What are you seeing in your live games?

[Dan Druff]

It's tough for me to get out and play live very often these days, due to my responsibilities with Benjamin.

However, in the times I've played, the game quality is still surprisingly good given the circumstances. While the frequency of middle and high stakes games is much less than it used to be, the games themselves are pretty good when they do go. Occasionally, they are excellent.

What are you guys seeing at the live games you're playing, and how does it compare to a few years ago, when poker was seeing better days?

[Bootsy Collins]

It's tough for me to get out and play live very often these days, due to my responsibilities with Benjamin.

However, in the times I've played, the game quality is still surprisingly good given the circumstances. While the frequency of middle and high stakes games is much less than it used to be, the games themselves are pretty good when they do go. Occasionally, they are excellent.

What are you guys seeing at the live games you're playing, and how does it compare to a few years ago, when poker was seeing better days?

As I have stated before, I am predomanitely a limit hold-em player playing between 4-8 and 8-16. These games used to be very juicy but now they are played very tightly. A lot of the docks that frequent those games now are playing the 5 card Omaha games due to the fact that they believe they can get more action. I play primarily at the Pechanga Casino due to the fact that I like the atmosphere of being at an actual casino compared to say the Bike, Commerce or Oceans11. I am not a fan of the clientele that frequent my proffered games there.

[Dan Druff]

As I have stated before, I am predomanitely a limit hold-em player playing between 4-8 and 8-16. These games used to be very juicy but now they are played very tightly. A lot of the docks that frequent those games now are playing the 5 card Omaha games due to the fact that they believe they can get more action. I play primarily at the Pechanga Casino due to the fact that I like the atmosphere of being at an actual casino compared to say the Bike, Commerce or Oceans11. I am not a fan of the clientele that frequent my proffered games there.

Serious question:

Can you beat 4-8 and 8-16 these days, given the high rake? Add in the expected dealer tips, and I think it would be hard to consistently beat these games, unless the players were horrendous.

I guess you could squeeze out an okay profit at 8-16, but the 4-8... I just don't see it.

[tommyt]

i play 1-2, and 2-5 at a local casino in WV. recently on firdays and saturdays the 1-2 PLO game has gotten alot of action. mainly becasue the only other PLO game is 5-10. but the 1-2 PLO game is for huge degens, i tried to play it one day but it seemed to not even be poker. (people just shipping stack all around the table). the 1-2 NLH game is super juicy on weekend dude to the insanely huge crowd of country degens. i plan to make alot of money this summer. especially when those degens are in the 2-5 game

[Bootsy Collins]

Serious question:

Can you beat 4-8 and 8-16 these days, given the high rake? Add in the expected dealer tips, and I think it would be hard to consistently beat these games, unless the players were horrendous.

I guess you could squeeze out an okay profit at 8-16, but the 4-8... I just don't see it.

Yes I still do make a profit (between 3-4 big bets an hour this year) The main reason is that there are still some novice players in the 4-8 game. The unfortunate reality is that the 8-16 game seldom happens

[408Mike]

Having played at gay101 recently I can say the players at mistakes nlhe are as bad as ever. Garden city is still rocking and I like it more for steady play but on a good day at bay101 you could pull in a few grand easily which is tough to beat.

Lucky chances is a waste of gas. All of the smaller casinos like artichoke joes and some places in the east bay either closed up or have such little action it's a major waste.

All forms of holdem aside from 3/6 are very beatable at bay101 and garden city. Only bay has the higher lhe games tho, I think garden is still stuck at 20-40 but don't quote me. I know for sure bay has 100-200 playing on the reg. If you have the roll for it the 10/20 should be running twice a week at LC and THAT is probably the best game in the bay area.

[Bootsy Collins]

Having played at gay101 recently I can say the players at mistakes nlhe are as bad as ever. Garden city is still rocking and I like it more for steady play but on a good day at bay101 you could pull in a few grand easily which is tough to beat.

Lucky chances is a waste of gas. All of the smaller casinos like artichoke joes and some places in the east bay either closed up or have such little action it's a major waste.

All forms of holdem aside from 3/6 are very beatable at bay101 and garden city. Only bay has the higher lhe games tho, I think garden is still stuck at 20-40 but don't quote me. I know for sure bay has 100-200 playing on the reg. If you have the roll for it the 10/20 should be running twice a week at LC and THAT is probably the best game in the bay area.

I remember playing at Bay 101 back in 2007. Bought in for $200 in the 6/12 and walked away with $3000. Ah the memories.

[NorCal Sports]

Like many, I really never played live poker - unless it was a really small > $50 type buy-in game.

The only live poker I've been able to play post BF was at an Indian Casino in Arizona and a few $20 Turbo at a card room about 1 hour away.

I played 1/2 at the Indian Casino in AZ and found the game incredibly soft. There was a 'Sam Grizzle' type guy that had at least 5 beers in the short 2 hours I played with him (not to mention the rounds he had before I sat down). The best player was a lady who was also a dealer at the casino - but she was just firing at pots and laying down when you played back at her. I think I ended up stuck about $10 at the end of it, but if I could have stayed in the game longer, I felt like I could have booked a small win.

The $20 Turbos at a local card room are really fun, and I'm actually glad I live about 1 hour away, because I'd probably play almost everyday if I was closer. The fields are incredibly soft. There was one hand I remember that can give you an example of how the play is.

Blinds are aprox $100 - $200
I have about 4.5K in chips,
About 3 or 4 people limp in ... putting the pot at around $800.
I raise to about $750 with JJ on the button.
Everyone folds except 1 guy to my right who calls.
Board comes something like AK8 rainbow.
Guy min-bets $200 ... into a pot with over 2K in it.
I instantly fold.
He shows an Ace.

If he had bet $1700 ... I would have at least thought about it longer.

I'm still getting used to handling chips and I even made a string bet that didn't count and had to min-raise my last time out. However, I found that playing in SNG's and other MTT's online helped me know where I needed to have my chip stack in relation to the blinds when playing live MTT's. The hardest adjustment has been bet sizing. Online it's pretty simple to cut out the right bet/raise - but live you have to think about it more and add up all the chips in the middle + add up what your opponents stacks are. Probably not really a big deal when you've played a few 1,000 hands live, but I'm probably still getting to my first 1,000.

I'm going to Vegas next week! I didn't play live when I was in town last year, but I'm hoping try a ~$100 tournament, or try some $1/2 one night if I find a game that looks okay.

[408Mike]

Having played at gay101 recently I can say the players at mistakes nlhe are as bad as ever. Garden city is still rocking and I like it more for steady play but on a good day at bay101 you could pull in a few grand easily which is tough to beat.

Lucky chances is a waste of gas. All of the smaller casinos like artichoke joes and some places in the east bay either closed up or have such little action it's a major waste.

All forms of holdem aside from 3/6 are very beatable at bay101 and garden city. Only bay has the higher lhe games tho, I think garden is still stuck at 20-40 but don't quote me. I know for sure bay has 100-200 playing on the reg. If you have the roll for it the 10/20 should be running twice a week at LC and THAT is probably the best game in the bay area.

I remember playing at Bay 101 back in 2007. Bought in for $200 in the 6/12 and walked away with $3000. Ah the memories.

I am heading tomorrow to play some spread nlhe. Shooting star final table is tomorrow, buddy just got back said action is hot. Trip report to follow if it isn't boring.

[Bootsy Collins]

Like many, I really never played live poker - unless it was a really small > $50 type buy-in game.

The only live poker I've been able to play post BF was at an Indian Casino in Arizona and a few $20 Turbo at a card room about 1 hour away.

I played 1/2 at the Indian Casino in AZ and found the game incredibly soft. There was a 'Sam Grizzle' type guy that had at least 5 beers in the short 2 hours I played with him (not to mention the rounds he had before I sat down). The best player was a lady who was also a dealer at the casino - but she was just firing at pots and laying down when you played back at her. I think I ended up stuck about $10 at the end of it, but if I could have stayed in the game longer, I felt like I could have booked a small win.

The $20 Turbos at a local card room are really fun, and I'm actually glad I live about 1 hour away, because I'd probably play almost everyday if I was closer. The fields are incredibly soft. There was one hand I remember that can give you an example of how the play is.

Blinds are aprox $100 - $200
I have about 4.5K in chips,
About 3 or 4 people limp in ... putting the pot at around $800.
I raise to about $750 with JJ on the button.
Everyone folds except 1 guy to my right who calls.
Board comes something like AK8 rainbow.
Guy min-bets $200 ... into a pot with over 2K in it.
I instantly fold.
He shows an Ace.

If he had bet $1700 ... I would have at least thought about it longer.

I'm still getting used to handling chips and I even made a string bet that didn't count and had to min-raise my last time out. However, I found that playing in SNG's and other MTT's online helped me know where I needed to have my chip stack in relation to the blinds when playing live MTT's. The hardest adjustment has been bet sizing. Online it's pretty simple to cut out the right bet/raise - but live you have to think about it more and add up all the chips in the middle + add up what your opponents stacks are. Probably not really a big deal when you've played a few 1,000 hands live, but I'm probably still getting to my first 1,000.

I'm going to Vegas next week! I didn't play live when I was in town last year, but I'm hoping try a ~$100 tournament, or try some $1/2 one night if I find a game that looks okay.

The tourneys run at the Aria are the nuts. $125 buy in with a great structure, great cocktail waitresses and overall a very pleasant experience IMO.

[hutmaster]

Had a business meeting today near the Chumash Casino so I stopped in to play their Wednesday night tourney. $35 entry about 60 players. Players were AWFUL. One guy at my 2nd table raised, got re-raised to put him all in and he says to dealer that he will have to fold because he doesn't have enough chips to call the re-raise. LOL Naturally I picked up AA vs 77 vs KQo all-in preflop......7 T J 6 9........lose main pot and side pot LOL. Good news is I had a $5 slot credit....played 100 credits on a nickel machine and won $85 on 1st spin. Cashed out and put $20 in another machine and cashed out $100 4 spins later. Obviously proving Micon is correct.....you can beat the slots. LOLZ

[Bootsy Collins]

Had a business meeting today near the Chumash Casino so I stopped in to play their Wednesday night tourney. $35 entry about 60 players. Players were AWFUL. One guy at my 2nd table raised, got re-raised to put him all in and he says to dealer that he will have to fold because he doesn't have enough chips to call the re-raise. LOL Naturally I picked up AA vs 77 vs KQo all-in preflop......7 T J 6 9........lose main pot and side pot LOL. Good news is I had a $5 slot credit....played 100 credits on a nickel machine and won $85 on 1st spin. Cashed out and put $20 in another machine and cashed out $100 4 spins later. Obviously proving Micon is correct.....you can beat the slots. LOLZ

Hut do you play often at Chumash. That was my home base when I lived in Ojai a few years back.

[hutmaster]

Had a business meeting today near the Chumash Casino so I stopped in to play their Wednesday night tourney. $35 entry about 60 players. Players were AWFUL. One guy at my 2nd table raised, got re-raised to put him all in and he says to dealer that he will have to fold because he doesn't have enough chips to call the re-raise. LOL Naturally I picked up AA vs 77 vs KQo all-in preflop......7 T J 6 9........lose main pot and side pot LOL. Good news is I had a $5 slot credit....played 100 credits on a nickel machine and won $85 on 1st spin. Cashed out and put $20 in another machine and cashed out $100 4 spins later. Obviously proving Micon is correct.....you can beat the slots. LOLZ

Hut do you play often at Chumash. That was my home base when I lived in Ojai a few years back.

I played there quite often about 5 years ago. Now I really only go when I just feel like playing for fun. I probably wont be back there until May when they host the Central Coast Poker Championship...It's usually a $240 buyin with a guaranteed $100K prizepool. Next week I am gonna go play at a small local card room for the first time. They only have a few tables. Monday - Thursday they spread $3-6 and $4-8 and on Fridays they have a $6-12 full kill $300 buy-in game and on Saturdays a $10-20 1/2 kill $500 buy-in game.

[Bootsy Collins]

Had a business meeting today near the Chumash Casino so I stopped in to play their Wednesday night tourney. $35 entry about 60 players. Players were AWFUL. One guy at my 2nd table raised, got re-raised to put him all in and he says to dealer that he will have to fold because he doesn't have enough chips to call the re-raise. LOL Naturally I picked up AA vs 77 vs KQo all-in preflop......7 T J 6 9........lose main pot and side pot LOL. Good news is I had a $5 slot credit....played 100 credits on a nickel machine and won $85 on 1st spin. Cashed out and put $20 in another machine and cashed out $100 4 spins later. Obviously proving Micon is correct.....you can beat the slots. LOLZ

Hut do you play often at Chumash. That was my home base when I lived in Ojai a few years back.

I played there quite often about 5 years ago. Now I really only go when I just feel like playing for fun. I probably wont be back there until May when they host the Central Coast Poker Championship...It's usually a $240 buyin with a guaranteed $100K prizepool. Next week I am gonna go play at a small local card room for the first time. They only have a few tables. Monday - Thursday they spread $3-6 and $4-8 and on Fridays they have a $6-12 full kill $300 buy-in game and on Saturdays a $10-20 1/2 kill $500 buy-in game.

Are Yuri and Jesse still there?

[hutmaster]

Had a business meeting today near the Chumash Casino so I stopped in to play their Wednesday night tourney. $35 entry about 60 players. Players were AWFUL. One guy at my 2nd table raised, got re-raised to put him all in and he says to dealer that he will have to fold because he doesn't have enough chips to call the re-raise. LOL Naturally I picked up AA vs 77 vs KQo all-in preflop......7 T J 6 9........lose main pot and side pot LOL. Good news is I had a $5 slot credit....played 100 credits on a nickel machine and won $85 on 1st spin. Cashed out and put $20 in another machine and cashed out $100 4 spins later. Obviously proving Micon is correct.....you can beat the slots. LOLZ

Hut do you play often at Chumash. That was my home base when I lived in Ojai a few years back.

I played there quite often about 5 years ago. Now I really only go when I just feel like playing for fun. I probably wont be back there until May when they host the Central Coast Poker Championship...It's usually a $240 buyin with a guaranteed $100K prizepool. Next week I am gonna go play at a small local card room for the first time. They only have a few tables. Monday - Thursday they spread $3-6 and $4-8 and on Fridays they have a $6-12 full kill $300 buy-in game and on Saturdays a $10-20 1/2 kill $500 buy-in game.

Are Yuri and Jesse still there?

Yuri is still there, I don't know about Jesse. Yuri is a good guy, funny as hell.

[Goodpoop]

i play 1-2, and 2-5 at a local casino in WV. recently on firdays and saturdays the 1-2 PLO game has gotten alot of action. mainly becasue the only other PLO game is 5-10. but the 1-2 PLO game is for huge degens, i tried to play it one day but it seemed to not even be poker. (people just shipping stack all around the table). the 1-2 NLH game is super juicy on weekend dude to the insanely huge crowd of country degens. i plan to make alot of money this summer. especially when those degens are in the 2-5 game

Are you playing at Charles Town?

[Fergie72]

Like many, I really never played live poker - unless it was a really small > $50 type buy-in game.

The only live poker I've been able to play post BF was at an Indian Casino in Arizona and a few $20 Turbo at a card room about 1 hour away.

I played 1/2 at the Indian Casino in AZ and found the game incredibly soft. There was a 'Sam Grizzle' type guy that had at least 5 beers in the short 2 hours I played with him (not to mention the rounds he had before I sat down). The best player was a lady who was also a dealer at the casino - but she was just firing at pots and laying down when you played back at her. I think I ended up stuck about $10 at the end of it, but if I could have stayed in the game longer, I felt like I could have booked a small win.

The $20 Turbos at a local card room are really fun, and I'm actually glad I live about 1 hour away, because I'd probably play almost everyday if I was closer. The fields are incredibly soft. There was one hand I remember that can give you an example of how the play is.

Blinds are aprox $100 - $200
I have about 4.5K in chips,
About 3 or 4 people limp in ... putting the pot at around $800.
I raise to about $750 with JJ on the button.
Everyone folds except 1 guy to my right who calls.
Board comes something like AK8 rainbow.
Guy min-bets $200 ... into a pot with over 2K in it.
I instantly fold.
He shows an Ace.

If he had bet $1700 ... I would have at least thought about it longer.

I'm still getting used to handling chips and I even made a string bet that didn't count and had to min-raise my last time out. However, I found that playing in SNG's and other MTT's online helped me know where I needed to have my chip stack in relation to the blinds when playing live MTT's. The hardest adjustment has been bet sizing. Online it's pretty simple to cut out the right bet/raise - but live you have to think about it more and add up all the chips in the middle + add up what your opponents stacks are. Probably not really a big deal when you've played a few 1,000 hands live, but I'm probably still getting to my first 1,000.

I'm going to Vegas next week! I didn't play live when I was in town last year, but I'm hoping try a ~$100 tournament, or try some $1/2 one night if I find a game that looks okay.

I was in Vegas 6 weeks ago and the 1-2 games were very soft. You do have to table select a bit though, if you find yourself at a table full of local grinders dont be afraid to request a table change or move to the next casino.

I suggest starting at Flamingo, then Ballys or Planet Hollywood.

Hit us with a trip report when you get back.

[4BET]

The live games here in florida are very good games but I am seeing alot of pros moving here from L.A.,Vegas, AC, So the games are a little tougher then they were but I play in the morning with alot of snow birds who have alot of cash so I work hard everyday to try and pry it out of them but even they are playing better, The biggest games we can get is 5/10 on the reg

[Longtime_Listener]

i play 1-2, and 2-5 at a local casino in WV. recently on firdays and saturdays the 1-2 PLO game has gotten alot of action. mainly becasue the only other PLO game is 5-10. but the 1-2 PLO game is for huge degens, i tried to play it one day but it seemed to not even be poker. (people just shipping stack all around the table). the 1-2 NLH game is super juicy on weekend dude to the insanely huge crowd of country degens. i plan to make alot of money this summer. especially when those degens are in the 2-5 game

Are you playing at Charles Town?

He can't be. C-town only spreads 5/5 PLO, and REFUSES to spread 1/2, despite the large amount of interest.

The C-town games continue to be excellent. There is so much money floating around DC that supports that dump. They had a 25/50 (and occasionally 50/100) LO/8 game that ran throughout the summer an into the winter that was amazing. PLO is great. Multiple excelled 2/5 games too.

In contrast, the AC games are pretty mediocre, with the exception of the 30/60 - 50/100 mix. Since the intro of the draw games (badugi, 2-7, badacey/baduci) these games seemed to have livened up. I understand razzdugi is in the mix too, but I haven't played it (nor really thought about how to play it) myself. But the 20/40 and 40/80 hold'em has been markedly suckier than it was a few years ago.

[tommyt]

Are you playing at Charles Town?

He can't be. C-town only spreads 5/5 PLO, and REFUSES to spread 1/2, despite the large amount of interest.

The C-town games continue to be excellent. There is so much money floating around DC that supports that dump. They had a 25/50 (and occasionally 50/100) LO/8 game that ran throughout the summer an into the winter that was amazing. PLO is great. Multiple excelled 2/5 games too.

In contrast, the AC games are pretty mediocre, with the exception of the 30/60 - 50/100 mix. Since the intro of the draw games (badugi, 2-7, badacey/baduci) these games seemed to have livened up. I understand razzdugi is in the mix too, but I haven't played it (nor really thought about how to play it) myself. But the 20/40 and 40/80 hold'em has been markedly suckier than it was a few years ago.

\

No im talking about Mardi Gras by Charleston not charlestown.