should i drive to new jersey to play online or play at the casino?

mbrenneman0

mbrenneman0

Legend
Silver Level
Joined
Mar 19, 2016
Total posts
1,536
Awards
1
Chips
0
So first and most importantly. I'm not bankrolled. I have an allowance of about 300$ every two weeks that I gave myself for learning poker which happens to be 1 buy in at the horseshoe in Baltimore. (of course I usually have enough left each time to play every week.) I'm hoping maybe once I learn enough ill eventually hit a heater and build a roll. I'm not sure if this is realistic?

My other option besides playing in the casino would be driving 3 hours to New Jersey every weekend and playing online. Which is also a pricey option because id need to pay for a room with wifi. Which could be anywhere from $60-80 (maybe more? Its been awhile since I've had a hotel room) and plus the $20 in gas it would cost me. But the benefit is I could easily put up the 40$ bankroll needed for 2nlhe

Just wondering what the pros and cons of each are. I'm thinking if I can profit on 2nlhe online I should be just as profitable at 300nlhe live right? The difference is, the casino only costs me 10$ in gas assuming I break even. Where the online is guaranteed to cost me about 100$ assuming I break even. The casino is riskier because I lack the bank roll and could lose more in one session than the cost of going to new jersey, and the online is less risky because I can be properly rolled for the stakes. I also feel like I would learn more from losing a 100$ pot than I would from losing a 1$ pot, is that reasonable?


Thoughts? Are there other pros and cons I haven't thought of?


Edit: Another benefit I thought of for online is I could take a nap when I get there, as I feel like playing tired is a big leak for me live (recently quit caffiene and don't want to have to give in to be more alert at the table, although if I continue playing live I will probably make an exception to drink a caffeinated soda when I get there)
 
Last edited:
edc1

edc1

Visionary
Silver Level
Joined
Feb 5, 2016
Total posts
524
Chips
0
going to local casino is winner all day long for me-i personly like interacting with ppl and being able to see them when im playing if you are good sizing ppl up its never the last chioce but the first one-befor i started going reg to casino i did a lil homework on live play -it paid dividends i would suggest that befor losing a hondo to learn something -bad play doesnt have a monetary boundry so thinking ul learn more losing a hondo might be a huge leak i know it would be for me-im in phily and play at parx casino maybe il see you there one day gl to you
 
mbrenneman0

mbrenneman0

Legend
Silver Level
Joined
Mar 19, 2016
Total posts
1,536
Awards
1
Chips
0
going to local casino is winner all day long for me-i personly like interacting with ppl and being able to see them when im playing if you are good sizing ppl up its never the last chioce but the first one-befor i started going reg to casino i did a lil homework on live play -it paid dividends i would suggest that befor losing a hondo to learn something -bad play doesnt have a monetary boundry so thinking ul learn more losing a hondo might be a huge leak i know it would be for me-im in phily and play at parx casino maybe il see you there one day gl to you

Good point. I just mean, like last time I played, I learned a very hard lesson not to slow play pocket aces. I probably woudnt have even remembered the hand if the hand only cost me a dollar, but it cost me a lot more and because it cost so much more i can remember every detail and learned a lot just from reviewing it. I think parx is about 2 hours from me, maybe an hour and a half. If I ever go that way, ill let you know. Is casino choice important too? Like there seem to be a lot of semi-pros in Baltimore grinding it out on the 1/3 tables. (last week I could have sworn the one guy sat down with his poker coach next to him, talking about defining ranges based on frequencies and stuff...)
 
J

jsh169

Visionary
Silver Level
Joined
Jun 22, 2013
Total posts
890
Awards
1
Chips
0
It sounds like you should play at an unregulated site like Bovada. You would need to buy a couple programs. Then when you start play at 5nl and start from there.

At the small live stakes and micros really no reason to slow play anything.
 
mbrenneman0

mbrenneman0

Legend
Silver Level
Joined
Mar 19, 2016
Total posts
1,536
Awards
1
Chips
0
It sounds like you should play at an unregulated site like Bovada. You would need to buy a couple programs. Then when you start play at 5nl and start from there.

At the small live stakes and micros really no reason to slow play anything.

I've heard those sites don't pay American players?
 
J

jsh169

Visionary
Silver Level
Joined
Jun 22, 2013
Total posts
890
Awards
1
Chips
0
Umm you have heard very wrong, are they harder than 1-2 or 1/3?? Most definitely, but you can learn for a fraction of the price. Lock poker was a scam and a sad deal, I think I roughly lost 25k into it, but we all had a good idea well before it was over. It was sad the guy SHANE I can't recall his last name was guaranteeing 1 cashout a month if I could clear like I think 10k rake in a month.

Bovada and WPN pay VERY quickly. Carbon pays within about 3 weeks unless you get bitcoin, and usually with in a week. I will say this MOST live players think online is RIGGED this is because the game is tougher. It isn't rigged, it is a more calculated game. All i can say is research the site you plan to deposit onto. Guarantees are over rated in this life your money is safer on a site like Bovada than you driving to your favorite steakhouse, or casino.
 
J

Jreece18

Rock Star
Silver Level
Joined
Jan 13, 2015
Total posts
306
Chips
0
Definitely don't travel to New Jersey
 
6

6bet me

Visionary
Silver Level
Joined
Jun 13, 2015
Total posts
835
Chips
0
Just play Bovada. It's one of the softest sites out there.
 
M

moosepaw

Rock Star
Silver Level
Joined
Mar 21, 2016
Total posts
153
Chips
0
ACR is safe. Not sure what you mean by that, but quick deposits/withdrawals, good software. Lots of tourneys (although late reg is a pain in the butt).
 
mbrenneman0

mbrenneman0

Legend
Silver Level
Joined
Mar 19, 2016
Total posts
1,536
Awards
1
Chips
0
ACR is safe. Not sure what you mean by that, but quick deposits/withdrawals, good software. Lots of tourneys (although late reg is a pain in the butt).
By safe I mean reliable, not rigged, good anti-cheating, and most importantly payouts being paid

I started playing acr, but their server stability seems pretty shoddy. I'll try bovada when I have enough for another deposit, but I'm not sure how I feel about the lack of tracker support
 
Last edited:
J

jsh169

Visionary
Silver Level
Joined
Jun 22, 2013
Total posts
890
Awards
1
Chips
0
No offense to him, but I bet he gets ate up at WPN cash games, they are very tough games. Every decent sized U.S. room is paying at the moment besides Full Flush.
 
mbrenneman0

mbrenneman0

Legend
Silver Level
Joined
Mar 19, 2016
Total posts
1,536
Awards
1
Chips
0
No offense to him, but I bet he gets ate up at WPN cash games, they are very tough games. Every decent sized U.S. room is paying at the moment besides Full Flush.

When you say WPN, do you mean winning poker network, as in ACR and blackchip?
 
vinylspiros

vinylspiros

PIRANHA-------->< (((º>
Silver Level
Joined
Oct 9, 2012
Total posts
4,393
Awards
1
Chips
1
playing 2NL, is not going to be worth your expenses.

In order to make 100$ you are going to have to win 50BI's and that could take more than a month of grinding that limit. So how much do you realistically expect to win while playing 2NL online in one day?

I can tell you from experience that if you manage to win more than 10BI's(20$), then that will be a killer day so ,NO, it is not worth it money-wise.
 
J

jsh169

Visionary
Silver Level
Joined
Jun 22, 2013
Total posts
890
Awards
1
Chips
0
When you say WPN, do you mean winning poker network, as in ACR and blackchip?

Yes, both those are two skins of the WPN.netwoek, games are said to be tougher than sPokerstars, there is definitely less fish. They get ate up so fast because everyone is putting in tons of volume in for The Beast.
 
mbrenneman0

mbrenneman0

Legend
Silver Level
Joined
Mar 19, 2016
Total posts
1,536
Awards
1
Chips
0
Yes, both those are two skins of the WPN.netwoek, games are said to be tougher than sPokerstars, there is definitely less fish. They get ate up so fast because everyone is putting in tons of volume in for The Beast.

Ok. I played about 500 hands so far on ACR at .01/.02 (full ring, full buy in and short buy in) and first 200 hands I lost about 5BI from my original 40BI deposit. but the last 300 hands were about break-even, and I'm hoping to see a reversal soon and recover some of those lost BIs.

What I've noticed is the action can be slow and the rooms can empty out fairly quickly. Most hours of the day its hard to find a full table.

Also, kind of excited that I profited a dollar over the course of the last 100 hands while two-tabling. Really starting to be able to process two tables almost as well as I used to process one table.

If bovada is that much softer ill be looking forward to trying it when I can put up another deposit next week.
 
J

jsh169

Visionary
Silver Level
Joined
Jun 22, 2013
Total posts
890
Awards
1
Chips
0
It's just because six max is a much more prevalent game online. Six max is so much better :).
 
mbrenneman0

mbrenneman0

Legend
Silver Level
Joined
Mar 19, 2016
Total posts
1,536
Awards
1
Chips
0
Hey I have a question. If I download black chip poker, will there be more games available to me, or are black chip and acr players already playing together?? I hope the way I asked that makes sense.
 
mbrenneman0

mbrenneman0

Legend
Silver Level
Joined
Mar 19, 2016
Total posts
1,536
Awards
1
Chips
0
Ok thanks. And thank you very much for your input. Always very appreciated
 
TimovieMan

TimovieMan

Legend
Silver Level
Joined
Jan 16, 2016
Total posts
2,264
Chips
0
I guess ill give that a try then
Variance is a lot higher in 6-max, but the edges over your opponents are also bigger.
With the player pool strength at ACR (where I'm barely better than break-even at NL2!), I'd suggest you work on your game in full ring first, before making the leap to 6-max.
And find the softest player pool you can find. Which for Americans is going to be Bovada or BetOnline, I reckon.
 
mbrenneman0

mbrenneman0

Legend
Silver Level
Joined
Mar 19, 2016
Total posts
1,536
Awards
1
Chips
0
yeah, i want to play low variance games for now, i can spot my own leaks better that way, and with as many leaks as i have, i dont want to play any games where opponents can exploit those better.
 
TimovieMan

TimovieMan

Legend
Silver Level
Joined
Jan 16, 2016
Total posts
2,264
Chips
0
Then start by nitting up. The fewer hands and the stronger hands you play, the lower your variance. Once you start plugging your postflop leaks and get a better handle on how to exploit your opponents, you can start opening up your range again, a few hands at a time.
When you go from nit to TAG this way, you'll be ready to adapt to 6-max, imo. Take your time. Post hands. Improve. You'll get there eventually. ;)

Just be aware that nits don't get paid off a lot because people (or at least the thinking ones) will know your range is strong preflop. But it avoids a lot of tough marginal decisions until you get a better feel for how you should handle those.
 
mbrenneman0

mbrenneman0

Legend
Silver Level
Joined
Mar 19, 2016
Total posts
1,536
Awards
1
Chips
0
Then start by nitting up. The fewer hands and the stronger hands you play, the lower your variance. Once you start plugging your postflop leaks and get a better handle on how to exploit your opponents, you can start opening up your range again, a few hands at a time.
When you go from nit to TAG this way, you'll be ready to adapt to 6-max, imo. Take your time. Post hands. Improve. You'll get there eventually. ;)

Just be aware that nits don't get paid off a lot because people (or at least the thinking ones) will know your range is strong preflop. But it avoids a lot of tough marginal decisions until you get a better feel for how you should handle those.

Great advice, i think im going to write down what my range should be so i can have a cheat sheet to look out so i dont have to think about it each time i get a hand.

maybe start with 1010+, Ax, K10+, Q10+ and expand from there?
 
Casino Reviews - Mobile Casinos - Real Money Casinos - iPhone Casinos - Android Casinos - Online Casinos - Canada Casinos - UK Casinos - href="https://www.cardschat.com/new-zealand/casinos/">NZ Casinos - href="https://www.cardschat.com/in/casinos/">India Casinos
Top