Take your poker game on the road

By David McClary

We are fortunate to live in an area with several public card rooms. Poker is available twenty-four hours a day within an hour drive of nearly everyone reading this. That said, playing poker on the road has a romantic appeal. That hint of a connection to riverboat gamblers and Texas rounders of the past adds to the flavor of your time at the table. Mix in the allure of playing where one of the recent televised tournaments was just contested, and you have a bit of extra spice. Few people will ever play baseball for the Dodgers, but the chance to play in Dodger Stadium keeps fantasy camps full year after year. Likewise, few people have the money or skill to sit down with a world-class poker player for very long, but even the highest profile rooms have very affordable games. You may be sitting a few feet from a world champion, even if he is three tables away.

Before hitting the road, the first question that needs answering is, ≥Where should I go?≤ If you are planning to drive, why not try Atlantic City? Itπs less than 8 hours away. If you want to fly, nothing can match Vegas. The South also offers a few good size gambling centers in Biloxi and Tunica, Miss. along with Shreveport, La. All of these places offer several casino card rooms within a few miles of each other. Making your choice can be tough though. Since it can be hard to get un-biased advice, I would check out the Internet news group rec.gambling.poker. It is free and can be accessed via a news server or several Web sites. Most Web sites allow you to search for posts on your topic of interest and, if you register, you can even post a specific question yourself. If you are the least bit computer savvy, I think this is the best place to start when choosing a destination. The next method for getting information is a bit more old fashioned: call and ask. The phone number for nearly every casino can be found online. Within a few minutes you can usually be speaking to the poker room directly.

Picking a place to stay is the next big choice. I am a big fan of staying at a casino in which you plan to play. It can be hard to get a seat in a busy room. I have been on waiting lists for two hours or longer on busy Saturday nights. This wait is far more comfortable if you can return to your room. By staying where you play, you can also take advantage of the opposite situation. If you can stroll down to the poker room at 2 a.m. you will almost surely get a seat. You may even have the good fortune of playing with a greater number of tired and drunken people.

When you choose a hotel, you should think about those people traveling with you. They could be adults that donπt play poker or children that need family activities. In fact, some of the casinos with the best poker rooms discourage or outright deny minors on their entire property. If you need more than what one casino can offer, check to see what establishment is next door or across the street. You may find a great pool, arcade, or spa at one property and still be steps away from world-class poker next door.

For a number of reasons, people donπt open new card rooms where patrons are allowed to smoke. If you would like to play in a smoke free place it is almost hard not to find a wide selection in any gambling center. If you smoke, or more importantly, if you play and smoke, you may want to check ahead of time to see if you will be accommodated. The most obvious solution is to call and ask. If you want to smoke but canπt, try someplace else. Another option is to find a ≥room≤ inside of a casino that permits smoking. I recently played in a strip casino in Las Vegas that had the poker tables simply grouped together on the larger casino floor. Though players were not permitted to smoke at the tables, the person playing next to me kept his lit cigarette on a slot machine only two-steps away. This seemed to be a good system as I didnπt need to breathe in the smoke, and the other player was not inconvenienced by needing to walk outside. With the casinoπs modern ventilation system, I didnπt even notice people near me were smoking.

There are plenty of tournaments made available in major gambling centers. Many casinos run tournaments Sunday through Thursday while others are seven days a week. Good events will fill up fast, so you should you should plan on signing up early if you wish to participate. You can check Web sites or call for details. Schedules may also be found in poker magazines.

If you find the open road calling you this summer, think about a poker getaway. With some skill and practice you may even be able to travel on someone elseπs dime.