poker in Brantford , ON

[VirgilStarkwell]

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Could you give us a short trip report after you've gone? I'd like an update on how Brantford's doing. At some point in the future its likely Brantford will be the closest casino to me.

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No problem. I'll probably go mid to late august, so expect a report then.

[bigshowmack]

It looks like I'll be there Wed-Thurs and I'll try to see if I can get something comprehensive together after I return in terms of a real trip report, but other than that any questions people want to ask I'm pretty sure I could answer.

[jwalk]

Well I ended up going to brantford casino on the sunday morning on the last weekend I left my house around 1030am arrived to the casino around 11am when I arrive the board says there is open seating on 2/5 limit so i go up to the main desk only to get there 2 seconds too late to have the last open seat taken from. Thats alright I end up first on the list I go grab a orange juice from the bar and my name is called. I end up sitting at a very nice 2/5 table very soft and not to mention I was hitting all my draws.

As soon as I arrive at the table the open seat is my big blind. Easy no brainer first hand as I receive J7 6-7 callers and I check the flop only to flop jj7 and to get paid off by a t9 and a q7 all the way down.

It turned out to be a great day for the fact i ended up about $350 which is a huge upswing. Every good draw I had I was jamming it and getting 5-8 callers and I would hit. Couldnt really complain about the day. But for now Im off to work for nights tonight.

If more details are wanted or if you have any questions feel free to pm with the questions.

[VirgilStarkwell]

What's the rake at 2-5? I can't imagine it's low enough for the game to be beatable longterm, though it is nice to get 5-8 per flop.

Also, what's rake/ time for higher limits, if anyone knows?

[bigshowmack]

Rake for 2/5 and 5/10 is the same, which makes playing 2/5 pretty stupid. I'm pretty sure its 10% max $5. The only time I will touch a 2-5 table is to donk it up while waiting for 10-20 if the 5-10 list is also super long, because in the long term the rake isn't beatable IMO.

Time charge for 10-20 is $5 per down
Time charge for 20-40 is $7 per down
Time charge for 50-100 is $9 per down

[jjshabado]

Any complaints about dealer/floors? They were always good when I was there, but I haven't been very often.

Also, what are the 5/10 games like? Are they also pretty loose-passive?

[bigshowmack]

They have a lot of dealers who have been there forever, and as a whole I find them to be some of the best and most professional I've encountered in Ontario casinos.

Floors are friendly and I've never had a problem with them.

5/10 games are super juicy, $300 pots aren't out of the norm at all

[derick]

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I'm thinking about taking a week off at the end of the summer to go up to the casino in Brantford.

A couple months ago I played with a guy who spoke very highly of their poker room. I am mainly a limit player and he said it is all limit and very well run, also lots of games going, sometimes more 10-20 games than 3-6. But I just read that they only have 8 tables? Anyways, I wanted to ask a few questions.

- What limits are regularly spread, and what times do the games start / break up? I'm interested in around 5-10 (can$), give or take a limit.

- What's the skill level like? I'm a solid winner at .25-.50 online, and I'm comfortable playing live, but I've logged less than 50 cardroom hours this year.

- Where's good to stay? Any chance some hotel offers a poker room rate?

- Anything to do if I want to take a day off poker? Sites or attractions, or if it's a nice town I'd enjoy just walking around.

Thanks a lot.

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I go to Brantford quite often, It's about 25 min from my house.
The room is very well run.
One exception to this otherwise well run room, You can't book a seat ahead - Expect to endure long wait times if you come at the wrong times.
Once I had to wait 4 hours when I showed up at 10 PM on a Saturday Night. I'll never make that mistake again.

On weekends the best time to come is before 6 PM or after 3 AM.

The 2/5 game has too much rake, you can't win at it long term unless you can make over 12 BB/100. It's probably good for chilling and drinking while waiting for a 5/10 or 10/20 table, but the beer isn't free. It has huge variance, (once I filled 12 racks of whites)



Entertainment:

Supposedly the strip club nearby is good ... I've been meaning to try it ... usually I just walk around the park that surrounds the casino when I want to clear my head.

Avoid the food in the buffet downstairs... for the most part the food sucks, If you must eat there to use up the comps, the salads are edible ... just ...
I like the Vietnam/Ti food place down the street.

Feel free to PM me if you (or any other 2+2er) want to meet up or have any other questions.

[the_casino_kid]

i live in hamilton and have been there a few times, overall a great poker room but i was also a victim of the wait times. one time i just grabbed a drink then left.

overall most limit games are hard to beat unless they are 5/10. ( live games )

[KK Rush]

Well I had my visit to Brantford. To get the bad news out of the way, I finished down about $10 for the day at 2/5. Just basically hovered around my initial buyin for the whole time...I think the highest I got was $120 from my initial $100 and was down to about $60 at one point. Just a "blah" day overall card-wise....draws that didn't come in...river suckouts...you know the drill.

First of all, it is the best room I've seen in Ontario. For those who haven't been there, it is actually a separate poker room from the rest of the casino with its own cashiers cage and stuff. The staff seem friendly and the room is well-organized and well-run. If you are looking for a good limit poker room, this is it.

Now the players....sheesh. There were some decent players at my table...and some pretty bad ones. Y'know, the ones who call two raises with K-4 offsuit and somehow win.

You can bluff....but you need a tight image to do it AND you need position. If you are last to act, and there is no raise pre-flop, and is checked around to you....take a stab. I found it funny when one guy said he thinks I just play the nuts while I was stacking up my latest pot with just a 7-3 offsuit (of course no one saw those cards). I was able to do this a few times to keep my head above water.

Word of advice...get there early on weekends. I was there around 9:00AM on Saturday and had to wait at least an hour before they opened another table. When I left around 6PM, the room was full and the waitlists were at least ten to fifteen people for each of the limits available.

Couple of funny/amusing things I saw (at least I thought so):

1. I happened to glance over and saw a book that someone had brought with them at another table: Ed Miller's Small Stakes Hold'em...for some reason that struck me funny. Why don't they just advertise that they are actively looking to improve their game and tell the table they may know what they are doing....

2. One of the older guys mentioned to another player that he has been playing poker for over 30 years and had only had one royal flush. That person was amazed that he only had seen one royal flush...I was amazed that he was playing poker for over 30 years and hadn't advanced past 2-5 limit....

3. A husband and wife were at my table. The guy happened to mention to the table that this was his wife's first time playing.....thank god she was sitting on my immediate right....she got bluffed by me a couple of times.

All in all....if you are looking for no-limit...go to Niagara...if you are looking for limit....Brantford is the place to go.