not want to become regulars in a game where they have much the worst of it; nor do they want to get involved in a game whose stakes are either too high for their financial position or too low to be interesting. Additionally, social players should consider the game - or games, if it's dealer's choice - that are played and be sure they're comfortable with them. They should also consider the speed of the game. If they're really interested in playing cards, they probably do not want to become involved in a game in which there's a new deal only about every four or five minutes.

To determine whether a game is worth playing and how to play in a particular game, the two most important considerations are the structure of the game and the players in the game.