I was hoping to get some suggestions and help on bank roll management. If I start at .10 .25 NL – what deposit should I start with and when should I move up. Is it ideal to play full ring or 6 max? Any help would be greatly appreciated.

I recently convinced my girlfriend to spend a romantic weekend in Atlantic City. We agreed that I would attend a Comedy show at the House of Blues on Friday night and dinner on Saturday night and then I would be granted a pass to play Poker the rest of the trip. We booked a weekend stay at the Trump Taj Mahal, which
I had never visited before in AC. Upon arriving I could not wait to sit down at the $1-2 NL table and start playing. I might have been there 2 minutes and I began persuading my girlfriend to let me play poker while she got ready for our comedy show.
This was the first time that I had visited the Poker room at the Taj. The atmosphere was bland at best. The room was large and housed over 40 tables. I mean all you really need are dealers and a table and the players will come. A man that I played with all weekend who was a horse trainer said he plays at the Taj poker room because it reminds him of his barn.
It took me a few table switches to find a $1 – $2 table with some decent action. I started out playing tight aggressive from good position and was up $100 in an hour. In one hand I pushed pocket Kings from late position, reraising a $7 bet to $18. One donkey called with AQ suited. The flop came 2s 8c Qh. He bet $20 I reraised to $40, he called.
The turn was a 6c. He checked I bet $60 and he folds and shows.
Soon after that hand my girlfriend summoned me away from the Poker room. We had tickets to “The Best Damn Comedy Show” featuring Collin Quinn at the House of Blues located inside Showboat. The show was absolutely hilarious and the best stand up I had ever seen l¬ive.
After the comedy show it was back to the Taj Poker room to get my fix. I bought in at the $1 – $2 at about midnight and found a table with a few drunkards and some good loose action. After picking out the donkeys and waiting for some good hands I managed to turn my $200 buy in to $600 and cashed my chips at the window at 3:30 am.
I slept in the new tower at the Taj in a beautiful room with an extremely comfortable queen bed. I awoke at 10:30 am and immediately began thinking about poker. I thought that I had played well enough to venture over to the Borgata and test my cash game skills at possibly the most aggressive poker room in AC. I bought in for $300 in chips and sat down at a 1-2 NL table. After mixing up my play with little success I was basically treading water and had about the same chip stack I began with. Sitting in the cutoff I pulled up the hidden corner edges of my cards and saw American Airlines. Barely able to contain my excitement I came over top a donk in middle position and reraised his $7 bet to $21. The small blind calls my $21 and everyone else folds. The flop comes Ac 2s 8c. He bets $25 and I call. The Turn is Qh. The small blind bets $25 I raise to $50, he re-raises to $100 and I go all in he calls. I count my chips and spit out the number $280 total. I flip over my trip Aces and he gasps in defeat as he shows pocket Eights. I realize that the pot will be mine unless he gets his one out, the eight of spades. The dealer slams the River card down and I watch in slow motion as the guy turns to me and says’ “S-O-R-R-Y.” I cannot believe what I am seeing, and take a few long seconds to comprehend that the donkey hits his one out to make Quad Eights. I make a Full Boat Aces over Eights for the losing hand. That donkey begins shoveling the chips his way and realizing that I am felted and on Tilt, I get up and walk out of the Borgata in disbelief. Once again I suffer a Bad Beat at the Borgata and my unlucky streak with getting all my chips in only to end up with the second best hand continues.
Ironically later that night playing at the Taj poker room I made quad eights to win a nice pot. That hand gave me a little feeling of vindacation.

I am your average Hold eM Donkey who has recently caught the itch to learn more about the game and compete in local cash games and  

I started playing the game just to get out of the house and take a break from the wife and kids. 

I can remember getting donked out of a friendly weekly game first, three weeks in a row. Mainly because I used poker night as an excuse to get drunk. After the third early exit, and a DWI, I decided to quit drinking and learn a little more about Texas Hold em.

After reading Phil Gordon’s “LITTLE GREEN BOOK”  I came back to the same house game and won a $40 buy in 22 man tourney for $600. I have pursued playing as much as I can since that night.

I play on PokerStars as Phil TiCKeLS. I used to exclusively play in Tourneys, but now prefer NL cash games. Right now I play $.50 – $1 On-Line and $1-2 NL Live.

Recently my Poker buddies have named me “the Legion Specialist” because of my recent success at some local no-Name events. Believe me, it’s nothing they envy – they break out in laughter everytime they say it! 

The recent winning streak that earned me that demeaning nickname went like this.

Kent Island Elks Lodge $100 Buy in, 48 players, 1st – $1900 cash – Nov 08

North Beach Fire Department $100 Buy in, 68 players, 2nd – $1280 – Jan 09

Waldorf Elks $100 Buy in 60 players, 4th – $680 – Jan 09