Dear Expert Guide,

When I sit down for the first time at a casino poker table, how much is an opening bet and how can one tell if two players are teaming up?

Dear Poker Player,

Opening bets are defined by the game's name. The person who seats you will ask you if you want to play 2-4, 3-6, or 1-4, for example. In a 2-4 game, the bets and raises are in $2 increments on the opening rounds and $4 increments in the later rounds. It won't take you long to get the hang of this, but I suggest you ask the floorperson if you can watch a game from a respectful distance for a while first, so you can feel a bit more comfortable when you actually sit down.

Your second question is tougher. Collusion is possible in both live and online poker. The good news is that it is very rare in very low limit games, and if you are just starting out, that's where you belong. More good news is that most of the time, people who try to collude are doing it because they are rotten players who can't beat the game the regular way, and so even though they are colluding they often still lose. Ultimately, the only way to be able to spot collusion in a live game is with experience, which is why you should move your way up the ranks slowly. In an online game, if the betting seems "funny" to you, you can usually send an email to customer support asking them to review the betting and the players to see if they play together a lot and if their play seems improper.

Andy Glazer