Some casinos take a larger percentage than others and some have no cap on how much comes out of any one pot. Ask before you sit down. If the rake is too high, you may want to shop around for a better deal. If the cardroom is "the only game in town," you have to decide whether the games are worth it. Not surprisingly, high rakes tend to be found in low- or no-competition areas. Internet poker may help change that.
Many new real poker players are surprised to discover that the skills required by the game are very real. For those people, poker will start evolving from a mere party game to something more like a hobby. These players will want to learn how to play better, and will feel good about themselves when the,,- do. That sense of accomplishment at poker has a special character to it; it is different from the feeling von get from being good at your job or being the best Trivial Pursuit player on the block. This phenomenon is difficult to explain to people who haven't experienced real poker, but this excerpt from Harrah's website on the World Series of Poker (ww'.harrahs.com/wsop/gallelvofchamps.html) is a good place to start.