Quote:
Originally Posted by thenewoldpro
I just think that 14 dollar per hour session fee is going to be hard to beat for most players until they get really good. Combine that with the fact you get like no amenities for playing poker and that sometimes you have to wait. What if you don’t feel like playing when the table opens? What if you have some appointment? You get to Niagara later on a weekend night which is prime time and you can be looking at 2 hours plus wait times. More if there’s a big bad best jackpot.
I think a serious player would have to play in the states, at least until you run out of visit time.
If you really had to stay in Canada, I think Playground is the best. Sure the rake is high but not compared to Ontario at most games and you get free food and drink. You also get player points. There’s never any wait times. And I think Montreal is just going to be a more fun city than Niagara to live in.
While it's true that games are 1000x better in the US, going down a few months a year comes with many issues.
1) Although we're allowed to stay up to six months a year, it's actually closer to four months a year otherwise you could be subject to US taxes as a resident alien (look up substantial presence test). But even four months a year is the best case scenario. Because...
2) The more you go down there for weeks or months at a time, the more you will be questioned crossing the border. Especially if you have no strong ties to Canada (for example, you live at home and don't have an actual decent job or don't go to school). I used to go down for extended trips all the time and after I graduated school (strong tie to Canada), I was pulled into secondary and questioned every time. I quit a job in December 2021 to travel and almost missed my flight to Vegas cause they pulled me into secondary and I waited an hour to talk to an officer for five minutes. For a facking one month trip. Not even a few months. One month. Never overstayed, no criminal record. Usually the air border is way more chill than the land border. Just wow! They gave me a really hard time and said the reason is that there's nothing proving that I'm not trying to drop off the grid there. Luckily the guy let me board my flight at the last minute.
And you would think I wouldn't need to say this, but you absolutely cannot tell them that the primary reason you are going is to try to make money playing poker. Believe it or not people are actually stupid enough to say that and I've heard stories about poker players getting denied entry cause of that.
3) You'll be living two lives. But your American life is a fake news fantasy life. You don't actually live or have a right to be there (it's technically a privilege) . And you aren't even guaranteed to be able to do what you're doing again the following year (see #2). The friends you make will be friends you can only see at best a few months a year. The girls you date will be short-term, casual relationships that are doomed to an inevitable and likely painful end, unless you plan on getting married or doing some long distance BS.
4) There's an opportunity cost to your real Canadian life. And that's being able to hold down a steady job or relationship. I do get that people travel, but if your life involves being in another country (that doesn't want you there) to sustain yourself several months a year, surely that cannot work out long term.
I've thought about just being a live grinder who plays in the US a few months a year while grinding live in Canada the rest of the year and working a seasonal job, but now it's a no brainer no for me. But if you're in your 20s and don't mind facking around for a few years, by all means go for it.
