My First Casino Trip! (I won)

Actually, I'll tell you about my first three casino trips. I have been a pretty successful online tournament player. I almost never play ring games.

The other day, my friend asked me if I wanted to go to Atlantic City. I was hesitant, but I thought... what the hell? We live about 45 minutes away. The only bad thing was that he was going down to play $1/$2 NL.

Now... I am a poor college student and I don't have a designated poker bankroll. Anything I've won from internet poker has been spent or will be soon. I know that to safely play $1/$2 NL, you need at least 10 max buy-ins (which is $300x10). That being said, I figured it would be ok to go and try.

I bought into the table for $100. (I know that it's not a good idea to buy in for less than the max buy-in, but I literally didn't have $300 to spend on poker). I sat there and paid blinds for about an hour and a half, watching how people played. I sat on my hands, and even folded some playable hands. People raised almost every hand, and not just standard raises. Pre-flop raises were, on average, $10... and I simply didn't have that much to spend on marginal hands like KQ offsuit.

Finally, I was dealt AQ suited in mid position, and there were no raisers. I raised to $12. I got one caller (the button). The flop was A A 10. I checked, he checked. Turn was a Queen. I **** my pants, then checked. He put in a $20 bet. I tried to act like I was upset, and un-willingly called. I forget the river, but I checked it. He instantly put me all in. I called instantly, and doubled my remaining $90 to $180. Hooray!

From here, I built my $180 in chips up to $300. When I hit $300, I left the table, and Atlantic City with a $200 profit.


Two nights later we returned, and I wanted to try the midnight tournament. There were 104 entries, top 9 paid. Four hours later, I was eliminated in 14th place. I had lots of fun, it being my first live tournament... and I made it pretty far and played well.


The very next night, we went again (I've become addicted ) to play the midnight tournament again. I lost pretty early this time, and decided to play $1/$2 NL. I sat down with $100, and in about two hours I had built it up again to $300. It was amazing. I just played super-tight, and played my hands strong when I had them.

Overall, for my first three AC trips, I am up $300. ($400 in $1/$2, and -$100 in tournament entries).


Should I quit my day job yet?

That's a nice start. Based on your note mentioning the midnight tourney, I'm going to assume you were at the Taj. The real goldmine is next door at the House of Blues. The fish are plentiful.

The Showboat?

Yes. The poker room is small but not too bad.

I dont know if it is just my mind playing tricks on me but i am sure i have read this post at a different forum and some time back for that matter. I did get a laugh from it when you asked about quiting your day job already after 3 visits to a casino. Then i laughed again when i remembered you were a poor college student so i wondered what day job you planned to quit. Thanks for the laugh with it all though i did find it funny.

I assure you, this is the first time I've posted this story. Maybe someone had a similar experience.

youll realize why you need 3k when you loose a 1k pot to an idiot that turned bottom 2 on your flopped straight, pushes you all in and rivers a boat.

Trust me, I know how poker works. Let me enjoy my small victory.

congradulation i hope the feeling lasts but i hope u can still enjoy your time after your first loss

keep it up gl to you