The Mysterious Card Room Where No One Complains
 

Let’s say you live in California and like to check out various card rooms just for a change of pace. One of the smaller rooms in your area recently opened and has six or seven tables. You try it and like the atmosphere and the action. It doesn’t seem to be doing as well as it could but you are thinking it should improve over time and you like small rooms. So you put it on your mental list of places to play on occasion.

One day in the middle of the week you visit about 10:00 pm or so. This isn’t a tourist area so you know they aren’t likely to get busier. As you arrive you can see two 6 or 7 handed 1 / 2 blind spread buy NL games. The 1/2 NL has become their most common game and they let you play a little deeper (relative to the BB) than most rooms. You know they don’t use a must move so you take a seat in the shorter game after checking with the floor. Both games are mostly full of regular players who have been around B&M card rooms a while but the game still looks like it has some potential.

You play a while; it’s a relaxing place. In the past you have offered suggestions but this time you decide to simply watch in total silence and try to figure out why they aren’t busier. Here’s what you observe:

- Both games seem about average in action and they stay short for the next hour or two. No one complains regarding getting more players or consolidating games.

- An extremely live player sits down on your table. He plays about an hour. Your game is six handed including the live player. The other game is five handed. He changes tables. Not one player at your table complains that the super live player changed from one short game to another (both tables are in plain view of each other and this isn't allowed in every club you have previouly played in).

- The live player gets busted in the other game and leaves. Now your game is about five handed and the other game is four handed or so. Not one person mentions anything about consolidating games so they stay short for another hour or so. Note that this is in California; even though the drop is reduced to $2 plus $1 jackpot a dollar is taken on no flop and the full drop is taken on any flop.

- Eventually the games are both about four handed including one or two walkers. After another half hour or so of mediocre action the games are finally combined making one nine handed game. During this period no one complained about the games being short.

The nine-handed game is pretty decent. You eventually make a few hands and book a decent win; at one point your chips covered the entire rest of the table combined. [img]/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img]

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That weekend about mid-evening you stop by to relax and perhaps play a bit after booking a win in a bigger game in another room. This night there is only one 1 /2 NL game going but it is a full game with no board. The game is mostly regulars but there are soft spots. Meanwhile someone else puts their name on the board so you put yourself second up. The floorperson immediately tells you we can start another game. You look around and note you are the only person hanging around. The bar crowd isn’t here yet. This time you let the floor know you are a typical player and really don’t like playing that short in such a small game and are happy to hang out and wait a while.

Within a few minutes a couple seats opens up. You get in and the game is decent and full. After about thirty minutes one player comes in and puts his name on the board. Immediately the floor rushes to start another game. Players move from your game to the new game making both games about five handed. You take a moment to check out the game tag on the new game. Maybe you will move up in limit. But there is no need to change tables and move; it’s the same size game and limit and all but one of the players were in your game moments ago!

Now you wonder if you are in an alternative card room universe. You watch as the original player leaves the other game. Now both games are extremely short and the floor is making no move to combine games since once again no one complains!. You’ve had enough observing. You go home and decide it will be a while before you come back. But you also think you might write a post something like this once you had time to think about it.

Could something like this really happen?

Could something similar to this happen in your local card room?

~ Rick

Re: The Mysterious Card Room Where No One Complains
 

Fold preflop. As played, c/c the flop, c/r the turn once you pickup the redraw.

Re: The Mysterious Card Room Where No One Complains
 

It is an unlikely scenario anywhere I have ever played.

Re: The Mysterious Card Room Where No One Complains
 

WARNING:

Do not go back. They will kill you and eat your brain.

I saw a documentary about this once...

Re: The Mysterious Card Room Where No One Complains
 

This is really hard for me to imagine. I've never played anywhere where players didn't grumble when it got to be less than 7 players. Usually by the time you're down to 5, people start walking or racking up and the game breaks.

Re: The Mysterious Card Room Where No One Complains
 

How many of these players are shills for the house? Keeping 2 short games running is more rpofitable for the house than 1 full game, even with the dropped rake.

Re: The Mysterious Card Room Where No One Complains
 

[ QUOTE ]
How many of these players are shills for the house? Keeping 2 short games running is more rpofitable for the house than 1 full game, even with the dropped rake.

[/ QUOTE ]

situation Rick described does indeed sound like the games were 90% shills.

Re: The Mysterious Card Room Where No One Complains
 

http://img91.imageshack.us/img91/1466/rodsplacene5.png

Re: The Mysterious Card Room Where No One Complains
 

I want some of what you're smoking

Re: The Mysterious Card Room Where No One Complains
 

[ QUOTE ]
How many of these players are shills for the house?

[/ QUOTE ]

A "shill" is close enough to what I call a "quasi-prop" for me to call this a good guess.

Most of my opponents during these two sessions are what this particular card room calls "VIP Players". Unlike old Las Vegas style shills they play on their own money.

My understanding is the "VIP Players" get paid 35 cents per hand with a four hour per day minimum and more or less flexible hours. They can be moved from table to table under the supervision of the floor. Apparently a condition of remaining a VIP Player is that you also don't complain.

Most of the VIP Players appear to know who some of the other VIP Players are, but not always,. During one of the two days I played as the observer in the above story I ran into one of many old acquaintances in these games who was obviously one of the VIP players. He was shocked I wasn't in on the "deal" since he has been around long enough that no one will continually play this short at this level. I told him I wanted to come and go as I please and would take the ten cents per hand everyone gets automatically. Plus VIP Players can't write posts like the OP. [img]/images/graemlins/smirk.gif[/img]




[ QUOTE ]
Keeping 2 short games running is more profitable for the house than 1 full game, even with the dropped rake.

[/ QUOTE ]

True only in the short run, ie. only if the cardrooms management can't distinguish between a forest and a tree. The problem of course is that any normal (non VIP) player enters into an experience where the games are kept short in a misguided effort to spread more games. Of course spreading more games is great on the surface but card clubs need an increasing real player base to support it.

On a few other days when I stopped by but didn't play I would often see two or three 5 to 7 handed games of 1/2 NL. In a normal cardroom these short to semi-short games would either fill or combine into solid games (otherwise customers usually leave at this level). But if more players came into these games they would attempt to start a third or perhaps a fourth game. There always appeared to be empty seats with multiple games. Of course few complained since most were "VIP Players" who couldn't complain.

More later of course.

~ Rick