Manchester Poker Room Table 2

Manchester Poker Room Review

Paul Leave a comment

The Manchester Poker Room and Casino is one of the longstanding members of the active New Hampshire poker scene. Among the larger, most active rooms (15 or more tables) in the state it occupies a unique niche.  It is the one room without a competitor within several miles.  Less than half an hour south in Nashua the Boston Billiards Club and Casino is yoked with The River Casino. Newcomers Chasers and Cheers lie two miles apart, battling it out in Salem. While over on the coast, about 40 minutes East, the Hampton Falls and Seabrook poker rooms compete for both cash and tournament players.

But in the center of  southern New Hampshire, the Manchester Poker Room and Casino stands alone. The room shows signs of that independence: confident, unique, but perhaps a bit insular. All told, Manchester offers an alternative poker experience in New Hampshire.

Setting and Non-Poker Amenities

The Manchester Poker Room is just a minute off Route 293, an offshoot of route 93, the major north-south expressway that bisects New Hampshire.  Despite its geographic convenience, when you leave the highway it’s a bit tricky to find.  The poker room sits behind a set of retail stores, and its sign is not very prominent from the road.

South Willow street is packed with strip malls, fast food outlets, car dealerships, and gas stations.  On the opposite side of Route 293 is the Mall of New Hampshire. So if you have shopping and dining needs, you will be well-served in the immediate area.

The poker room used to be a small movie theater and retains tell-tale remnants of that history, such as box office windows.  The Poker Room shares the building with the Manchester Bingo Room. The poker room itself hosts a few table games as well.

The South Side Tavern also lies between Manchester’s two separate poker rooms, and provides food and beverages to the poker rooms. The Tavern’s menu is extensive, with a wide array of appetizers, sandwiches, salads, pasta, pizza, and dinner entrees. We have not eaten there, but we have heard positive reviews of the food. A full bar is available, and the tap and bottled beer selection looked good. You won’t go hungry or thirsty here!

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9 Truths of Remote Work

9 Truths We Have Learned in Our 12 Years of Remote Work

Heather Leave a comment

For many people, remote work is the dream. Wouldn’t you love to end the commute, drop the wardrobe expense, and leave the land of fluorescent lighting behind? How great would it be to work on your own time? To see all of your child’s track meets without worrying about the boss? Wouldn’t it be lovely to travel as a digital nomad, tethered only to a laptop and strong wi-fi signal?

Paul and I work remotely, and have for over 12 years. We love the freedom of working from home. We love the fact that we get to walk downstairs in the morning and fire up the laptops. Neither one of us has spent money on “professional clothes” in over five years. Paul has coached all of his daughter’s community basketball teams. And I have the freedom to help my son with homework whenever he needs it. Remote work also gives us the freedom to pick up side hustles to make extra income along with our main hustle.

In a few years, when we embark on our poker pilgrimage, we hope to transition from home remote workers to digital nomads. We look forward to travelling the country without worrying we will run out of money along the way.  We can continue to work part-time as we travel, continually replenishing our travel budget.

But working from home is not a great fit for everyone. Yes, there are many benefits, but there are potential pitfalls as well. If you are considering working remotely,  you should be aware of the pros and cons that come with the lifestyle.

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Meet the Poker Pilgrims on Cardplayer Lifestyle

Heather Leave a comment

The wonderful Robbie Strazynski of CardplayerLifestyle.com published an interview with us this week on his blog. Robbie founded Cardplayer Lifestyle in 2009. The site has since earned a reputation in the industry and among fans for being a top poker entertainment site. The site regularly posts interviews with poker personalities, poker strategy articles, poker op-eds, and engaging poker lifestyle pieces.

In the interview, Robbie asked us about our history playing poker, our favorite card rooms, and our plans for our trip. We really enjoyed interacting with Robbie and are thankful to him for exploring our site and sharing his interview.

Head on over to Cardplayer Lifestyle to read the interview in full!

 

Cardplayer Lifestyle

 

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The Frugal Poker Player Reduces Costs

The Frugal Poker Player: 6 Tricks to Reduce Costs while Playing Poker

Heather Leave a comment

Poker is a lot of fun (thus our grand plan to spend a year traveling the country playing poker). Poker can also be very expensive. Most players understand the importance of paying attention to your poker budget or bankroll to ensure that they are playing in games they can afford. However, many players overlook the importance of accounting for all of the other spending that goes along with playing poker. In order to maximize your poker opportunities, you need to reduce costs associated with playing, and travelling to play, poker. This is an area that you can not ignore. If you play your way to break even (or better) poker and do not account for these costs, you will quickly find yourself in the red.

So how do you reduce costs when playing poker? Here are 6 tricks to help you out:

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Headphones at the Poker Table

Throwdown Thursday: Headphones at the Poker Table

Paul Leave a comment

Headphones have become ubiquitous in our culture. Take a subway, and half the riders are plugged in. Walk down a city street, and cords are flapping in the breeze. Even attend a high school music performance, and you’ll see younger sibs with headphones firmly implanted in ears. (Although that final choice may reveal precocious wisdom). Headphone use at the poker table has become part of an archetype of a specific kind of player. We’ll label this breed “poker headphones”. Most, but not all poker headphones players are under 30 and wear them throughout their sessions along with sunglasses and a hoodie or ballcap.

Can these players not be alone with their thoughts? Must they desperately block out the comments of other players in order to think? Do poker headphones help or hurt focus? Debates have raged about the etiquette of headphones at the poker table and whether their use is beneficial. Norman Chad, the great poker commentator and wit, comes down firmly against poker headphones, throwing them into the same category as hoodies and sunglasses. However, many top pros like Phil Hellmuth and Phil Ivey, frequently wear headphones at the poker table.

In today’s Throwdown, we take on the poker headphones phenomenon. We have played tournaments both with and without headphones. Which is better?

Paul: I generally like poker players, but sometimes hate what comes out of people’s mouths. Short friendly interchanges allow me to think the best of everyone. Too much exposure to others’ insights makes me want to take up crocheting. Enjoying my poker session is as important to me as winning. Listening to Elvis Costello assures that I will enjoy my day, however the game plays out. Listening to a poker genius telling everyone else how they are misplaying hands assures I won’t.

Heather: Ah, the “I hate humanity” argument. Fair enough. However, I find that I get a lot of information from listening to others at the table. Not only through direct communications, but also from side banter with the dealer and with each other. I lose those insights about other players’ habits and their games if I am tuning out to the music of Hamilton.

 

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