Apologies if this is in the wrong place. I figured this is about trying to weigh all the factors of game selection in low stakes NL, so this was the place to post.

My super quick background: used to play online and was a winning player. Quit for two years after my son was born and am resuming poker as a past time due to life circumstances making it allowable. I really don't have a bankroll, but it's not that big of a deal because I have a decent job and can generally afford to replenish a couple of buy ins as needed if variance gets a hold of me. I WOULD like to get to a 20k bankroll eventually just so I could takeshots at 5/10 comfortably if I were on vacation or something. At the moment, I'm pretty comfortable buying in for $500 and having a couple of bullets in reserve. I won't be able to play much in the upcoming months, but in about four months I should have every other weekend free and I plan to play as much poker as I can at that time. For now, I'm just planning for the future.

So here's my quandary. I live in Atlanta, so I think my best opportunities are to play in Cherokee or Tunica. Cherokee is a 3 hour drive for me, Tunica 6. I have never played in Tunica, so I know nothing about the games there. I have played a lot in Cherokee and it's been pretty profitable. The downsides to Cherokee are that 2/5 almost never runs and the comps suck. The upsides are that you can buy in deep ($500 at 1/2), the hands are fast (PokerPro tables so about 50 hands per hour), and no dealers to tip. Also, more play because it's a closer drive.

My question is if it would be worth it to make the drive to Tunica to be able to play 2/5, or is the value do playing higher offset by being able to play deep (though very rarely to people buy in for the full $500- even so, it gives a quick "winning image" to buy in and cover the table), more hands, no dealer tipping, and an extra 6 hours of play per trip?

It seems to me that Cherokee is the better option, but I hate feeling stuck at 1/2. Also, it appears that Cherokee may be getting real cards soon, which while more fun, will take away some of the benefits the PokerPro tables bring (faster hands, no dealer tipping).

I have time to think about this, but I'm curious how big of an impact you guys think playing deep and fast has in winrate.

Curious...I would love to be able to up the hand rates. Some tables you get like 10 hands per hour when there are 1-2 slow players and a chatty dealer.

LOL to $500 being a deep buyin for 2-5. That should be a minimum buy in. There is a nocap 1/2 game at the Nuggett in AC where people buy in for thousands. I know that doesn't help you, but I would never play somewhere that does not allow you to buy in for 100 BBs....it just turns the game into a crapshoot and a shove fest. Great for the casinos, because every pot gets max rake, and great for beginners because theu're on a relatively even playing field with the best players. I'm sure you can figure out who doesn't benefit from this scenario...

Edit: Just reread and saw you meant the $500 buyin was for 1/2. I think buying in for $500 is advantageous, but ifnot many players buy in for that amount it's not that relevant (it's cash, not a tourney). At most 1/2 games capped at $300, there are often a few players who are 500-800 or more deep anyway from people rebuying...

Maybe you should just make a detailed summary of all the costs and benefits - cost of gas and estimate $/hour you are losing by driving farther, tips for dealers, increased $won/hour due to extra hands dealt. I have to make these decisions when deciding whether to drive 2 hours to AC and add hotel costs, etc, versus driving an hour to play in PA where I use less gas and stay in my own bed. If the numbers are equal, go to the close place. If the far place offers a big $ advantage that you consider it worth the extra time in the car, then go there.

I do find that people often comment on my stack size (fearing my stack gives me an advantage), and it's nice to be able to cover players who double up. The last time I played I ended 2 sessions with > 1K stacks and 2 with 800, and there were definitely other 1K stacks to play against. So it really can play deep. If they ever do get 2/5 going they allow buy ins up to 1K, but with my current resources I wouldn't be comfortable with that.

It's hard to know because I haven't played in Tunica at all. I don't know how the hand rates differ or how tough to 2/5 games are. And I'm not sure I want to make that 6 hour drive. I guess I just am feeling a little locked into 1/2 in Cherokee. I fear if they DO get a 2/5 game going to won't be near as good as 1/2 because the better players will tend to be in it.

Without doing any math, it seems the 1/2 game will be more profitable as long as they have the poker pro tables

Jacksonville. AINEC.

I hadn't thought of that, but it's a six hour drive too . . .

Six hour drive would be like punishment. In my mind, you'd have to make almost double what you'd make at Cherokee for a six hour drive to be worth it.

The 1/2 and 2/5 games are super juicy at the Goldstrike Casino in Tunica. There will be guys that will buyin for a $1000+ at a 1/2 table. The comps are great in Tunica (I never pay for a meal) and drinks are free. They are also doing drawings where you receive tickets for making a flush or better and every three hours they pull the tickets (weekdays only) for cash prizes. You can sign up for the "Pay to Play" promotion and at least get some gas money for the trip The Delta Gold Poker Classic is will be here at the end of the month (if you like tournaments)

At Sams Town they also have uncapped games as well but I dont play there as much.

The downside to Tunica is its boring beside the gambling and if you wanted to go out and have some fun, you would have to drive a hour to get to Memphis. But if you are interested in just poker, there should be no problem.

I never played in AC.....so my opinion is one sided.

Really, you should just try all of the options a few times before deciding. Jacksonville doesn't have slots though, which seems bound to be a plus to me.

The drive is certainly a big factor,

The thing is, I have no idea what my hourly is in either place. This is the frustrating thing about live poker- it just takes forever to get a large enough sample in to determine a win rate, especially of you are like me and just playing casually.

From what I've read, a good hourly at 1/2 is going to be somewhere around $16-$20. Are those numbers realistic for me? Who knows? Now add to that more hands per hour, no dealer tips, and the ability to either play deep or have a threatening image due to a coverig stack, and that has to push the potential hourly up, but who can say how much? People could also say that the PokerPro tables hurt a good live player's hourly because there are less live tells (no cards or chips means less stuff people are interacting with), but for me this is not a big deal because I'm not used to seeing live tells anyway. I still get a lot more info live than I ever had online.

Regardless, my hourly has been amazing in Cherokee, and that's without playing Friday or Saturday evenings (though I was able to drive up and back one Saturday, but I didn't play past 9:30, and that was back when buying in for $300 was the max), but again, small sample size. In the future I anticipate being able to play through the weekend, though I'll have to pay the hotel costs (which means booking in advance to get a decent rate, which is why I'm talking about this now- I'm strongly considering just booking every other weekend starting in July until the end of the year).

So is it possible that I could beat 1/2 for a 2/5 rate elsewhere just because of the automated tables and the deep buy in? I suppose I should just try out all the options and see what I like. TBH, though, I might just stick with Chreokee for the closer drive- I'm just always going to be worrying that I'm stunting my game by playing 1/2 and never moving up.

I imagine if you have the time to drive 6 hours to Tunica, you must have some weekends available to you. If this is the case I would prefer to go there and play live as opposed to the electronic tables. But I have never played the PokerPro tables before so I cannot say. Would it be out of the question to do some combination of both? 3 hours away is obviously better than six hours. For a six hour drive you will have to be spending the night at least. I don't know the Cherokee casino very well but I have heard of it.

Any inkling to try one or the other out and see where you are winning the most. I guess it's Tunica for 2/5 so you'll be winning more there. I always frequent a casino that I am doing well at and it gives me a mental edge or boost. I play where I am hot. Since I go to AC a lot, I play at the Caesar's properties since the BBJ is conjoined and if it hits somewhere I'll get a piece. When going to a certain locale, do people choose one location over another for any particular reason when the games are relatively similar?

Brick and Mortar for venues, bankroll thread here for winrates.