The article analyzes the interaction between newly elected deputies and an established legislative culture. Legislative research has largely ignored the socialization processes among new legislators and their effects. These processes are studied for the state legislatures of Baden-Wurttemberg and North Rhine-Westphalia, based on a qualitative panel design. The interviews reveal both the new deputies' clear personal goals and their unclear expectations about parliamentary procedures. The gap between individual ideas and institutional norms is filled by the deputies' adapting to established rituals and rules of the game. As an expression of the legislative culture, these norms and rules are transmitted by the traditional socialization agents within the parties.