High Speed Slots

Anyone looking to be part of one of the biggest bad beats around try the President Casino on the Admiral.  It is locate on the St. Louis Riverfront, and the phone number is (314) 622-1818.  As of today the Jackpot on Stud was $104,000.00 and growing.  Four Jacks need to be beat and $25.00 in the pot. It is a little tough to hit, but way over due.

Answer 1:

This bad beat has been going for almost a year. It be nice to hit but who can stand 1-5 seven stud for very long, bad beat or no bad beat.

Answer 2:

It may  be a little easier to win than you think, as it is likely that if challenged  the jackpot would have to be awarded once the pot reaches the point that a jackpot rake is taken.  At most casinos the jackpot rake is taken when the pot hits $5 or $10 and gaming commissions and courts have ruled that this is the point at which jackpot eligibility begins. The interested reader can check Dejanews.com for an earlier thread on this topic. Regardless of this point, it remains true that these huge jackpots are good news for Uncle Sam and a handful of the luckiest among us, and terrible news for poker in general.

Answer 3:

If they are in fact such bad news then why do poker rooms continue to offer them? Obviously they think the benefits outweigh the liabilities. Whatever the arguments against jackpots (which I understand and agree with in principle; you need not reiterate them here for me) the fact of the matter is that it is unlikely that most every card room in existence is wrong (I suspect that a significant majority of those card rooms that are allowed to have jackpots do have them). Jackpots must work, or they wouldn’t be used. Evidence of this isCalifornia. Jackpots were declared illegal. After some months w/o jackpots card clubs figured out a loophole in the law (finance the jackpots not via a specific jackpot drop, but from their revenue stream) and started up jackpots again. They would not have gone through the trouble and potential legal challenges if they didn’t feel it was a significant boost to their business. Now, it is certainly possible that if NO card room had jackpots the industry as a whole might be better off.  But just like frequent flyer miles, once someone’s come up with the idea everyone has to have it to maintain competitiveness.  And this wouldn’t be the case unless a significant percentage of a card room’s clientele LIKE jackpots. It would seem hypocritical to suggest outlawing jackpots for the ‘good’ of the masses and the well being of the economy. The same argument is used to suggest outlawing card rooms and gambling in general.

Here is a question I haven’t seen addressed. The consensus seems to be that a pro should be able to make 2 big bets per hour. Based on that, I would think if you are making 2 bb per hour you are playing in the right games at the right limits. Now let’s say you are playing $5-$10 and want to move up one limit to $10-$20. You have identified a game you feel you can beat based on the players and the looseness of the game, but you want to be sure you aren’t deluding yourself as to your abilities. How many big bets per hour should you be making at the $5-$10 game to insure you are completive at the next level? Are 2 bb enough? Would 1 bb be enough?

Answer 1:

What I want to know is who is the authority that says a pro should be making 2 BB/hr?  I know if I make 1 BB/hr I feel I’m doing great. Over the last 11 years, I feel fortunate to be making almost 1 BB/hr. Maybe I should feel bad I’m not making more, but somehow I don’t think 2BB/hr is realistic. Let’s hear from all the 2BB/hr people and how much time are we talking about.

Answer 2:

Winning at 5/10 does not, in and of itself, insure success at 10/20 no matter how many or how few big bets you are making.  In fact, you could be a losing 5/10 player and still be a winning 10/20 player. Here’s why. They are very different games; within each level there are very different games. You might have a style of play that is very tight and controlled that is suited to a very loose, low skilled 5/10 game. You are very patient. You trap a lot of aggressive but poor players and you win 3 BB/hour.  But at 10/20 where you play you might frequently face very skilled and aggressive players who prevent you from just sitting around and waiting. You might be intimidated, out played, and a loser at 10/20. Inversely, you might be a very good player with tight aggressive adversaries whom you find in 10/20 but not have the patience to wait around for a superior holding in 5/10. You might actually lose money at 5/10 but find that you win money at 10/20. You see this most between 1-5 and 5/10, but I’ve seen it at the other limits as
well.

Answer 3:

A couple of things to consider. I’m a lifetime loser at 1-5 stud. I’m a lifetime winner at 5-10 stud. I’ve done tolerably well the one or two times I’ve moved up to 10-20. I found that the increase in limits tended to sharpen the mind wonderfully. There are different skills involved at different financial levels. I find, for all the complaints people make about tight games, is that I generally do better against skilled players than unskilled players who don’t recognize when moves are being put on them, and just call regardless. Plus, back when we had legal poker inToronto, a lot of the same guys played 5-10 HE and 10-20 HE, depending on their bankroll, and they weren’t any better at 10-20 than they were at 5-10. I know that at the Mirage one often sees the same players in 3-6 and 6-12 HE.

Today I am putting my house up for sale. Sometime soon I will say good-bye to theMississippiGulfCoastand move to theSherman,Texas area. That is about 60 miles north ofDallas. My two years as a working pro down here have been successful, but love has conquered me, and I will be marrying my childhood sweetheart. I will get an “honest” job, but would still like to play poker occasionally, like maybe a couple of nights a week. I have never played in home games before.

1.  Can any one give me any tips on where to find a low limit game?

2.  Any tips on playing home games as opposed to casino games?

Answer 1:

Your best bet for Casino poker isBossier City LA.The Horseshoe is one of the best poker rooms in the South. They give you $29 rooms and plenty of comps for food. They spread 4-8 up to high limits in holdem and plenty of action on all. They also have a poker room South of Memphis in Tunica MS. It is an excellent poker room also.  Jack Binion runs both and I highly recommend play there.

Answer 2:

Wayne, welcome toNorth Texas. There are many home games in theDallas area all the way from 3-6 up to 10-20 for the lower limit games. When you get located inShermanand are interested in finding out more about the games, give me note. Also, it is about a 3 hour drive fromShermanover to Bossier for poker at the Horseshoe.

Answer 3:

I live inHoustonand play everyday, I know of some games inDallas. You will find overall, atleast to my experience that you are treated better than in a casino.  The rake is higher usually than the casino, but for the recreation player, you get free meals and drinks. Plus you make some friends in the area to show you around so to speak.

I’ll be playing the 5-10 at the Taj this weekend and have heard there is a large bookstore in town that sells gambling related merchandise. I’m hoping to pick up some of caro’s tapes and reports as well as Sklansky’s video. Could someone give me the address of the place.

Answer 1:

There is one atPacific Ave(the main street nearest the beach) and Martin Luther King Blvdon the NE corner. This would be halfway between Resorts and Sands. There was also one in Ocean 1 Mall across from Caesars, but I don’t know if they are still there.

Answer 2:

The other one was at the Ocean One mall but is now ON the boardwalk between the Trop and the Hilton. They specialize in chip collecting but have a large selection of poker books. However the newsstand/bookstore on Pacific has the best selection.

Answer 3:

There is a book store at Pacific Ave. & Dr.Martin Luther King Blvd.(formerlyIllinois Ave.) caddy corner from the Post Office. They should have what you want. It’s about 7 blocks from the TAJ.

I have been playing poker in ring games for a short while, and I am interested in trying some tournaments but I have a small issue. I am not sure what the difference is between a freeze out and a free roll or basically any other term which might describe a tournament style.

Answer 1:

Freeze-out and free-roll are two things that have nothing to do with each other. Freeze out is how the tournament is structured — play continues until one player has all the chips, “freezing out” the other players. The one I’ve never been clear on is “shoot-out” Free-roll is a tournament with no buy-in — a casino that has a free-roll tournament puts up the prize money, and the players usually qualify by playing a designated amount of time in the week or month prior to the tournament.

Answer 2:

Adding to the information provided by John: I have also seen Free Rolls where there is no original buy-in but Re-buys and Add-ons may exist. Just so you know you or your opponents do have the opportunity to add chips, in some cases. The best advice I can give you is to ask!! Asking is free, not asking and finding your opponents taking the re-buy or add-on WILL cost you money.

Answer 3:

A shoot out is where you need to win your table. Then you advance to the next set of tables which consist of all the other individual table winners. Depending on the size of the event (# of entrants) the “finals” then determines the winner. Some are winner take all, but usually have a payoff schedule where anyone who makes it to the finals is in the money.

I will be in St Louisnext Monday night and was curious which casinos spread poker and the games/limits spread.  I’ve been up there but it was a year or 18 months ago.  I seem to recall playing at a Station Casino off I-40 but don’t know if they still have poker.  Also, I remember 2 things about Mo Casinos (1) a 200 buying limit per “cruise” session and (2) I think you are prohibited from entering the boat except during specified times (as if they are cruising). Is this still the case and, if so, do you know the cruise schedules (I will be
arriving around 6 PM).  Finally, are there casinos across the river inIllinois with poker and would you recommend these as opposed to Mo due to the buy in limits (maybe there aren’t any higher limit games on these boats so it doesn’t really matter).

Answer 1:

If you are going to be downtown, I recommend the President Casino on the Admiral. There is a regular Monday game of 15-30 that starts around 2pm and usually goes into the morning hours. 2-3 easy marks usually present and the rest are solid locals.  No more boarding times, but you can still only buy $500 every 2 hours. Hint: arrive shortly before the even hours (ex. 5:50pm) buy $500, then at 6:01 you can buy another $500. If you run out, the locals will sell you some black chips out of their pockets. Most of us carry at least 5 blacks to get around this 2 hour limit. Rake is 5%/3.00. Station Casinos in
St. Charles has a 20-40 game on Monday, but I’m not sure of its strength as I don’t play there often.

Answer 2:

There are only two casinos that have poker. The President which is downtown and Station Casino inSt. Charlesjust off of I70. There is no poker across the river. There are no boarding restrictions but a $500 loss limit every two hours. Station has more games going from 4-8 to 20-40. They also have 1-5 stud and 3-6Omaha. If you are downtown, go to the President. Otherwise go to Station. If you go to the President, take a cab or use valet parking.

Answer 3:

I have been playing Downtown for years with no trouble. Valet parking is free so use it, but the way these people talk about downtown not being safe is bullshit. Maybe they have a liking for the Station. Both have good poker rooms so it depends on where you are staying. Believe me I been toPlanoviva EDS and it’s allot worst in TX than the walk to the Adrimal. Tobar (Bill)

I’ve been playing 7CS for about a year. I skimmed through a book, sat down, and won my 1st time out. I continued to study and play, and moved up from 1-5 to 10-20. So far, I’m way ahead. So I thought I would expand my poker knowledge by learning to play HE. I read a lot of books, studied, and started to play 3-6. I have accumulated over 100 hrs and have come to the conclusion that I can’t play this game worth a damn. I think the main factor is reading skills. In 7CS I am fairly accurate at putting people on hands. There’s more information. In HE I
am absolutely clueless. Anyway, getting to the reason for this post, other than pouring out my frustrations. Has anyone else tried a different form of poker and found they can not play it well? Does anyone play just one form of poker? It seems that most RGP posters play all forms of poker. Am I alone? After all poker is poker, right?

Answer 1:

Poker is poker? I say no. Different skills and playing styles make some people more successful in some forms of poker than others. Even within Hold’em, it’s different. I have been very successful in tournaments, done pretty well in pot limit, only fair in mid limits……but in low limits 3/6 and 4/8; I have only 3 winning sessions in my last 25.  I just don’t think I have the mental make up and discipline to play low limit hold’em.

Answer 2:

After 100 hours, you are just barely getting started. I logged about 5-600 hours of play plus 5 books and a lot of TTH work before I started winning on a regular basis. The information is there, it just takes time to get used to. (IMH, recreational player opinion anyway,,,)

Answer 3:

Up from 1-5 to 10-20. So far, I’m way ahead. So I thought >I would expand my poker knowledge by learning to play HE. I read a >lot of books, studied, and started to play 3-6. I have accumulated >over 100 hrs and have come to the conclusion that I can’t play >this game worth a damn. I think the main factor is reading skills. In >7CS I am fairly accurate at putting people on hands. There’s more >information. In HE I am absolutely clueless. >Anyway, getting to the reason for this post, other than pouring out >my frustrations. Has anyone else tried a different form of poker and >found they can not play it well? Yes.  I play it all, but I am a hell of a lot better at 7-Stud than anything else. I’ve been pondering the reasons for a year and am about to decide I am best at Stud for the same reason you mention – more information available on the board..

Heading to Foxwoods next Thursday to play 3-6 HE. Any advice on strategy, other than have a good time?

Answer 1:

I occasionally play 3-6 and 5-10 while waiting for seats in higher games. 3-6 holdem in Foxwoods is not like most 3-6 games; people are somewhat selective in starting hands and have some clue in post-flop play. The play is far from world-class, but there are many regular players and it isn’t a “no-foldem” game by any means. Foxwoods games are usually passive at 3-6 and 5-10, which is very different than low-limit at the Taj. There’s a mix of rocks and semi-calling stations, very few absolute fish, and no maniacs. Foxwoods 5-10 actually has some medium-skill players. There’s a kill in 5-10, and (some or all?) 3-6 games have kills.

Answer 2:

The 3-6 games at Foxwoods are pretty much the same as any place else in the country. Meaning, you couldn’t scare anybody out of a pot with a baseball bat! Strategy goes right out the window at this level. Just play premium hands in position and when you catch a flop, pray that your hand holds up. I would suggest that if your bankroll is sufficient; try the 5-10 game. 5-10 HE at Foxwoods is very beatable.

Answer 3:

I just got back from playing at Foxwoods this weekend and had a blast! All the games in hold ‘em while I was there were kill games. Once the pot reached $60 the player that won the $60 pot has to now put up a $5 big blind bet. The other blinds remain the same at $1 and $3. That round of play is now the same as a $5 and $10 game. I found the games during my weekend play to be very good with a few rocks in the game and yes, there were even a few novices in the game.  They do not offer a 2-4 hold ‘em and they didn’t not even have a 3-6 game with a no kill. I was VERY disappointed though with some of the quality of dealers that came thru the strings on swing shift. On a 3-6 game there should
be more than 10 dollars in white chips among all 10 players!! It got very annoying after awhile when dealer after dealer kept going in the rack and making change for that $5 chip and I finally had to say something to the floor man about why none of the dealers use white chips!  I spoke to a floor man names “Glenn” who was very polite and understood what I was talking about and he stood and watched the game for awhile and saw exactly what I was talking about.  Every dealer that came off that game he pulled aside and brought it to
their attention. I just kind of wished the dealers would keep all their own tips instead of pulling them. While I was there, I entered into a hold ‘em tournament on Saturday morning. The buy in is $20 with an option to rebuy before the second round. Really had a good time in the tournament and actually ended up in 3rd place for a victory of $230.  I then played on Sunday the stud tournament and almost cashed again but came just short of the final table. Overall, I had a great time and enjoyed playing the hold ‘em games. I only wish thatAtlantic City would have kill games…….

Any suggestions for a good local card room inSacramentoCAfor a visitor who doesn’t want to get hometowned in a 1-table joint?

Answer 1:

Some ofSacramento’s players are still relatively new to holdem. So you’ll find plenty of no foldem holdem. About six years ago the town as still all lowball. I haven’t been there since January. But the Sun Downer was my favorite. And they’ve got the $20 limit lowball action. But now they’ve got holdem also. The Lucky Derby is a good place to play. There used to be many, many card rooms inSacramento.

Answer 2:

Usually two tables going, Omaha & Hold’em. Mostly 3/6, bigger games occasionally when there’s interest (for a while they had the biggest game in town spreading a 15/30 Hold’em on tuesday nights, but it has fizzled out). Scores low on incidentals (food, etc.) PhoenixLounge: one or two tables of 4/8 Hold’em. On rare occasions a 6/12.  Very good food/drink. Friendly place. River city: one or two tables, mostly Hold’em (3/6, 4/8) but will spreadOmahaor Lowball with interest. Saturday night has tournaments and usually gets a 6/12 going plus two tables of 4/8. Pretty good incidentals. Make sure you check out my picture on the wall (won anOmahatournament). Sundown: 5-6 tables of Lowball (6 and 20) and small-stakes hold’em (2/4, 3/6). Bad neighbourhood, mediocre food. Basically a dinosaur pen. Silver Fox: one table of 4/8 Hold’em. Wildest game in the country; pots capped routinely with anything. Very dangerous, though, as collusion seems to be tolerated as is speaking Vietnamese. I wouldn’t play here unless you have developed very good skills at reading when you are being sandwich-raised and can sit quietly on the nuts while they bet for you. If you get steamed at bad beats, stay far, far, away. Very, very bad neighbourhood as well.  Decent food. Rancho’s club: One table, occasionally 2 of Ohama/9 (yes, 9). Lots of loose aggressive play. Some Friday nights he spreads a 5/10Omaha.  Very bad neighbourhood, mediocre food (except when owner Ruben brings in his own home-cooked Mexican food).

Answer 3:

The Lucky Derby has had its Tuesday night $15 & $30 Hold-’em game up a running for at least the past two Tuesdays, October 12 & tonight, October 19, 1999. The game usually starts right around 8 PM.

I’m next to the BB, with 5d 6d call  $10, 4  callers , SB, BB call, pot is $70.
flop 3d 8d 4s,  check, check, I bet $10 , raised to $20, call, BB raised to $30, sb folds, I fold. Turn Ad, River Qc BB wins with trip treys. I folded respecting the probability of a higher flush draw, was this an error ? I guess these cards were probably too weak to have called from early position in the first place ?

Answer 1:

It was a huge error. You had as many as 15 outs (did you miss the nut straight draw?), the pot had $130 and it would cost you $20 to call. The player who called 2 cold should make you a bit suspicious, but there are plenty of players who’d call 2 cold with over cards or a weak pair, particularly in a loose game. Your draw is strong enough that
you should be getting as much money into the pot as possible on the flop, and you should be glad to pay 4 bets. Not if seven-handed pots for no raise pre-flop was the norm.  In a
loose-passive game, 65s is fine, but you need to play well post-flop in order to play these more marginal hands.

Answer 2:

The BB’s play seems to indicate a set or big diamond draw, sometimes two pair.  Against a set or two pair you have 15 outs, even if BB has a redraw.  Against a diamond draw, you still have the straight to hit and position on the BB. If you were sure of your read then you should raise again to knock out the other guy (who could have A8 or even 34). In fact, raising looks to be the way to go in either case. If you play small suited onnectors, then you have to play them as if your flush will be good, otherwise you might as well start tossing them at the beginning. I realize that this isn’t etched in stone, but it
should be a good start.

Answer 3:

If you can see 5 diamonds between your hand and the board, then there are 8 diamonds available to place in your opponent’s hands. There are thus 8*7/(1*2) = 28 possible two card diamond combinations. Of these, one, the 4D,2D is worse than your 6D,5D. Thus there are 27 possible better two card diamond combinations out of 990 possible hands. 27/990 = 0.02727 That’s the probability that, if you were only playing against one opponent, your opponent would have a better diamond flush than you. (However, with $70 in the pot before the flop you must have six opponents). If you have six opponents then the probability that at least one of them has a better diamond flush is about 0.15. That means it’s about five and a half to one that no one has a better diamond flush. You shouldn’t (or at least I don’t think you should) count too much on the math once you get into the heat of the battle. If a tight player is betting like he has a pair of aces, even though the odds are against it, he probably has a pair of aces. That being said, and in the absence of betting  that would seem to indicate someone has a hand with two diamonds, and calling after the flop hoping another diamond is yet to come, it’s likely (five and a half to one) that none of your opponents is also hoping for a diamond. (Maybe someone holding the ace of diamonds would like to see *two* diamonds, but that’s an unlikely occurrence). If you’re going to see the flop holding 6D, 5D, then you really should see the hand through, after there are two diamonds on the flop – but warily, since you won’t have the nuts if another diamond comes up on the turn or the river. 6D, 5D is in Sklansky’s group 5 for starting hold ‘em hands. Somewhere or other he implies that you can play group 5 hands under the gun in a loose game. Thus it’s a marginal hand under the gun. By the way, although it’s unlikely in hold ‘em that any of your opponents will also have two cards to make a flush; inOmahathe opposite is true. It’s about four to one that one of your opponents *would* also have a diamond flush, if you made one, and in this case certainly a better one. InOmahayour 6D, 5D would be a considered a liability.