thedonz

^^^^^^^ what Cash Bar said. Can't go wrong with the Lake Lanier run. Great group of people always shows up and lots of boats of all kinds.

beaver 3

good thread. I want to run in my 22 pachanga. most likely will be one of them at lake Cumberland.

rchuntlsl

Run it. There are lots of smaller boats on these runs including the FBC ones. They just don't get the tv time that the big boys get. We are planning on doing some runs in a twin engine pontoon instead of the big boat just because we have not seen anyone on one in a pontoon.

J-Bonz

iTrader: (3)

I would love to do FPC Destin run with my 21' scout. Just gotta wait til the kiddies get bigger.

Too Stroked

Here’s a few other random thoughts that might help make your first Poker Run a more enjoyable experience. In no particular order of importance:

- Pick a run on a body of water that’s not famous for getting rougher than what you’re capable running. For instance, runs on smaller lakes tend not to dish out as much of a possible beating as say the Atlantic Ocean. Be aware that boat wakes from fellow Poker Runners will be an issue no matter where you go though.

- Pick a run where you have a choice of how fast you want to cruise. Most well organized runs offer various “fleets” with Pace Boats running at pre-designated speeds. (And passing the Pace Boat is a big no-no.) Believe it or not, running flat out for a whole run gets pretty tiring, so pick a fleet with a “reasonable” speed for you.

- No matter which fleet / cruising speed you select, always pick either the spot on either side of the Pace Boat, or all the way out on the wing on either side. The advantage of being adjacent to the Pace Boat is that you’ll rarely be “eating wake” or “getting squeezed.” The advantage of running either “wing” position is that you only have to worry about other folks on one side – and you rarely have to eat wake.

- Pick a run with a distance that you’re comfortable / capable of doing in your boat – on one tank of fuel. Sure, you can usually fill up someplace along most runs, but it just adds stress. And for your first run, I’d suggest not picking a run that covers 120 miles of open ocean – for obvious reasons.

- Don’t just pick a run for the prizes or the parties. Prizes are nice, but winning isn’t everything. And parties are nice – unless you party too much the night before and then have to run in close quarters with 100 other hung over boats going faster than you’re comfortable running for 120 miles in the open ocean.

- No matter what run you select, prepare your boat well before you leave. Go through everything and make sure all systems are fully up to snuff. Even then, things can go wrong at the very last minute and ruin your day. (Ask me how I know that.) But going through everything before the run will maximize your chances of having a good run.

- A vital part of your pre-run preparation should be making sure your boat has the proper safety equipment. At a minimum, you should have everything required by local authorities. (My boat always passes a USGC Courtesy Marine Exam before it even hits the water.) And consider a Lifeline or similar high performance PFD if you’re running over 65 MPH.

- Finally, remember that a Poker Run is not a race. Anybody who wants to race or see how fast their boat will go should find another place to do it so as not to endanger fellow poker runners or other folks trying to enjoy the same body of water. There are plenty of videos on YouTube showing folks in various Poker Runs doing things that flat out scare the hell out of me. Don’t be one of those folks.

I'm sure I missed something, but I hope that helps!

Tom

Wharf Rat 1

I'm soo impressed at the speed and quantity of responses on this forum as opposed to other forums I sometimes post on. I have a better understanding of "Poker Runs" Thanks!!!

RollWithIt

A lot of good suggestions already listed so I wont repeat them. I will second the suggestion of doing the Buffalo Poker Run in August. Or either of the Elite ones this year. Our first run was the Buffalo Run two years ago and we were hooked. Good people and a good time. They also have numerous speed groups to include a 50 and under group which is the last to leave so that they are not getting passed/swamped by the bigger faster boats.

315duramax

props to phragle..... you were giving that boat hell!!! hahaha

315duramax

[QUOTE=chris21hope;4393529]I second all these guys. Just do it, and you'll have a blast!

The only runs I've wondered about are the FPC ones. I've never been to one so I'm not knocking them, but when I watch the videos, all I see are 350k+ boats! I wonder how the little guys (100k and less) are treated there.

This might be a good starter run for you. Could be nearly 100 boats this year


that looks fun! we might make the trip from CNY with the old man for some fathers day weekend fun

Nate5.0

Depends the run but usually very well.

Tampa has got to be a pain for the "small" guy though. I couldn't even dock up last year cause stew rented out the entire lunch dock and only FPC boats could dock. I get the idea but it is also kind of f*cked up to the average guy in the local area that just wants to see some great hardware and not pay over $1k to run in his local waters.