Hi guys

I have been grinding online mid-stakes tournaments for the past 3 years now. I earned myself a pretty good bankroll and wanted to try something different. Want to move to Las Vegas or L.A. for 2/3 months to play poker. This trip is just to try it out. Maybe if i like everything I will go for a longer period. Mainly because I want the travel/poker experience.

Originally I am from holland so it is a big step for me. Also i have no clue where to start.. so i was hoping some of you guys could help me with this? is it possible to rent an apartment for 2/3 months? what are the best locations etc etc. I did some research myself but i would like some extra input.

Thanks

What stakes do you want to play, cash or tourney? Both places are good choices, have pros and cons, start with looking at airbnbs maybe, you can also do both within that time

I want to play cash games. Max 2/5 blinds but mostly 1/2 - 1/3 i guess. just because cash games are not my best game. maybe play some tourneys on the side. Hmm how can i forget about airbnb.. will try that one. doing both is a great idea actually. thanks!

Is this a MOVE or is this a vacation that is centered around poker? It makes a real difference when you begin to view the tax consequences...California has State income tax while Nevada, unless something has changed recently, does NOT have State income tax. Costs of living will also be lessened in Nevada, as well as traffic if you are doing any of your own driving. There are a number of other politically-based reasons for which I would NEVER move to California...even the (non-poker) friends I have in Burbank are looking to get out.

Game selection is going to be better, IMO, in Las Vegas, especially at the levels you are looking to play.

Well for now it is a vacation that is centered around poker but if everything works out I maybe want to move for a longer period. well the driving thing is a good point because i am not planning to get a car there if i am staying for a short period but to find an apartment or something within walking distance is very difficult..
Thanks for your input

2/3 drop is too high in LA. Vegas would be better.

If your only going to be playing 1/2 1/3 with maybe 2/5 no question, its Vegas.
If your playing higher 5/5, 5/T then Los Angeles.

Oh and if you have no car. Vegas. You can't live in Los Angeles without a car

Agreed. The only low limit playable game in LA is the 2/3 $300 buy-in at the Bike and even that has a $5-6 rake. The bike has a good 5/5 and Commerce isn't really playable until 5/10 $1500 buy-in (their 3/5 is $200 buy-in). Both casinos have good daily tournaments for relatively low buy-ins though. Plus the cost of living in Vegas is way cheaper and there will always be more games available.

Thanks guys.
Also wondering if you can make a reservation in a poker room? or you just go to the poker room? normally I can make a reservation on the website of the casino but i have no clue how that works in vegas..

Most rooms you can phone ahead but generally people just walk in.

As for more of the differences between LA and Vegas (disclosure, I live in LA):

- Not having a car in Vegas is a challenge. In LA, it's damn near impossible. Also, traffic SUCKS in LA but is no big deal in Vegas.

- Rents (short or long term) and cost-of-living will be much higher in LA. I would expect rent to cost twice as much in LA.

- Rakes are much higher in LA

- The cardrooms are more spread out geographically in LA. You have to drive or be driven from one room to the other.

- Games are considered better in LA, but if you're only playing lower stakes it won't matter as much. Low stakes games in Vegas can get very nitty.

- LA in general has more non-poker stuff to do. It's a much bigger city with all the big city stuff, plus an ocean.

Would you mind elaborating? I’m also considering LA for my next move and may be influenced by politically based reasons.

FYI Commerce has a 5/5 with a $500 buy-in. Hollywood Park, Hustler, and Hawaiian Gardens all have either a 3/5 or 5/5 that you can buy in for at least $500.

For 2/3 or 1/3 the Bike is your only option in Los Angeles. There are lots of 1/3 games in southern California, but you have to go inland or towards San Diego. If you just want to play 1/3 then I would highly recommend Vegas because there are many places to play and you won't spend nearly as much time driving and stuck in traffic.

Pardon the hijack of OPs thread but this is related to his questions:

I'll be in L.A. next month exclusively to play poker. I want to play mostly 5/10 but 2/5 or 5/5 is fine as well. I only see Commerce on Bravo and the games are listed strangely so its hard for me to tell which games are which.

Which room should I play in for best table selection, quality of 2/5 and higher NL?

well thanks guys.

a lot of great advice and will definitely do some more research but this already was very helpfull.

Commerce 5-10 is 1500 max with no straddles. So its probably the smallest 5/10 game you'll find but it runs pretty much all day on Bravo.

HP. Their 5-10 is 2500 which runs mostly during the evening. I've never been there during the day, but I know it plays like 5-10-20 most of the time. I know the game converts to 10-20 often.
Their 5-5 is 500 max so its rather small.

Bike I am not too familiar with the bike 5-10 but their 5-5 is 1K max and is on poker atlas. You can find what games are running online in real time.

Hustler rarely sometimes but not really has a 5-10 game, 2500 max but it doesnt really run. 5/5 is 1K max which runs all the time. Usually 2 tables lately 1.

Gardens has a iphone/andriod app so you can see what goes on there. Their 5-10 is 1500 max usually 1 maybe two tables. They do have a 10-20-20 game which is uncapped. They recently moved it to a "glassed off area" which that game play super big.

Their 5-5 is 600 max.

When do you plan to make this trip? It's slow in Vegas right now, and will remain so for a couple more months. The action is always the same in California. WSOP time in June is the best time for Vegas.

As an alternative to L.A., consider San Jose in the San Francisco Bay area. There is no jackpot drop so the rake effect may be less than in L.A. Also, the two cardrooms in San Jose are somewhat close to light rail mass transit, and you can live just a couple miles away without being in the ghetto like you would be in L.A. Housing is expensive there, which ironically makes it easy to find a room for rent. People buy 4 bedroom houses just to rent out each bedroom.

Can someone explain to me the pros and cons of picking LA over Vegas? California income taxes are high af and Nevada has no state income tax. Also, the cost of living for Nevada is significantly lower than California and I cant imagine it being cheaper to live in LA than Vegas. Yes, lots of big money in LA but... its vegas. Money is everywhere, along with drunk tourists. So, I'd really appreciate why a 5/10 grinder would be better off moving to LA than Vegas. Is it because Vegas has a high skill level compared to LA?

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Because right now, at 12:50PM PST, according to Bravo there’s exactly one 5/10 table going in all of Vegas (at the Bellagio). It’s hard to play 5/10+ if there’s no game in town which is always a possibility during the day Monday to Thursday between July and March in LV.

That's crazy. How is that possible in the biggest gambling city in the world?

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LA is the live-poker capital of the country (if not world), not Vegas. More games, more action, more money. Has been that way for as long as I've been playing. Right now, at 1:20pm on a Thursday, out of the 46 tables going at Commerce there are three 5/10's and one 10/20NL.

To answer your original question- yes, it costs more to live in LA than Vegas but with higher cost-of-living comes higher income and job prospects. Same applies to poker. A poker pro in LA plays 5/10 or higher, whereas in Vegas those games barely exist and the pros are more predominately found in the 2/5 games.

Because degens can make day trips to LA casinoes before going back to their well paying jobs.

There just aren't that many well paying jobs in LV.

Makes a lot more sense now. Thank you for clearing that up!

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Sure, on weekends. What do you think those people are doing when they aren't in Vegas?

Catching up on all the Bible studies they missed when they were drinking and gambling in Vegas?

Rake in Vegas is going to be a minimum of $5 on the Strip.