Greetings from Upstate NY (1 Viewer)

[wmcstudios]

Hey all,

Greetings from Upstate NY. I've been playing poker since around 18 years old (about 18 years now). Started in college, playing online with PokerStars and other sites, and playing common-room games. I typically would play live at the Turning Stone Casino poker room, sticking to the $1-2L and $2-4L tables, occasionally playing the $5-10 and NL tournaments. My college roommate got me into it, and he actually ended up going pro and playing as a living. From what I hear he's been able to make a solidly successful go at it.

I never really played seriously, but poker is in the family blood. My cousin is a WSOP regular, and one year made it to the final two tables. My grandfather was apparently a local hustler. I have a pretty solid natural knack for tells and behavioral patterns. Never really cultivated it though.

I'm a business owner in the creative/advertising industry, and opted to buy a flip-top poker table as our studio's conference table. I just picked up a 1000 chip set of Claysmith "The Mint" chips from Apache Poker Chips. I'm pretty happy with them so far, though I haven't been able to get more than one game together since Covid started! I'm getting excited to start having friends over again soon for a regular game. I'd love to own a set of Paulson Elite's someday.

Lately, I've been watching Davin Negreanu's Masterclass on poker... I've been thinking of taking it up again with some deeper research and study.

Psyched to get involved with the forum!

 

[FordPickup92]

Welcome! Just finished viewing your set up thread. Congrats on the new chips! Hope you can get them in to play asap!! Looks like a great set up you've got and the table is lovely.
Hows the negreanu class? Also considered watching/subscribing

 

[wmcstudios]

Welcome! Just finished viewing your set up thread. Congrats on the new chips! Hope you can get them in to play asap!! Looks like a great set up you've got and the table is lovely.
Hows the negreanu class? Also considered watching/subscribing

Thanks!! I love the table - we use it for board games with the team as well. Settlers of Catan and D&D fans here. The Negreanu class is great - Masterclass is well worth the investment if you'll watch it! They have a Phil Ivey class too - both complete with workbooks.

 

[allforcharity]

Hello and welcome!

 

[wmcstudios]

Hello and welcome!

Thank you! I noticed your name is @allforcharity - I’d love to host a charity game at my office a couple times per year. Any advice?

 

[ceramicmike]

Greetings from western NY

 

[gopherblue]

Welcome! Where upstate?

 

[allforcharity]

Thank you! I noticed your name is @allforcharity - I’d love to host a charity game at my office a couple times per year. Any advice?

Always comply with your local laws and restrictions regarding private gaming. Look towards providing prizes other than cash if possible.

Offer a variety of games that bring in the casual and non gamblers. Blackjack, for example.

 

[FordPickup92]

Thanks!! I love the table - we use it for board games with the team as well. Settlers of Catan and D&D fans here. The Negreanu class is great - Masterclass is well worth the investment if you'll watch it! They have a Phil Ivey class too - both complete with workbooks.

Very nice! And thanks for the heads up

 

[Sambukan]

Welcome to the forum! Enjoy the ride!

 

[Forty4]

Welcome! Where upstate?

If you click on the screen name it gives you more details.

 

[wmcstudios]

Welcome! Where upstate?

Syracuse / Central New York

Always comply with your local laws and restrictions regarding private gaming. Look towards providing prizes other than cash if possible.

Offer a variety of games that bring in the casual and non gamblers. Blackjack, for example.

Yeah, I fully intend on following the laws. I know it'll probably be an uphill battle... but I'd like to start attending the NYS gaming commission meetings to find out about starting a small legal tax-paying poker room. I know the answer will be no for probably a million meetings or more... but if NYS needs the taxes and there are people like me willing to submit myself to a background check and do it the right way, why should only large casinos be able to become tax-generating outfits for the state? At the very minimum, it'd be awesome to become a resource for running secure and clean charity games.

 

[gopherblue]

If you click on the screen name it gives you more details.

Well, at least it's not Rochester.

 

[Forty4]

Well, at least it's not Rochester.

No it’s better we can send him to Syracuse Liquor on Erie Blvd and he might be able to find us stuff.

 

[i'm nobody]

Glad you found your way here.

 

[wmcstudios]

No it’s better we can send him to Syracuse Liquor on Erie Blvd and he might be able to find us stuff.

Hah! They do have great prices.

 

[HiveKueen]

Syracuse / Central New York


Yeah, I fully intend on following the laws. I know it'll probably be an uphill battle... but I'd like to start attending the NYS gaming commission meetings to find out about starting a small legal tax-paying poker room. I know the answer will be no for probably a million meetings or more... but if NYS needs the taxes and there are people like me willing to submit myself to a background check and do it the right way, why should only large casinos be able to become tax-generating outfits for the state? At the very minimum, it'd be awesome to become a resource for running secure and clean charity games.

I'm wondering if this went anywhere.

I'm pretty ticked off in upstate ny because the casinos have licenses to run tournament poker games but either don't or don't run enough of them. I guess its not profitable. Well, that leaves those of us who want to play more and play for reasonable stakes out in the cold. I would love to start a non-profit that runs poker tournaments in my neck of the woods and makes enough to pay the expenses for doing so. Nope, not in NY. We need change in NY.

Hey @wmcstudios, do you run tournaments in Syracuse?

 

[SSTB2213]

Welcome aboard!

 

[Sway]

Welcome!

 

[Relik]

Welcome to PCF!

 

[Taghkanic]

I'm wondering if this went anywhere.

I'm pretty ticked off in upstate ny because the casinos have licenses to run tournament poker games but either don't or don't run enough of them. I guess its not profitable. Well, that leaves those of us who want to play more and play for reasonable stakes out in the cold. I would love to start a non-profit that runs poker tournaments in my neck of the woods and makes enough to pay the expenses for doing so. Nope, not in NY. We need change in NY.

Hey @wmcstudios, do you run tournaments in Syracuse?

In my part of NYS (Hudson Valley/Capital Region), a fair number of firehouses, VFWs or American Legion halls run “charity” tournaments.

The charity part is typically a pretty small percentage of the buy-ins, but that seems to satisfy the authorities. And/or they don’t really seem to want to hassle those kinds of venues.

There are provisions somewhere in State law for how these are supposed to be handled, but I’ve only encountered one such venue which actually did any real accounting and paperwork for it.

So if you could find a venue like that, and promise them either a flat fee or percentage, you could probably become a tournament host without having to badger any State board.

The main caveat I’d offer is that these tend to be relatively small tourneys. $100 plus rebuys and add-ons is typical nowadays, sometimes a little lower or higher… The biggest I’ve ever seen was a firehouse which did one annual bigger tourney for $250.

 

[LeeFordam]

Welcome from Binghamton!

 

[Coyote]

One of my very beloved uncles was born in the ethnic Greek south of Albania and escaped the barbarous communist regime there as it was being established, in early 1945 (his father died in a concentration camp for being Greek).

His children were born in NY (where he immigrated to, after coming initially to Greece).
The kids, when very young, confused Albania with Albany, and thought their dad was from Upstate.

Welcome to the Forum!