So I know I should probably not be gambling. I Don't have a bankroll for it at the moment. The cheapest buy in at my local casino is $40 for 1/2 NL. You can only buy in at $40 max.

So I have an extra $200 and I have not been to a casino since 2013. I recall spending maybe 3 buy ins max, at this particular casino in one day. So I just play for play money online and its easy to win there. I was wondering if with $200, 5 buy ins at this 40nl level would be worth my time.

I think my roll should be at 4k in a casino that lets my buy in for $200 for 1/2nl. Since the buy in at this casino is $40 max, with $200 I have 5 buy ins. Does this change anything for me? I don't care if i lose to be honest, i just probably wont play for another good while. I read tons on the game so I feel I am a better player.

What’s the rake like? With anything even close to “standard” US casino rake, that game might be pretty tough to beat unless the other players have no idea what they are doing.

Online it says $4.50 per hand, $1 jackpot. Its Hawaiian Garden Casino in California. So it's not even worth it right?

Rake debate aside, it sounds like that game setup perfectly for short stack play. Study up on that before going.

And yes, I would play that game with 5 buy-ins.

OP, I hope you and others will forgive me for pimping old posts, but I talked about shortstacking in my recent 6-year-anniversary post - I think it will help you - the tl;dr is that if you plan to go and play shortstacked be prepared for mind-numbing, soul-crushing boredom:

https://forumserver.twoplustwo.com/3...05/?highlight=

In the first post there's a link to my 4-year-anniversary post where I talk about going to the casino with realistic expectations. The tl;dr is my advice is to stand in front of a mirror, hold up the money, say to yourself, "I couldn't give a rat's left front tooth if I never see this money again" and see if you believe yourself, and also go with realistic expectations - your money may last you 2 hours, it may last you 20 hours. You may get dealt 1 playable hand an hour, you may get dealt 3 playable hands an hour.

tl;dr2 - honestly, if you have $200 of disposable income and can buy in for $40 at a time, my personal advice would be to study shortstack play and go for it. Good luck.

??? How is the 'cheapest' and 'max' BI the same? Sounds like a Bingo-fest and even with some good short-stack skills you could just run into the wild wild west all night.

On the flip side .. I think you could have a lot of fun playing for a few hours with 5 BI if you just use a little caution. I hope you run well ... as I can't even call this flipping. GL

Most cash game short stack strategy revolves around a player having a 20BB stack while most other players have significantly deeper stacks. Those strategies don’t apply to games where everybody starts with 20BBs.

Short stack tournament strategy (minus ICM) does apply, but that doesn’t account for rake.

Lots of “standard” shortstack tournament spots net 1-3BB/hand. That’s highly profitable deep in a big tournament. But in a cashgame that rakes 2.25BB/hand + 0.5BB/hand for a jackpot, those obvious tournament preflop shoves become trivial folds.

I'm guessing this is what OP *meant* to say. I'm fairly confident that if he buys in for the min he'll be in the MINority (pun intended).

I know you are just having fun with it, but you'd really be surprised at these games. I've sat down when they open a new $1/$2 table, and you will find the majority buying in for $40. And then, if someone loses their stack (which happens almost immediately) some places even allow them to rebuy for only $20. And then they will call a $10 preflop raise and fold on the flop when they miss.

Well I went to the casino today. It has been completely remodeled, and is more open now. Anyways, I ended up buying in and losing my first buy in ($40) pre flop. My AK vs his AQ. Then another set up happened where I was also ahead and they caught up on the river card. I did not lose all my chips. After grinding for 3 hours I got bored. I cashed out $79. So I basically broke even, I purchased chips twice total of $80. And all I can say, I'm happy I'm not trying to be a poker pro anymore. It got boring after a while of waiting. And I don't like the fact that they all know each other, and share chips. Maybe I'm a sore loser, but I recall one guy saying, don't put me with pros.

If I would of won those two hands I could of made $100. But no.

Certainly a couple of ways to look at this ..

1) It's good that you realize 'quickly' that it would take long hours and patience to work your way through poker in a profitable way.

2) A short-stacked reg invested room doesn't represent the poker 'world' in the slightest.

First and foremost poker should not be something you need to 'endure'. Hopefully you can find another place to try and get a better feel for a more normal poker atmosphere. I could go on and on ...

Were you ever all-in again during the session? Were you up and down or just sitting back?

One thing I will 'warn' you about that is very typical for newer players .... You talk about what could've been ($100). That is a tenuous road to travel. I certainly come here to discuss spots and we all want things to go our way more often. But one common theme you will find here is that poker 'discussion' shouldn't be results orientated, it's about the game itself and how we go about playing and administrating.

Most of the folks here want to help you try and get 'more' out of poker. Hopefully between coming on this site and alternatives in your area poker will grow on you a bit more. GL