Hi all,

I don't post of here often at all. I'm 21 and currently live 40 minutes outside London. The closest casino to me is 20 miles away, potentially equal distance to London but the opposite direction.

Currently the casino I play at I go roughly 3/4 times a month to play cash. I find myself waiting some nights until late just for a 1/1 table to open and even then it may be 5 max most nights.

My question: Would it be more beneficial for me to drive to a London Casino, pay for parking but ultimately sit down faster at larger stakes? Any opinions on London casinos? Especially the cost of parking ect.

Cheers

About 40% 2/5, 3/5 NLHE, 10% 2/5, 5/5 PLO + Big O, the rest is 1/2 NLHE in 1465 hours. Mostly $1/2 in the beginning, omaha toward the end, + ending with a big downswing. Doh!

I have no experience with London casinos, and can't tell you which game would be more profitable.

But I will say that you should account for any additional costs for different rooms. It's hard to say if your winrate would be different because of the room conditions, but take an average. If you need to wait an additional hour to play in one room you may cost yourself $10 sitting around not playing, while sitting down right away would get you that $10 average return, if it costs you $20 in parking it's not worth it.


Regardless of which room you choose, you should *call ahead* and get put on the list when you leave the house. Most rooms in the US will put you on the waiting list for an hour. So when you walk in 40 minutes later you'll be near or at the top and can get the first available seat.

LOL the closest casino to me is an hour and 20 minutes away. I would suggest you move up to 1/2 because the rake at 1/1 is disproportionally higher and the skill level at 1/2 is basically the same as 1/1. Also casinos generally have more 1/2 tables so the wait list will be shorter there anyways. So yes, it would probably be more beneficial to go to London casino or at least check it out. Unless parking is massively expensive, I think its the right way to go. Also, sometimes the casino will send you free parking in the mail so look for that.

Very valid point, may be worth me going to each and testing the water, I worry also that the players would be much better In the city. Again I'll see my averages.

Thanks

Wow that's far lol. 1/2 games are rare within the casino I'm currently going to. Everything is pointing towards me trying London for a few months, especially if the parking could even be discounted. I know near Victoria some parking is up to £18 a hour, enough to make a rich man cry!!

Maybe you could chop the parking cost if a friend went with you? Or park elsewhere that's cheaper/free and take the tube? I was in London in November and went to the Hippodrome and Empire (I think that's right). We went to the Hippodrome one night and we would have had to wait, but we then went to the other one and got a seat straightaway. So, another plus for London might be just because you have more options in close proximity if one room sucks at a given time.

Obviously it's a tiny sample size, but the night I played I noticed my table had a couple good regs (1 guy with an English accent, and 1 guy with a strong French accent), and the rest were awful. In other words, same as most rooms I've played in. But if you run into a table that's too tough, it goes back to my point above about having more options: change tables or change casinos.

I hit a struggling period in 2013 during the Q3 (Mainly August and September), where I had a 200 hour stretch of about $19/hour poker at $2/5. I did not play at peak hours and I played after a long day at work on most occasions

I then took a 1 week break and read "The Mental Game of Poker 2" by Jared Tendler and posted a $65/hour winrate over Q4 (October-December) at $2/5 over a meager 150 hour sample (small I know). I also played at good times when I was well refreshed.

This proves the theory that "just showing up" can really affect your winrate adversely without consideration of the mental preparation leading up to your session.

My office job is ending on January 17th, and from there on out I will be playing "professionally" onward. I couldn't be more excited.

It is bizarre how I can relate to almost everything in this post. I also refer to time periods as quarters which I think is funny and my Q3 was terrible but Q4 I crushed. My saving grace was playing a lot less and studying the game a lot more.

I have MGOP 1, what is added in 2?

Good luck in the poker world, may I ask what job you're leaving?

Pay, both of those sample sizes are utterly meaningless. Obviously you can run real bad etc but its easy to break even over 200 hrs, not just "win $20/hr".

Obviously you took the right path to over come poor play/play better but its important to be mentally strong and understand the nature of the game etc...

2013 rungood. All 2/5 nl 500 cap bi

Andees, where were these games if you just started playing at Seneca?

Turning stone and a few sessions in Vegas

never losing 3 straight sessions is pretty damn impressive andees.

I don't want to pry, so you don't have to answer this. But why switch to Seneca? I see 3 options: 1) you used to live closer to TS and you moved closer to Seneca; 2) you always lived closer to Seneca and you're now tired of the drive to TS; or 3) there was an incident at TS involving a hooker, bath salts, and miscommunication about the number of hours required for the poker room rate.

(I'm not up to 2/5 yet at Seneca, so it's not like I'm worried you're invading my "turf" or anything. Just curious).

Congrats man. Do you think the jump had anythingto do with the bizarre Michigan "make money when it snows" phenomenon?

Also, my life is very much settled down these days so I'll be looking to shot take 2/5 over your way in the not too distant future. Beware.

I'm pretty much in the middle and have about 1.5 hour drive to either casino. Both rooms have pros and cons. At the moment I'm tired of TS.

Plus a lil 25/50 hit n run action

I knew it! Bath salts are a bitch.

Agreed on both fronts...

I will say that short run variance over the 150 sample was fine/good, but I would estimate at least $15 of the $45/hour increase was dealt to me based on playing better and playing when not tired. If I didn't read the book I would guestimate I'd be making maybe $45/hour over Q4 without adjusting anything.

Thank you, I was a Financial Analyst intern for 2 years. My job entailed more accounting than finance. I just got my bachelors in Finance.

That has some to do with it, yes. There is a lot more money flying around but that jump in winrate can't be attributed to softer games alone. I am to blame for trying to play cards at inopportune times earlier in the year (Q3) and my play was B and C usually when I was tired (raising pre too light, etc).

We are basically the same person. Good luck.

Thoughts on healthcare? Location selection? Plan B?

Check out my PCG thread, but location is MOST likely South florida, with an outside chance of las vegas or Cali. Plan B? Well, I have an education now and I am studying to be certified as a personal trainer to do that on the side because I have always loved fitness.