To play, you buy chips. This is called your buy-in. Every game has a minimum buy-in and often a maximum, and those amounts vary by room, so always ask.

You can usually buy chips at the cage, which is the cashier window, or from the dealer when you sit down. Ask the brush which way the room prefers.

Once you sit, tell the dealer how much you want, and they will get you chips. Count your stack when you receive it, and stack it neatly so you can see it at a glance.

Your chips stay on the table. You cannot take chips off the table in the middle of a session. People call that going south, and it is not allowed.

This idea is called table stakes. You can only bet the chips you have in front of you when the hand starts. If someone bets more than you have, you can still call with everything you have. That is called going all in, and you can only win the part of the pot your chips matched.

If you run low, you can usually add more chips between hands. Ask the dealer how the room handles reloads and whether there is a cap on your total stack.

Keep your chips in plain sight and in neat stacks. Do not hide them behind other items or in your pockets. Clear stacks prevent confusion about how much you bet.