My kid sister is 32 and has just started playing NLHE. She plays with her friends and family but never online or in a casino. She understands the principles of NL but of course is a beginner. She will be in AC new years weekend and wants to
Play some 1-2 NL. What would be a good spot for her? Thanks in advance.

Borgata is a nice place to play, and I found the 1/2 game there laughably easy. Teach her to value bet properly with strong hands so she can value town all the stations and she should have fun.

Thank you SGT I will let her know.

For the sake of safety I would advise her to stay at Borgata and only play there as well. AC is not a very safe place, although with so many people there for New Year's it's prob a little bit better. I have spent the last 15/36 months in AC, and so I know the area very well. Enough to know that you don't walk outside on the boardwalk or in parking garages once the sun goes down.

She is actually staying there with her husband. Mr bro in law will be around most the time so I am sure she is in good hands. I really appreciate the heads up.

Borgata is definitely the place to play.

If they feel the need to go down to the boardwalk area, the Taj is the only other good room.

Thank you SGT, Katie, and Trust, I have told my sister what you all said. Will let you know how it turns out.

OK. I disagree with the Borgata recommendations. If she's a beginner she'll be a fish there. So, I recommend Showboat, Caesars or Bally's. They're smaller card rooms with weaker players. If she wants a level up, try the Trop.

Just my $.02.

-ph (p0k3rhack3r)

I agree with this statement, but those rooms are so nasty she may never play again

Borgata is by far the nicest, and is my home casino/poker room. I don't play NLHE, however (HATE that damn game--am too much of an action junkie and everyone sits around hollywooding, taking FOREVER to act. MF--I KNOW what you have! ahhhhhhhh). Now all that said, boo, the 1/2 games at Bally's, Showboat, Harrah's, and even the Taj are all soft, and I have hit them up plenty of times when I've gone busto... Also, Caesar's has a nice, clean room, but for some reason I've never felt comfortable in there...

Actually, Showboat's room is nice--gotta say. And I feel badly for dishing the Bally's poker room--it's my favorite room of all time, and I soooooo wish they would still let me smoke in there and play 5-10-15-20 stud (the BEST game of all time and singularly responsible for my poker life/bankroll).... xoxo

Showboat isn't that nice, and if they still have that Mardi Gras parade it drives some people nuts.

I'm confused by people saying Borgata 1/2 is tough, I'm not much of a cash player and I thought it was plenty soft enough. Meh, I haven't played that much in AC so maybe I just got a lucky few days.

While I do agree with SGT RJ that the 1/2 @ the Borg isn't too tough, I can see others points about a beginner feeling out of place playing their.
Also, IIRC, they only have music blasting on Fridays and Saturdays @ Showboat.

If she's with her husband, she doesn't have to worry about anything on the boardwalk. I'm 24 and I've never had a problem walking the boardwalk by myself day or night.

Caesar's room is decent, but like COCOCHANEL said, something about it is just uncomfortable, weird location imo.

I like the fact that Showboat and Bally's poker rooms have windows. Showboat would be my first pick of the two, but she might want to check out Bally's. They usually have a 1/1 game running which is great for someone playing in a casino for their first time.

I just wanted to say thanks for all the replies, my sis played at borgata and really enjoyed it so she didnt venture out to other properties. She lost 265 dollars, she played three separate sessions so 265 is not bad for a first timer.
She is also no longer a poker virgin ( translation, her aces got cracked) .


Thank you again.

Glad to hear it went well for her. Casino poker is so different from any other poker experience, and once you've done it once...

Borgata is definitely the nicest, and a $265 loss for a first-time player is NOT bad at all. The first time I played in a casino cardroom I was at the old Grand Casino in Biloxi (before Katrina--now most of the action is at the Beau Rivage). I sat down in a 1-5 spread limit stud game and lost $100. I was so unnerved by how fast the game seemed to play! Plus, it seemed like every pot I came in, this older man with one of those electronic voice things from smoking too much (you know what I mean?) would raise the pot and say something nasty to me. In his electronic monotone: "This is my pot. Stay out. I raise. You should fold. You are not good at poker..." He just kept picking and picking on me so that I would tilt, which I did. I was soooooooo pissed to lose $100 in that game, that I vowed to get better and better and beat the 1-5 stud. Then, the first time I played 5-10 stud I was just soooooo nervous. I felt like I would NEVER get good enough to beat that game. Now, I am super anxious to move up above the 40-80 LHE game at the Borg. Life is funny.

I hope your sister decides she's gonna beat that game and keeps moving up in levels and has great success!

borgata