A Change In The Poker World

I have been reading a lot of posts about the "unlawful internet gaming act". They all talk about the effect that this law will have on online poker, but none look at what it will do to B&M rooms.

As the televised poker shows will still be seen and people will still want to play poker, their only alternative will be to go to the B&M rooms. In most states poker is legal in public card rooms. Though I agree that the law does not make playing online illegal, it does make it very difficult to fund an account online. Especially since Neteller and the other main money transfer businesses have pulled out of the US market.

In playing here in Las Vegas I am running into many online players that have given up on the internet. They are afraid that their money is not safe or readily available. These players will have to change their approach to the game and the strategies they use.

Right now many players have to travel quite a distance to a local card room, but as time goes by I think that many more rooms will open up in more convenient locations.

The poker boom will not end. It will just change direction.

Good Luck

Bankroll Leaks

I was reading a thread in the TwoplusTwo forum that got me thinking about leaks in my bankroll. In the thread a player was saying that, though he was a winning player at poker, he could not seem to help himself from playing blackjack and losing. And I realized that I had the same problem with video poker.

Though I may win in a game or lose, after I leave the table I will go play video poker. I will play sometimes until I have lost my whole bankroll. If I am going to be serious about poker I have to find some way to plug this leak. I think I am going to have stay away from the machines and not consider them a form of entertainment. How I am going to do this I don't know but I must find a way.

There are other leaks in my game but I think this is the most important one and until I can fix this I am not going to worry about them.

Good Luck

Brick and mortar card rooms-Journal

I played in the card room at Binion's last night and found it very frustrating as I was only able to sit in a 2/4 limit game with a lot of tourists. These people play very lose and wild. As I don't really like a 2/4 game to begin with it was very hard to stay. After about an hour I left and looked elsewhere.

I went to the Fitz and found a 3/6 game going and sat in. I like the games at the Fitz as they are more sane. I also enjoy the people there and the food is great in their coffee shop. Though the game broke up early I did enjoy myself.

If you're going to play downtown at all I recommend the Fitzgerald poker room. It is a new room and the dealers are very helpful.

Good Luck

Brick and mortar card rooms II

In Las Vegas the poker rooms mostly offer three types of games. They are holdem, seven card stud, and omaha. Though many rooms offer all three of these games, most do not. Later on I will talk about which games are played at each room in town. But for now just be aware that this is the case.

Each game requires a different set of strategies and playing style. As do the types of players that normally play in the room. Some rooms are frequented by mainly tourists and others by locals. This means the games can be very lose or very tight. A game played in a room that mainly has tourists tends to be far loser than a game that is played in a locals room. As far as the way to play each of these games, you will have to read up on them on your own.

For now just check out the rooms you like and the games played there then try to learn about the best way to play them.

Brick and mortar card rooms

Today I want to talk about playing in B&M card rooms around Las Vegas, NV. In the future I am going to list the rooms that I play at, but for now let's just talk about the idea of playing in a real room.

The first thing to remember is that you must sign in and get on the list of players waiting for a seat. You will be asked your name or initials. The next thing you will have to let the floor man know is what game you want to play and at what limit. He will then put you on the list for that game and will call your name when a seat becomes open.

You will see that there are two types of games, limit and no limit. Limits for each game will be posted. They look like a fraction such as 2/4. This means that the limit before the flop and on the flop is $2 and the limit after the flop is $4, in holdem. In other games it will be posted in the same way but will apply to other points in the game. A no limit game will be posted in the same way but will apply to the blinds only.

Before you go to your table you will need to buy some chips. There will be a minimum buy in for the game you have chosen, you can get that many or more.

Next time we'll talk about the games you can play and how to chose them.