for the los angeles cardplayers

yoyoyo · #1 03-06-2007, 05:32 PM

i made my first trips to commerce this past friday and sunday and discovered everyone was right about the quality of play here for low limit holdem. i plan on playing tonight, but living on the westside, driving the 10-15 miles down the 10E around 5-6pm on a weekday is brutal. im only about 8 miles north of hollywood park.

all i read about on here is that commerce is the holy grail of pokerrooms, but is the play at low limit really that much different between the two places?

ive never been to hollywood park. is it worth checking out or should i just stick to commerce?

fishyak · #2 03-06-2007, 06:06 PM

To quote our Governator: "Come with me (to Commerce) if you want to live."

More seriously, I would call Commerce and see if the low stakes games will be down in the "Galleria area" because upstairs is being used for tournaments. The lines for 1/2 and 2/4 LHE have been INCREDIBLE. However, 3/6 and 4/8 have been no problem.

My problem is with the walk from the casino to the parking lot late at night at Hollywood. The Commerce parking lot is very active and well patroled. The Hollywood lot is a hike and out of sight. So valet there is the way to go if you plan to stay late.

The games can't be that different but I have had better results out of Commerce than Hollywood and your 8 miles south on the 405 on a weekday, particularly Fridays will be no picnic either.

And then there is the Bike, which right now with Commerce being a mess at low limits might be the best choice.

Rottersod · #3 03-06-2007, 11:57 PM

[ QUOTE ]
To quote our Governator: "Come with me (to Commerce) if you want to live."

More seriously, I would call Commerce and see if the low stakes games will be down in the "Galleria area" because upstairs is being used for tournaments. The lines for 1/2 and 2/4 LHE have been INCREDIBLE. However, 3/6 and 4/8 have been no problem.

My problem is with the walk from the casino to the parking lot late at night at Hollywood. The Commerce parking lot is very active and well patroled. The Hollywood lot is a hike and out of sight. So valet there is the way to go if you plan to stay late.

The games can't be that different but I have had better results out of Commerce than Hollywood and your 8 miles south on the 405 on a weekday, particularly Fridays will be no picnic either.

And then there is the Bike, which right now with Commerce being a mess at low limits might be the best choice.

[/ QUOTE ]

Get them to stamp your pink valet card with the comp stamp when you play at HP. make sure they use the comp stamp and not the $2 off stamp.

yoyoyo · #4 03-07-2007, 04:13 PM

thanks for all the responses. do any of these rooms have comps for play? im pretty much a noob to live play outside of the occasional trip to vegas.

Rottersod · #5 03-07-2007, 06:03 PM

[ QUOTE ]
thanks for all the responses. do any of these rooms have comps for play? im pretty much a noob to live play outside of the occasional trip to vegas.

[/ QUOTE ]

Not the kind of comps you'd get in Vegas but sign up for a free VIP card at each casino. At the bike you'll get free food at the higher limits ($100 NL and above - ok, so their definition of higher is a bit off) and you don't need a card for that. If you player lower you rack up points on the card for free meals. At some casino's you can get tickets for drawings and you need to have a VIP card to enter those.

ThaHero · #6 03-07-2007, 08:42 PM

HP is fine. I've never felt threatened there, and I have been there quite a bit(love those Mystery Scans!).

FWIW, I'm a young black male and whenever I go I'm always the only one there. Most are 30 plus. As far as it being ghetto, it isnt. The surrounding areas may be somewhat, but if you go strolling down Century or Crenshaw late at night you aren't using good judgement. Saying HP is ghetto is like sayin Commerce or the Bike are industrial.

the_doantster · #7 03-06-2007, 06:13 PM

From my personal experience, I find that low limit games are usually the same everywhere in LA.

Sailboats · #8 03-06-2007, 06:31 PM

True. I perfer Commerce because its not as ghetto as Hollywood Park. HP just seems so shady to me, from the parking lot to the casino

Dominic · #9 03-06-2007, 06:38 PM

Hollywood Park is a fine, friendly place to play. I like it better than Commerce. It's easy to get to, the play is very fishy, and you can gambooool on the horsies as you play!

Rick Nebiolo · #10 03-06-2007, 07:47 PM

[ QUOTE ]
Hollywood Park is a fine, friendly place to play. I like it better than Commerce. It's easy to get to, the play is very fishy, and you can gambooool on the horsies as you play!

[/ QUOTE ]

Dom,

I share your opinion that there's a lot to like about Hollywood Park.

For one, table spacing in games 6/12 and above is better than some of the other clubs (especially Commerce, the king of claustrophobia).

It's noisy but with noise blocking headphones it's easy to tune out. And in a way there's often a sense of zany excitement in the place. From some tables you can see an awful lot of crazy/fun stuff going on.

When people say it's "ghetto" I take this to mean there are more black people playing there. But I've rarely had a problem with the behavior of blacks when playing cards; if anything they tend to be a lot friendlier and easy going (on average of course) than most other races/cultures/ethnicity. This was also true when I worked the floor in the late nineties.

The food is the worst by consensus but there are some good items. Try #276 (an Asian style salad) or the chicken kabobs (formally called flat chicken and formally off menu). Give the servers a break if your order takes a while; the kitchen is about a mile away from the door they use in the NE corner of the poker area to get your order.

Some people say it's dirty (and in areas it is) but they have hired some anal-retentive clean freaks for the bathrooms. If I ever need a roommate I'm looking them up.

In the parking lot use your head and you will be OK (I might write a parking lot etiquette/safety guide some day; just don't hold your breath waiting).

~ Rick