December 10 was my last day at the Bike. They offered me a position as a prop for the 8-16 limit and $80 NL games, which paid much less. I decided to strike out on my own, hopefully finding another similar propping job elsewhere. I really liked it at the Bike - good atmosphere, decent food, good relationships with most of the people there - and I had a pretty sweet deal, so I'm quite disappointed to be let go (despite having recently considered leaving).
In the past few weeks I've made my first trip to the Commerce in three years and my first ever trip to Hawaiian Gardens. My tentative plan is to play mostly 10-20 NL at the Commerce, probably three days a week, unless I can find another propping job. I played there on Monday, and the game seems just as beatable as the Bike's 5-10 NL, so I think it should be good as long as I can take the swings. Compared to most poker players, I'm quite good at dealing emotionally with swings, but I think it will be a lot harder if I'm playing less often, especially considering the higher stakes.
Hawaiian Gardens seems like the most likely casino to be hiring these days, but they don't pay as much and I would probably have to work overnight. On December 4, three days after I was told I was being laid off, I went to Hawaiian Gardens for the first time to check it out. There were a ton of games going, mostly low limit, but they also had two 5-10 NL games, which is more than the Bike usually has. The games were pretty good, and the food excellent, but the atmosphere is rather chaotic. I think it might be draining to work there forty hours a week.
With my free time I might try to do some poker studying, in which case I'll have some fodder for some analysis on the blog.
