Shreveport this weekend...

[pokahjokah]

Goin to play some NL, 2/5 I guess unless they have a 5/10 or 10/20 going. Anyone else game? Does the 2/5 usually play deep? I am brining a few gamblin types with me to get drunk and play some -EV games as well (watch out Pai Gow tables!!) Anyone else gonna be out there?

[bobpoker]

I saw no replies so I thought I would chip in my $.02 even though I don't play 2/5 generally. I play only 1/2NL and 4/8 LHE at ElDorado so I can't speak for the Shoe. I'll tell you what I know from experience. As a note, I play once or twice a month, I never play much past midnight, and I only play on Friday and Saturday.

At ElDorado the 1/2 late on weekends can at times have average stacks of $600-800 or more. Some stacks on the table can be $2-3k at times. This is not always the case, but is often. If you sit down say Friday at 9PM for instance, expect a table to have 2-4 players with $200 or less, 2-4 with $200-500 and the rest bigger. The game is playing bigger since they raised the buyin from $150 max to $200 or 50% or the big stack. This changed late last year, I think. The 2/5 obviously plays bigger with occasional pots being >$1,000.

Recently they have spread a 1/2 PLO Hi game($200 or $300 max, I think), that is action packed. Dealers tell me that you really need $1-3K available to be able to have some play because you could get your whole buyin into the pot on the first hand. Also, last time I was there a few weeks ago they had a 25/50/100 HE and Omaha Hi rotation game going for a while with stacks of $6-10k on the table. It only ran for about 4 hours the night I was there, but apparantly it ran alot longer the night before. This is rare.

I have never seen anything higher than 2/5NL run while I have been there. As for limit, I once saw a 5/10 game start and they have had a short interest list for 10/20 several times while I have been there, but I have never seen it go. There are always 2-5 tables of 4/8 running. I hope this helps.

[LuckyTxGuy]

Just wanted to say that all of BobPoker's info is dead on. I play over at the Eldorado frequently too and he pretty much summed it up.

Good luck and post a trip report when you get back.

[Casper05]

I'll be in Shreveport in 2 weeks- how is the play at El Dorado? Looking at the 1/2 NL games? Is there anywhere else to play, or is this were you would suggest?

[LuckyTxGuy]

The Eldorado $1/$2 play can vary from day to day and obviously, Friday and Saturday nights are going to be the busy nights with the most "tourist" types and loose crazy play. I've played over there both during the week and on weekends and obviously the play on the weekends is more profitable. Week nights can get very slow with just the regulars in the house.

For now, I've switched over to mainly $4/$8 LHE because I'm under bankrolled for the $1/$2 variance. No need to repeat my bad beat stories here!lol Seriously though, I've done very well some weekends at the $1/$2 but when the drunks are hitting their gutshots on my flopped sets, I just don't have the bankroll to keep re-buying. Not complaining at all. I think the game is very beatable but I'm under rolled for the game, especially since the max buy-in was raised from $150 to $200 OR 50% of the big stack. Where $400-$600 used to be a big stack at the $1/$2 tables, now it's $1,000+ for the big stacks on the weekends. Again though, the games can be very fishy.

I've never played poker at the Horseshoe, which is the only other poker room in town. I've been to their casino many times and railbirded a few times, while my wife was playing slots and we were waiting on the buffet line to clear out. Their poker room is very very small. They have a fair amount of tables....8? Maybe 10? But they are crammed into a very small spot. It's still a nice setup with a flat screen monitor waiting list etc. Until recently the smallest NL game they spread was $2/$5 but the last time I was over there they had a list for $1/$2 but weren't pushing it. I talk to alot of people while playing at Eldorado and for some reason they all seem to prefer Eldorado over the Shoe. Don't get me wrong, I don't want to put you off from going there, I'm not against giving it a whirl sometime myself. I guess I've just gotten used to Eldorado and know the dealers and figured out the game of a few of the local regulars, so I keep going back.

So ya I'd suggest the Eldorado as a first stop and see how the games are looking. The room is large and the tables have been recently done. The waitresses (usually) almost bug you to death bringing drinks by at the poker tables. If you catch the $1/$2 games on the right night you should might clean the place out!

Good luck and let us know how you do.

BTW, the best buffets are at the Eldorado and the Horseshoe. Both are very good. If you want a quicker bite to eat and the best hamburger around, the Blind Tiger is just a short one block walk from Eldorado. Ask anyone at the casino and they can point you in the right direction.

[LuckyTxGuy]

Update: While over in Shreveport last weekend playing a little poker and being cold decked, I decided to give the Horseshoe a try before I headed back to Texas. Below is just my opinion based on 3 hours of play on a Sunday afternoon, obviously not the most action packed time for a poker room and not a very long session.

The Horseshoe poker room has about 10 tables or so, I can't remember exactly how many. There were 6 tables going at 2pm on Sunday, three $4/$8 games, one $2/$5 NL and two $1/$2 NL games. Later on they opened up a $20/$40 game that seemed to be running nearly full very quickly.

The room is very small, the tables are close together but it does have a somewhat separate feel from the slots while you are sitting down at the table. I liked the tables although they seemed a little short in length and pretty tight when full. Nice cup holders built into the padded rail are a plus. It was the first time I'd played at a table with a Shufflemaster and I really like it. I def. think we got in a few more hands per hour. BTW, we averaged around 13 hands per down when I counted.

That is some of the positives. The negatives were the dealers...they looked unprofessional, some acted unprofessional and I saw several major mistakes in the short time I played. The cards were horrible in my opinion. They looked like the standard BJ cards and were very flimsy and felt cheap. They also has the tiniest suite/numbers that I've ever seen on full size cards. The index sized face of the cards and overall quality at Eldorado are much nicer. The chips were horribly dirty...so grimey and brown that you can just imagine what all is on them. Yuck!lol

Some positives.... there is a small "cage", if you can call it that, in the poker room so getting chips is quick and easy and players needing a rebuy wouldn't even be dealt a hand before getting their chips in most cases. The $4/$8 game was super soft and filled with tourist. I was shocked at the number of people who walked in off the casino floor and sat down at our table and appeared to have never played a hand of poker before. That was a much better feeling that I sometimes get at the Eldorado.

Again, this was a short session on a Sunday so things might be totally different the next time I'm there but I'll definitely be giving it a try again sometime. I still like Eldorado for alot of reasons including location, dealers, cards, poker room size, comfort etc.

Just thought I'd post an update since I'd mentioned I'd never played there before.