Live Options

As my online poker options have become less and less viable, the live options are getting better.  I would still like to have as many options as possible, live and online, but that's not the case right now.  Some (live) options are certainly better then no options.

The problem with live options is that they have what economists call a "barrier to entry."  In this case, that barrier is the price.  Online one can literally play for pennies.  In 2017 I got on a site where I had not played for two years and $42 had been sitting on the site.  Starting with playing $1 tournaments, I built that up to about $600 before I found out that the minimum withdrawal on Juicy Stakes Poker was $250.

I was going to keep doing that, grinding up bankrolls* on two or more sites, get my Juicy Stakes balance over a thousand, then make some decisions about what to do next.  As outlined in my previous post, that's no longer an option.

Live poker works exactly the opposite way. Technology barely matters, but it's expensive  There are no $1 tournaments.  It's hard to find a poker room that runs tournaments with a buy-in of less than $50.  Unless the power at the poker room goes out, tournaments don't lag or crash, and sometimes even if the lights go out it can still work.  I recently read an article about the lights going out in a casino poker room.  People gathered around the table with their cell phone flashlights to keep play going until power was restored.

I'm in a position where the online options are really bad, but more live options are opening up:

1. There is a new casino 70 miles from where I live.  I played there for the first time a week ago. It's a bit of a drive, but until recently the closest poker room was about 100 miles away.  The opportunity cost and driving expense of a 140 mile round-trip drive is a lot less than driving 200 miles.

2. There is a project for a new casino  just 17 miles from where I live.  It looks like it could be open in about two years.  That would be a game-changer.

I will have to carefully manage my very small live bankroll.  The tournament that I played a week ago had an $80 buy-in, not something that I can afford every day until I start getting some big cashes.  Once I'm backed up by a bigger bankroll (I'm still waiting for my money from Juicy Stakes Poker) I'll be able to relax a bit.  I will be playing my second tournament at the new casino sometimes next week.

As always, your questions and comments are welcome (see box below.)

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*When I use the word "bankroll" I'm talking about money that is available for, and only used for, playing poker.  It could be on an online site, in a bank account, cash, or all of those.  As my online bankroll grows, I will probably keep most of it in a safe deposit box, taking out cash as I need it.

A New Start

I haven't posted for a while.  It's time that I let you know why.  The main reason is that online poker is a technological mess, making it almost impossible for me to play.  I made a profit last year, but playing online has steadily become a very poor option. I will describe those and other issues as well:

1. Internet problems.  I called Comcast twice but they couldn't fix my very slow internet.  My wife and I both work at home and her employer requires that she use their Comcast router.

2. Holdem Manager, the program that I use to track my results as well as the results and tendencies of my online opponents, hasn't worked for me for months.  Many players, including me, can't even get the program to open.  If I don't have that available and my opponents do, I'm bringing a knife to a gun fight.  For that and other reasons I have almost completely stopped playing online. According to the company,  "sometime in 2019" Holdem Manager 3 is coming out and perhaps that will solve the problem.

3. Americas Cardroom, one of the online sites on which I played, has had major lagging and crashing issues.  As with Holdem Manager, it's not just my problem.  Many players have complained or left the site.

4. I got a nasty surprise from another site, Juicy Stakes Poker.  When I was ready to withdraw about $600 from the site I found out that they charged a $250 fee for each withdrawal and that that would be the case with future withdrawals as well.*  I took my money (minus $250) off the site and closed the account.  I'm waiting for my check to come in the mail.

I am now concentrating on two things, studying and playing live tournaments.  As my online options were falling apart, the live options have greatly improved.  That will be my next post.

As, always, your questions and comments are welcome (see box below.)  I look forward to hearing from you.

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*I could avoid future withdrawal penalties if I played enough tournaments in a calendar month, but as Juicy Stakes is a low-volume site, I would be unlikely to hit those numbers.