A plan makes your first night calmer. Make it at home, before you walk into the room, when you can think clearly and nobody is rushing you.

Start with a budget for the night: the total amount you are completely fine losing. If losing it would hurt your bills or your mood for days, it is too much.

Your budget is your stop-loss. If you plan one rebuy, each buy-in is half your budget. When the budget is gone, you stop and go home, no matter how the cards feel.

When you sit, tell the dealer you are new. It is a simple, friendly way to get patience. Dealers will often remind you of rules as the hands go by.

Watch a few orbits before you play. An orbit is one full trip of the button around the table. You can learn who bets big, who calls a lot and who folds.

Then play the Starter Playbook. It is a simple, tight plan for the early hands, so you do not have to invent a strategy on the spot.

Know when to leave. Walk away when you are tired, tilted or drinking. Tilt is when frustration makes you play worse than you can.

Poker has ups and downs, and nobody can promise a result on a given night. Judge yourself on your decisions and on how well you followed the plan.