Harrahs New Orleans - Trip Report (Bitter) - With an Interesting Rule
 

First visit, and only for the evening. 5-10 blinds NLH, $500 min buy in, no max. $6 per 1/2 hour time collection. I'm the only tourist; there have been 1-2 others, but they busted. Everyone very friendly with each other, though I don't think they're playing angles together. I'm down my first buy-in within a few hands, and then most of my second after a little while longer. More than double up on 10s vs. AK and I flop a set for good measure. But now it's been about 2 hours and I'm down $800, and have been intentionally nursing my $200 short stack for some time. I am NOT a good NLH player and this is a good chance for me to see how I do in this particular situation, which I am enjoying. I'm looking for my all-in moment and getting a handle on some of the tendencies. I have not been playing well and I know it, but I think they think so, too and I'm hoping for a nuts situation and practicing being patient, reading hands, etc. Now, a new player to the table, but again he is known to and by all, says, "how about we change to 10/25 blinds?" I am the only one to decline. They call the FM who says and I quote, "Our policy is one player can't stop a table from changing stakes." I immediately get up and leave to cash out. I ask the cage for a comp for my $8 in ATM fees ($4 2x). They say no. I ask for a manager, who arrives after literally 5-6 minutes. She says, "who's your host?" Let's recall which casino this is, where it is, etc. I gently explain my situation, she looks at me coldly (trust me on that) and says "Without a host there's nothing anyone can do for you." And walks away.

As for the rest of my report, I played 2 rounds of 3-6 limit and watched a little of 1-2 NLH and suggest that at least this evening a patient player could easily work a decent win rate.

As for my table, I thought the play was pretty respectable and players definitely (imo, of course) were making moves on pots, playing pretty much the equivalent of PLH on the turn and river, OR checking it down. Not a lot of showdowns. There is definitely some action at this one table, which I understand from conversation is a nightly occurrence.

Now to the floor ruling. This is a first for me, not having played every casino in the world, etc., but I sat down at a table, I paid $24 in fees, I paid my time and effort, and I believe changing the game mid-stream is patently unfair, in particular in NLH. They could have started another table at that limit and if everyone moved to it so be it, but to push me off my game after the buyins are committed (and, in my case, spent) I feel is not right. Now, mind you, because it was a ruling I made not a peep of complaint, I am a believer in the ruling rules. But I think it is a bad policy and combined with the pettiness of the who's your host I will not be back on principle. I do understand that they are looking out for their daily bread and butter and not me, but that doesn't make it right and I do think it's bad business in the long-run. I invite comments on the ruling in particular.

Re: Harrahs New Orleans - Trip Report (Bitter) - With an Interesting Rule
 

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They could have started another table at that limit and if everyone moved to it so be it...

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which, at the end of the day, is pretty much what happened.

Re: Harrahs New Orleans - Trip Report (Bitter) - With an Interesting Rule
 

Sounds like you got screwed, but some things to consider:

1) you are on their turf, management will always cater to their regulars.

2) they were all probably sitting deep and didn't like a 200 stack hanging around

3) they were going to play what they wanted, they did it the easy way by 86'ing you

Probably wasn't "fair" too you, but it was just the equivilant of your game breaking and a new one starting. As for the customer services, this is totally unacceptable. Casino employees should never have an attitude towards their patrons.

Re: Harrahs New Orleans - Trip Report (Bitter) - With an Interesting Rule
 

You're not a good NL player and you sit in 5-10 blinds with $500 min & no max buy? Why not try the 1-2NL? It also sounded like you had $1,000 (down 800, left with 200 on table and didn't sound like you were rebuying) which doesn't sound adequate for that game.

Your experience would likely have been much better in a 1-2 (or 2-5 if they had it).

Re: Harrahs New Orleans - Trip Report (Bitter) - With an Interesting R
 

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Why not try the 1-2NL?

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Re: Harrahs New Orleans - Trip Report (Bitter) - With an Interesting Rule
 

WOW. Every rule or limit change I have ever seen any where has only come because the entire table agrees to it. Many is the time one or two nits have stopped something for the rest of the table.

The "who is your host" thing sounds standard. NO is a tourist destination, why should the casino go out of it's way to extend comps (comps are a gift - not a right) to some first-timer who they might never see again? Better for the casino to use it's comp budget to retain people who are retainable.

Of course, IT IS HARRAHS, what did you expect? Unless you are an older woman who plays a lot of slots, you are merely being tolerated anyways.

Re: Harrahs New Orleans - Trip Report (Bitter) - With an Interesting Rule
 

It has been my experience that one player is all it takes to stop a change in limits or structure at a table. This is the first time I have heard that one player won't stop a change. the floor must have been catering to their regulars. It is typical for the higher limit players to get preferential treatment.

Re: Harrahs New Orleans - Trip Report (Bitter) - With an Interesting Rule
 

All gamboolers should boycott Harrah's...FOREVER. Give Harrah's as little of your cash as possible...Do your big losing elsewhere. I do my blackjack losing at Taj. I do some break-even poker at some Harrah's properties only because they have purchased so many joints.

Re: Harrahs New Orleans - Trip Report (Bitter) - With an Interesting Rule
 

I've been in 6/12 and 10/20 games there where some regulars try to bump the limit and it's never happened. I'm surprised they did that to you.

I also wonder what you were doing in the 5/10 game in the first place.

Re: Harrahs New Orleans - Trip Report (Bitter) - With an Interesting Rule
 

Changing the limits in the 5-10 to 10-25 is standard operating procedure at Harrahs. Most of those players all know each other, so it's like their home game. A lot floormen (in various casinos) change their policies (changing limits, bumping waitlists, etc.) to accomodate their bread and butter. I have personally noticed this at Commerce, Bellagio, Borgata, and, of course, Harrahs.

From my experience, these players are not colluding with each other. Each one thinks that the other is the fish, and there typically is a lot of stealing and moving players off pots.

Lastly, I am not saying the floorman was right in his policy change (had he shown preferential treatment to a regular on a ruling of let's say a dead hand, I would have a serious problem), but given the circumstances I have no problem with his changing of this policy. If I had been in your situation, I would have asked that I be put on the top of the 2-5 list, and that the players wait till I moved before the limits were changed. A win-win situation for everyone.

P.S. I have never heard of a casino comping ATM fees. Is this SOP at most places? Why wouldn't they just have no service charge on the ATM's (which I assume they own).

Re: Harrahs New Orleans - Trip Report (Bitter) - With an Interesting Rule
 

I'm with the crowd that's never seen a game's limits change so long as a single player objected. Every player has always had veto power over all such changes anytime I've seen it done. But yeah, the practical matter is if 9 people at the table wanted to change limits, and you were the only dissenter, they could have just opened a new table, 9 people woulda moved, and you would have been left by yourself on the old table. So the end result was the same and this way was far more efficient.

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I have never heard of a casino comping ATM fees. Is this SOP at most places? Why wouldn't they just have no service charge on the ATM's (which I assume they own).

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I think his point is he spent money on ATM fees so he could play pokah, and then they went and killed the game he was in so he thinks they should compensate him.

No... I don't buy that. You could have brought cash to the casino and avoided any ATM fees. Plus you'd already lost all but $200, so you got your money's worth. I don't see comping you for ATM fees in this case. It's not the casino's fault you chose an expensive means of getting cash.

But I could see comping you for the last time charge if the game changed shortly after the half-hour. It's not very fair for them to bill you a time charge, then 5 minutes later nuke the game.

Re: Harrahs New Orleans - Trip Report (Bitter) - With an Interesting Rule
 

I appreciate the responses. A few responses back:

1. I have regularly had my ATM fees comped at Commerce, if you ask nicely and show that it is or was put into play. The $8 isn't a big deal, it's the approach to the answer - which was awful close to go f yourself. I didn't bring money to the game because I didn't feel I needed to.
2. As to whether I belonged in the game, I agree I did not, and genuinely appreciate the caution to me of some of the responders, BUT I knew (presumed) I was the fish going in. I am of the personal belief of trying to play up. My typical game is 15-30 up to very occasional 100-200 LH, and I didn't want to play 3-6 LH that night. I came prepared to lose 2 buy-ins to the game, and when I was short-stacked I wanted to play that particular version of the game. I didn't want to sit down at a lower stakes game; I wanted to finish my string of the game I had spent 2 hours getting to learn the players at with my remaining buyin.
3. Intellectually, I fully disagree that opening another game, which is what I think they should have done and mentioned originally, is "essentially the same" as just ejecting me. First, the peer pressure to say yes or have to leave might mean that others WOULD stay (I didn't feel the need to mention it originally, but the first vote had at least one other player saying no thanks with me). Also, who's to say that other players might not have come to the table and kept that particular blind set going? I would have lost my original goal, which was playing the players there, but it's still much more fair.
4. The ruling makes sense to me as a businessman, which is keep the regulars happy at all costs, but I don't believe that such a ruling makes any sense in a poker room, AND I would think that a N.O. (more so than, say, a L.A.) room would be interested in keeping its tourists happy. And I have never heard of such a ruling being made, though one responder says he has seen it at other casinos too, which I find very interesting, and surprising.

As for those who DO want to play this level of NLH - I strongly recommend this particular table if you play the ever popular tight-aggr.

Thanks for so many well thought out responses.