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Strength Of Play In Casinos


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Hey guys, I'm looking for the opinions of people who have played a decent amount of live poker at casinos. I just recently made my first trip to a casino and played a live cash game for the first time. I'm mostly interested in playing LHE, though perhaps with a little NLHE and limit Omaha 8/b mixed in as well (those are the three games which I'm most competent in).I know there's some variance in level of play at different casinos, so I really only want just some general thoughts from you guys assuming you've played a bunch LIVE. I didn't know play was this awful at casinos, and I was just delighted. I intend to start playing live more often from now on, but my goal is to play at the highest limits I can but still be playing against mostly terrible players. The level of play is just horrendous at $2/$4, and I figure $3/$6 is probably close to the same, right? So when does the competence level in live play in casinos tend to hit "kinda sorta decent"? $5/$10? $10/$20? Basically I'm looking for that tipping point in limits where play generally goes from 'awful' to 'okay,' and then I intend to stay on the 'awful' side.Advice on the "tipping point" in the limits of all three of the games I mentioned (LHE, NLHE, limit Omaha 8/b) is appreciated, especially if they tend to have different tipping points.Thanks for any help you guys can provide.

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Hey guys, I'm looking for the opinions of people who have played a decent amount of live poker at casinos. I just recently made my first trip to a casino and played a live cash game for the first time. I'm mostly interested in playing LHE, though perhaps with a little NLHE and limit Omaha 8/b mixed in as well (those are the three games which I'm most competent in).I know there's some variance in level of play at different casinos, so I really only want just some general thoughts from you guys assuming you've played a bunch LIVE. I didn't know play was this awful at casinos, and I was just delighted. I intend to start playing live more often from now on, but my goal is to play at the highest limits I can but still be playing against mostly terrible players. The level of play is just horrendous at $2/$4, and I figure $3/$6 is probably close to the same, right? So when does the competence level in live play in casinos tend to hit "kinda sorta decent"? $5/$10? $10/$20? Basically I'm looking for that tipping point in limits where play generally goes from 'awful' to 'okay,' and then I intend to stay on the 'awful' side.Advice on the "tipping point" in the limits of all three of the games I mentioned (LHE, NLHE, limit Omaha 8/b) is appreciated, especially if they tend to have different tipping points.Thanks for any help you guys can provide.
Depends on the room. I've seen 1/2 played really solid and 5/10 played as a giveaway.
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Time & day of the week matter as well. A Saturday night game will have more casual players / non-regulars in the smaller stakes game than an afternoon game mid-week. Make sure to call at least 1 hour in advance during the heavy traffic days.2-5 nlhe is the cut off imo

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I'm sorry I don't understand this, I should be calling in advance on heavy traffic days why?
Showing up on a busy day without calling ahead will virtually guarantee the longest possible time on the wait list.
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Showing up on a busy day without calling ahead will virtually guarantee the longest possible time on the wait list.
Sorry again for my ignorance here, but what good will calling ahead do? Do they allow you to reserve a seat for a certain time if you call ahead? Or would I just be calling ahead of time to see if it's so busy that I shouldn't bother going?
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Sorry again for my ignorance here, but what good will calling ahead do? Do they allow you to reserve a seat for a certain time if you call ahead? Or would I just be calling ahead of time to see if it's so busy that I shouldn't bother going?
You can ask how long the waitlist is (to gauge how long the wait will be) and get put on it ahead of time.
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You can ask how long the waitlist is (to gauge how long the wait will be) and get put on it ahead of time.
I think the problem with that (for my situation) is that my casino is like a 40-minute drive, and people rarely wait that long for a table (to my knowledge), so putting my name in before I leave isn't really an option since they would likely call it while I was on my way and I'd get passed over anyway.At the casinos you play at, are waiting list times longer than an hour for some people?
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I think the problem with that (for my situation) is that my casino is like a 40-minute drive, and people rarely wait that long for a table (to my knowledge), so putting my name in before I leave isn't really an option since they would likely call it while I was on my way and I'd get passed over anyway.At the casinos you play at, are waiting list times longer than an hour for some people?
In some rooms, they take "call ins." In some rooms, they don't take "call ins." YMMV
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The way it works around here (All Detroit & Windsor Casinos and several "Charity" rooms) you can call in and they will put your name on the wait list and you will progress towards the top as if you were waiting in the room. If your name makes it to the top of the list before you arrive, it just sits at the top and they move on to the next name. Your name remains "active" for one hour after you call in. After an hour they remove it. When you arrive, you check in at the desk and things progress like a standard wait list.This saves a huge amount of wait time. I'll call as I'm leaving my house. I can stop for my $, drive to the Casino, and park and still be standing in front of the desk within 45 minutes. If the list is long, I've just saved 45 minutes of standing around in the Poker Room.

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The way it works around here (All Detroit & Windsor Casinos and several "Charity" rooms) you can call in and they will put your name on the wait list and you will progress towards the top as if you were waiting in the room. If your name makes it to the top of the list before you arrive, it just sits at the top and they move on to the next name. Your name remains "active" for one hour after you call in. After an hour they remove it. When you arrive, you check in at the desk and things progress like a standard wait list.This saves a huge amount of wait time. I'll call as I'm leaving my house. I can stop for my $, drive to the Casino, and park and still be standing in front of the desk within 45 minutes. If the list is long, I've just saved 45 minutes of standing around in the Poker Room.
So you mean that once you check in, you basically become the first guy on the waitlist for the next seat that opens up?I talked to a regular yesterday and he said that they do take call ins at our casino and that they work basically the same way as you just described I think.
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So you mean that once you check in, you basically become the first guy on the waitlist for the next seat that opens up?
If your name has progressed to the top during your drive, yes.
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  • 4 weeks later...

Here in Louisina casinos we have several "regulars" who are rocks and play very well every day. My suggestion is get to know who these people are before you play against them. It isn't hard just show up early and watch. Lots of people will know them and they will be very comfortable. The problem I face in alot of NL games is the largest game offered is 2-5 and you have rich people playing with a 100-200 bank roll playing 2-5. Me and several others are very obviously better players but they will all-in you into quitting. If you can't avoid these people, tighten up and let them make the mistakes when you have the goods.

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Here in Louisina casinos we have several "regulars" who are rocks and play very well every day. My suggestion is get to know who these people are before you play against them. It isn't hard just show up early and watch. Lots of people will know them and they will be very comfortable. The problem I face in alot of NL games is the largest game offered is 2-5 and you have rich people playing with a 100-200 bank roll playing 2-5. Me and several others are very obviously better players but they will all-in you into quitting. If you can't avoid these people, tighten up and let them make the mistakes when you have the goods.
Sounds like you're not fully rolled for 2-5 or else this isn't something you should worry about.
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I love to play at the casino. It's easier to focus on the action and make sound decisions without all the distractions at home and the internet. Plus, can't go wrong with 2NL caliber players playing 200NL.

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  • 1 year later...

as a live. casino player. i would say the game is like this up to 60/120 but some casinos have regular groups of sharks. in northern ca for example. the oaks has a 6/12 table where 2 seats are availible for fish, the rest are sharks. but they only stay for about 5 to 6 hours then leave. once they are gone, the game plays pretty much like 3/6 there is a card room where every day they open a 2 2 3 nl table, and 6 regulars come in and dominate the table. after they leave, then the. game gets good. bay101 in santa clara california. has lots of great action on thier 10/20 game.people get stupid on the 12/24 not sure why. to sum it up. yes. california is filled with horrible players that do thier best to give away their bankrolls. some are very successful at it.last but not least. if you sit. down at a table. and cant seem to find any suckers there, your the sucker. so be alert.

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Always nice to see new people coming out to casinos ... not too surprising with poker being limited on the 'net. Much like playing a poker hand, the play at casinos and charity rooms (michigan here also) can vary from the time of day and day of the week. You need to develop your people skills each visit and try to figure out who is playing at their highest level and work on them. You want to find the players at levels where the money still 'means' something to them, thus you can play back at them more and push them off hands. Where as the guy with 10 buy-ins in his pocket will stick around a hand more.I think there is a difference between card players and gamblers also. Gamblers can play cards, but they are there to gamble and willing to take more risk so be ready for them to make a 20% call getting 2 to 1. These are the types of players where you can increase your bet sizing and still get a call, but be ready for them to gloat when they suck out on you. Where as card players know the odds and see the long term math involved with most situations, so you have to size your bets to keep them in the hand and hope the math works out in your favor. You also have to find out who is stuck and how you think they are playing when on tilt.I don't have a lot of limit exposure and I know most books tell you to master limit before playing no-limit, but from my conversations where people play limit since no-limit is not available to them they have way more bad beat stories than I do since people see the 'limit' to their risk and make calls they shouldn't. This is great if you run good, not so great if you are running bad and can't get people to fold when they should.I play mostly 1-2 NL and I think the level of play here in Michigan at 1-2 is the same as 2-5 or 5-10 in Vegas. When I sat down to play 2-5 for the first time I was so tight it hurt my results, but once I saw the game was the 'same' then I turned it on and actually had better results since I figured out I was playing cards ... not gambling ... at that particular table ... that particular day and time (noon).Look at the buy-ins ... in Detroit they get 1-2 games going with some tables having a min buy-in of $200, some charity rooms have a $30 minimum ... but you have to figure out what the money means to that person since $50 to us is $5000 to Tiger Woods. That is the biggest challenge to live.Get to know the 'floor' and call ahead to get on the list to limit your wait times ... they will also point you in the direction of the 'right' game for you that night once they get to know you as a regular. Good Luck ...

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  • 7 months later...

In casino's, here is the best way to do it. If the casino allows call ins do it. If not, arrive an hour earlier than when you plan on playing.

 

 

Around the 1st of the month through the 15th there is more action. From the 15th to the end of the month the games are generally tougher.

As the sharks are running out of fish. They will eye your bankroll to keep theirs growing. Be aware of what part of the month it is.

 

Assuming you know no one there. Here is how i pick out the sharks from the fish.

 

Do any of the players look at their card last.

Are there alot of players playing alot of hands. ( 6 players or more in every pot )

Is the waiting list really long or short.

Are the players at the tables happy chatting it up or silent.

What kind of cards does each player play? Tight? Loose? Suited face, suited connecters any ace etc...

 

This is all before you take your seat... Casually stroll around to all the tables at the level you plan on playing. And take note mentally .

 

 

Now, once you are called to a table. Buy in. Sit down. And if you dont need to post i suggest coming in after the button.

If you need to post, wait for the big blind.

 

I dont play any hands for the first hour except kk and AA. Shoot, i hardly ever look at my cards in the first hour. I reccomend 30 minutes.

Just hang out n watch everyone else plays. Take this time to pickup on betting patterns.

 

If you look at your cards in the first 30 minutes. Think how you can use those cards to beat those whom are in the hand.

 

Take note if this table is passive. ( lots of calling little or no raising. ) this is the best table to be at.

 

In a loose table play tight agressive. But be ready to fold on the flop. Even AA.

Be diciplined and very patient. You may only play 1 or 2 hands an hour. Make them count.

 

If you cant raise with the hand. Dont play it.

 

Lastly. Leave the dark sun glasses and big cap at home and be chatty at the table. It distracts even the simi pro's at the table.

 

At the end of the night on a 3/6 table. You can make anywhere from 60.00 to ( my record ) 8000.00 in an 8 hour session. You may loose your buy in also.

 

 

Note: when you sit down at the table and do this. If you cant find the suckers.... You are the sucker. Ask for a table change or leave.

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The problem I face in alot of NL games is the largest game offered is 2-5 and you have rich people playing with a 100-200 bank roll playing 2-5. Me and several others are very obviously better players but they will all-in you into quitting.

This is only a problem if you hate money.

 

If you want to win, you have to come to peace with the idea that you will lose buy-ins and have losing sessions.

If you want to play socially for a fixed amount of time on a small bankroll, you have to come to peace with the idea that you're not going to win a lot of money.

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  • 7 months later...

Living in Vegas and playing 1-2, 2-5, and dipping into 5-10 on a very rare occasion, I can say that at every level you have complete donks, and solid players. The level won't change that. Play what you are Bank Rolled to play. If you can't make money at 1-2, or 2-5, you won't make money at the higher limits either. People don't get smarter as you move up they just get richer.

 

I used NLH stakes but the same can be said for limit (2-4, 4-8, etc etc. )

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  • 3 years later...

I think time of day is very important as well. If you go during a tuesday at noon you'll find a bunch of guys who play all day together and know eachother leaving you the odd one out. On the other hand fridays and saturdays are great for the randoms that decide they want to go out for a night and gamble.

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