Travel Tips For Poker Players

Matthew Pitt
23 May 2014

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One of the great features of online poker is that it gives you the chance to win your way to some exotic places around the world.

For mere pennies, poker fans can find themselves heading to the Caribbean, Australia, Africa, Las Vegas and various European destinations. Many of these package winners are quite young, as is the nature of online poker, and some of those will be quite inexperienced when it comes to traveling abroad, especially on their lonesome.

While I'm hardly Christopher Columbus - think Karl Pilkington and you're not far wrong - I have travelled to a number of European destinations whilst working as a poker tournament reporter (some of the locations were remote to say the least) and I'm currently in Las Vegas for my second World Series of Poker.

The following tips stem from my own experiences, so you can take it that I have learned the hard way to discover them. Think of me as a martyr, sacrificing myself for your good!

In no particular order, here are my tips for the travelling poker player.

Do your research at home

The old adage "fail to prepare, prepare to fail" runs true when it comes to travelling abroad. While at home, plan your journey. Getting to the airport in the UK is easy, but what about having to cross the Italian-Slovenia border in Trieste?

Unless you're fluent in the local lingo of your destination, do the ground work at home first. This even runs true in somewhere like Las Vegas or Australia where English is a first language. Research how much taxis are from the airport to your hotel so you avoid being ripped off.

Pack lightly

Unless you're having a six-week jaunt at the WSOP, you may as well pack lightly and take your luggage onto the plan as carry-on luggage instead of checking a big suitcase in. If you're worried that you'll reach the final table and be dressed like a scruff, go treat yourself to some nice threads if you do make it there. If you've done your research at home before hand, you will have no trouble in finding a clothes store.

Don't get wasted the night before, in fact ban drink until you get to your hotel

There is nothing worse than being tightly packed into an oversized cigar tube when you feel like you want to wretch every five minutes due to a hangover. You're also not going to be fun to sit next to if you reek like you've slurped 10 cans of Special Brew.

Don't even drink on the plane. Not only does it make you feel worse, you may need all your sites about you when you land and the foreign customs staff want to quiz you about being in their country.

Eat foods that agree with you the night before

Have you ever tried to even pee in an airplane's toilet? Next.

Get a TSA approved lock if travelling in the US

Don't want your lock cut o your bag forced open when travelling in the good ol' U. S of A? Then invest in a TSA approved lock and you'll be fine because the staff can open these with a master key and check your bag without you needing to be there.

Keep the blood flowing on the flight

Take regular walks, if you can, or stretch your calves when you're sat in your seat. Do some stretching exercises and you'll feel much comfier and therefore awake when you finally touch down.

Don't sleep when you first arrive

While it may be tempting to head to bed for a couple of hours when you have been flying for 12 hours, you shouldn't and should try to stay awake until your usual bed time back home. Doing the latter helps to combat the dreaded jet lag and helps you cope better with the time differences.

Keep your hotel address upon your person

It is so easy to go to the tournament's player party, head off into the night with your new friends and drink until you think your name is Daisy. The problem is getting home. Back home you fall into a taxi, mumble some address and you magically wake up in your bed. Abroad isn't so simple, so unless you want to walk around Prague for 3 hours trying to find your hotel that you don't know the name of (yes that was me) right its address on a piece of paper so you can show your taxi driver if needed.

What are your favourite travel tips? Let us know in the chat box below.

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