Casino-Twist

Where is the best place to fly into when going to Foxwoods?

Answer 1:

I assume there is transportation from the Hartford airport to Foxwoods, so that is probably your best bet. I generally go into Boston for business, but that is a two hour drive or so. Providence may be the closest (with little traffic) but I do not know if there is transportation out of Rhode Island. Your best bet is to call the casino and ask for help.

Answer 2:

Hartford and Providence are the closest, with Providence being slightly closer.  However, Providence is also a MUCH nicer airport, and is my first choice whenever I travel (and I only live 6 miles from Foxwoods).

Answer 3:

I think it may be from the Bonza Bus depot in Providence, but there is a bus company that has three or four round trips a day.  The cost, as I recall, is quite reasonable.

Been playing poker for a few years now. Sometime I win & sometimes I lose. I’ve heard about pot odds & how it makes a difference on whether or not you should call a bet. I really don’t understand the concept. In fact I have NEVER considered pot odds when playing poker. Are pot odds that important?  If I never consider the odds the pot is giving me, am I doomed? Where can I learn about the fundamentals of pot odds?

Answer 1:

The basic idea of pot odds: Say you are about a 4:1 dog to make your hand and that if you do so, you’ll win the pot. If the pot holds four times the amount you need to bet, you bet is “correct,”
that is, if you make that bet every time the same situation arises, you will break even in the long run. One out of four times, you hand will get there and you’ll get your money back. Thus, if there is more than four times your bet, you are making money in the long run if you act similarly every time. Without this kind of mathematical analysis, one ends up making calls on “feel.” While this can be lucrative for some, it probably isn’t great for beginners. You might get bluffed off pots but not winning those is far better than losing more by making calls not warranted by the odds.

Answer 2:

Well, it’s pretty simple-#1 if the pot is big, and if the cost to win the pot is low then the pot odds is good!  #2 if the pot is small, and the cost of win is great then the pot odds are bad.  #3 Always play when the pot odds are good and throw away when the pot odds are bad—thus ended the lesson of poker for today!

Answer 3:

Having read (probably way too many) books, which go into intricate and painful detail computing pot odds, your one paragraph answer to this guy pretty much sums it all up. Don’t take this the wrong way, however, I found it quite amusing. Sometimes (often) we tend to over analyze things to the point of making simple things much more complicated than they are.

What you wrote is, IMHO, exactly right. Painted with a broad stroke, to be sure – but correct none the less. I wonder how significant the difference would really be (in profit), if we just looked at it from the “wide angle view” vs. drilling down into the minute detail of calculations, suggested by the authors.

You been playing twenty-six hours straight, but only twenty-odd hours in this game, 25-50 blinds PLH, you got fifty-one thousand, four hundred twenty-two in front of you,  and you *LOOK* like a stone *zombie* except miraculously, you have not only been running *real* lucky but you’re also playing like *GOD* – as in, playing with ‘em face up – now four-handed, and the *other* three aren’t buying the act anymore <smile>, you’re 50 big blind, 3d man passes, button – an *action* guy with whom you’ve played a *LOT*, and thru the grace of God you’ve always seemed to get the better of <smile> for LOTS of money – makes it 200 to go, sb passes.  You look down, find K-K, check button’s stack of about fifteen thousand [Christ, where'd he get *that* much <smile>, he's only been here since 11:48 a.m. and he's *stuck*] so you give him action as a courtesy and make it 400 to go.  He calls. Flop comes 8-6-2 rainbow.  You check, he bets 500, you of course check-raise him 1,500 more.  He calls. Turn card comes another 8.  Aieee-yaaaa!  You check, he bets ya 3,500.  (The threat, of course, being that you already raised once out of position, and then check-raised him for a total of two thousand, the guy, *BELIEVE ME*, does *not* think you’re an idiot … <smile> ….

I threw it away, and was so depressed that I got up and quit. Whaddaya think, fellas?

Answer 1:

correct answer is always “it depends” *BUT* ya got to know upon what it depends <smile> – forgot to include that the possibility of the button having 8-8-, 6-6 or 2-2 (i.e. flopping a set) is zero – ya hadda be* there, but *trust me* – and stop and think about it, he already figures – other than a stone action play, which I *aren’t* making, out of the big blind – that I’ve got a big hand.  So, obviously, if he flops a *set*, where a possibility is 9-7 straight-draw and if I’m an *idiot* I’m going’ for it, right? So he did *NOT* flop a set.

Answer 2:

If he put you on a big hand, as you say he did, then he’s either a complete maniac or he’s value betting an even bigger hand. You say he’s an action player, so he probably figures he can bet big hands and get called, right? You made a good fold. Put the $3,500 when you want to put it in.

Answer 3:

You’re not really worried about the eight, are you?  The hand you’re worried about is A-A.  If he has this, you’re toast.  If he has Q-Q, J-J, T-T or if he’s busting a move, then you’re a winner.  I guess you simply have to try to figure out the probability. You said he was an action player… with absolutely no further knowledge of him, I guess I’d stick in to the end.  A sensible player would play Q-Q approximately the same way as A-A in that situation. I don’t mind getting KK beaten by AA once in a while… I’d rather err on the side of playing my big hands strongly and getting thrashed by the occasional even bigger hand, than underplay it or throw it away too often. Sometimes people slow play me by checking and calling with a straight flush while I’ve got top set.  But later on I’m raising it up with a marginal hand that I know is a winner.  The action I get easily pays for their occasional luck.

I play over at Viejas Casino in San Diego, and I think they have quite an interesting tournament structure.  Let me know if this is normal at all.  $15 buying, about 120 entrants or so…everything’s normal up until the final 8 (prize money goes 8 deep.)  Then, once 4 people are knocked out, and there’s only 4 left, the tournament is over, and 1st through 4th place is determined by chip count.  I hated this, because I went into the final table as the slight chip leader, and in literally 10 minutes, (probably about 7 hands) 4 people had gotten knocked out, and the tournament was over.  I ended up with 2nd, and i had played ZERO hands!  i got 7 unplayable hands in a row, which is totally normal, but because of the structure, i couldn’t even compete for first, because the guy who went into the final table in 2nd got himself a wheel.  Great guy and all, plenty deserving, but it just didn’t seem right.  I think it was just to save time, as the whole thing only lasted 2 hours. So, is this a common tournament structure?  Also, advice on how to play in a final table where it’s set up like this?  Am i stuck making a move on absolute rags?

Answer 1:

The daily tourneys at Casino San Pablo do this also, at 3 places.  I hate it, but they do have a $1,000 guarantee, and usually have to give the overlay. Who would have guessed it possible that waiting is sustainable, a place with its own harvests. Or that in time’s fullness the diamonds of patience couldn’t be distinguished from the genuine in brilliance or hardness.

Answer 2:

Yeah, a deal definitely would have been made, after there were 10 people left, a deal must have been proposed 5 times, and each time I was the only one to turn it down, because i was the chip leader, because i really wanted to win, and because i had no idea that deals were that common/prevalent.  i think it’s really a cheap way out.  But i suppose, given the horrendous structure, it probably is the best way to go.

Answer 3:

A marvelous structure. As long as one wants to promote randomness, incentive for deals, and high incentive for collusion. First as the poster notes, only 7 hands got rid of 4 players because the limits were so high. He was chip leader and had no playable hands. Thus logical players may well want to deal. But the collusive incentive is worse. IMO my son and I are among the more honorable poker players. But both of us well understand game theory. 5 players left with chips and we are the 2 blinds. Chips are split reasonably even: 24%-23%-21%-16%-16% with us the lowest two at 16%. No matter what our hands, we could bet all our chips assuming normal 1st 2nd 3rd 4th payout structures as we will then, in all probability, move from last places in chips to one of us jumping to first while the other ends the tourney by reducing the field to 4.

And I am not even sure that this is dishonorable collusion. I might consider the same strategy against a player whom I do not know. A  50:50 or even 35:65 shot at first is well worth the risk of busting out.

You are just playing the game as the stupid rules dictate if you wish to optimize your chance to win. It’s like in Price is Right when bidding $1 over the bid of the sweet little old lady next to you.

I heard a new 8/16 holdem game goes around the clock at Canterbary Park with unbelievable action. Does anyone know about it?

Answer 1:

I was at Canterbury Park about a week ago and they did not have the 8- 16 game going when I was there (Thursday night and Friday afternoon). They did have a 6-12 and a 10-20 going, though.  I played in the 10-20 Thurs. night and the action was fair to good as I booked a modest $150 win in a couple of hours.

Answer 2:

I was out there last night, and the 8/16 was going strong all night.

As for “unbelievable action” I don’t know.  I railed the game a little, and didn’t find the action to be any more or less than any other game out there.   Of course it changes with the players, so YMMV.

Answer 3:

Heard similar comments from a woman used to California rooms when I was in the game a couple of weeks ago. I rank myself a fair to middling’ Omaha8 player and some of the hands I saw played to showdown were things I wouldn’t have played (not that *means* anything…). I can usually get $1-200 out of that game but ran into a run of cold cards and the game tightened up significantly. Got into a $2-6 Hold ‘Em game and finished up a rack.

Anyone know if the beginner’s pot limit $5 buy in tournament at the Ladbrokes regency in London is worth playing? Is the buy in too low to get good action.

Depends entirely on whether you are new to the game or not.  If you are it’s definitely worth playing in.  You get a great mixture of decent, experienced players (chancing their arm before the cash games), bad but habitual players and total beginners.  Top prize usually comes out at around the £300 mark which isn’t bad but, for a beginner, just the experience of playing in a casino, often at a self deal table, is worth the buy in alone.  Be warned, during the re-buy period (1st 50 minutes) everything you’ve read about poker goes out of the window.  It’s mayhem.  People go all in with mediocre hands all the time, so you never know what you’re up against.  I even saw one guy CALL all in with an only a little under the buy in amount, and he held 3 5 off-suit.  All you can do during the re-buys is hang in there and hope to catch some cards.  If you do you can soak up a serious amount of chips because, at £5, people don’t care how many times they buy in.  After the re-buys are over things tighten up considerably and the tournament settles down.  It’s a great laugh, the people are friendly and the staffs are great. I doubt you’d regret giving it a try.

Answer 2:

Something where the players will give you respect for a good hand rather than seeing it doggedly to the river with a pile of crap because it’s so cheap.

Answer 3:

There are other, neighborhood poker clubs in Paris — I’ve played in
the Marais near the Place des Vosges and in Montmartre. Though you’d better speak a bit of French if you want to play in them.

I have go to AC all the time but I have never gotten in on poker there. Some one please explain to me how the casino makes money?  Are you playing against the dealer, or other players?  Do you have to pay to get into the room or can you just walk in and sit down? What are the average table limits and what should I expect to bring with me money wise to play with? I have played hold’em in poker games and I’m pretty good, but I want to know if I need to bring $200 $500 or what. Any other help would be a big help.

Answer 1:

The casino makes money by either taking a small amount from each
pot, or, as is the case in the UK, charging a “sit-down” fee– you buy your seat in the game.

Answer 2:

You only play against other players. At low limits, the house takes a cut of each pot, and at higher limits they charge a set amount per hour for your seat. There is no charge to get into the room in any casino in the United States. Some European casinos charge you just to enter. When you walk into the room, they’ll have a board listing the available games and limits. You sign up on the waiting lists for the limits you want to play, and when there’s an open seat, they call you. Waits can be fairly long in Atlantic City, especially if you play holdem.

If you are open to playing other games, such as seven-card stud, or to a few different limits, you shouldn’t have trouble finding some game quickly. The lowest holdem limit is 2-4. Next largest is 3-6, then 5-10, then 10-20. Holdem is spread only at the Taj Mahal and the Trop to my knowledge. $100 is more than enough for a session of 2-4. If you are a winning home game player, you should be able to handle 5-10. The problem with 2-4 is that the stakes are so low and the house cut of the pot is so large that it’s hard to make any real money even when the opponents are really bad (which
they are).

Answer 3:

In games below $10/20 the casino takes a “rake” of 10% of the pot, up to $4 max. In games above, the casino charges for time. This amount varies by casino & limit. Usually, no more than $10/hr. There is no charge to get into the poker room. You only pay while you play. To get into a game, you go to the poker desk and see what games are available. If there is a seat open in the game/limit you want – you’ll be directed to someone who will seat you in that game. If there is a waiting list, add your name to the list & they will call you when a seat is open. Fri/Sat nights are busy and there is almost always a waiting list. It helps to put your name on more than one list. For example, I’ll wait for the $10/20, $5/10 and $3/6 games. Ideally, I want the $10/20. However, I’ll play in the others if they are “good” games, while waiting for a call for $10/20. Holdem is usually spread: $2/4, $3/6, $5/10, $10/20, $20/40, $30/60, etc. Sometimes you’ll find a $15/30 or $4/8 – they are pretty rare, however. Stud looks like: $1/3, $1/5, $5/10…..similar to holdem, but the betting varies depending on if the board is paired – and on which “street”.

To play holdem, I’d suggest the following buy in $$$’s: $2/4 – $100, with another $50 in reserve (don’t play $2/4 – it’s not worth the time); for $3/6 – $150/$100; for $5/10 – $200/$150; for $10/20 – $400/$200, etc…. Sounds like on your $500 you’d be looking at $3/6 or $5/10. You’d be a little short stacked at $10/20 and we’d try to squeeze you. That and the game is a little tougher than $5/10, less players see the flop and much more raising. Short stacks usually can’t handle the variance.