Aruba?

jmxthievez · #1 08-21-2007, 03:28 PM

Anyone have any experience playing poker in Aruba at the Radisonn Hotel/Resort? This is where the UB aruba classic is this year.

1. fun stuff to do? nightlife?
2. tourist attractions?
3. overall experience?

Poker_is_Hard · #2 08-21-2007, 03:34 PM

When is the aruba classic. Is it going on this year? I've been hearing a lot of shaddy stuff about UB.

Triantafylidis · #3 08-21-2007, 04:00 PM

I think they hold it at the Excellsior(sp.?)
I was there in July and had a GREAT time, sweet night life-i recommend going on the Kuku Kanuku tour, they take you to dinner then to 4 local bars, and i mean LOCAL bars, AWESOME time tho. As far as games go, I spent most my time in the Excelsior and some in the Radisson. The game spreads are pretty similar but the radisson has a larger room. I did finally find one PLO game in the Excelsior i think on a friday night or saturday which i rolled over, 5/10 and i won about 120 BBs playing 5 handed. The pit boss is allowed to play there which is sketchy but he is the only real threat to the table. Otherwise, they have 2/2/5 NLHE which is kinda fun too, and they hold crapshoot tourneys that start with 500 in chips and 25/50 blinds. There seemed to be collusion between the locals too, so id avoid that. GL and PM me if you want to know more!

JLD · #4 08-21-2007, 04:42 PM

I was there in July as well (15th to 21st)...maybe we played together. I stayed and played at the Radisson. Nice hotel with very nice grounds and pools; one of the better ones on the island. I think the tournament is back at the Radisson but I am unsure it has changed places over the years according to the locals...and the final table maybe different than the rest of the tournament.

Tourist Info
Food was excellent...much better than expected and being in LA we are relatively spoiled. The Radisson's nice restaurant did a very good job with steaks. The best steak, and one of the best I ever had, was at El Gaucho the argentinian retaurant. Do not miss it. The Italian place a couple blocks behind the Radisson was good quality as well (very large portions). A lot of people recommend Madam Jeanettes but while different did not find it of very high quality...maybe personal taste. The italian place at the lighthouse is good and has a great view.

We tried scuba but the visibility was not great...maybe spoiled by having dived in Cozumel though. They do have a number of wreck dives though which is cool. We played 18 holes at the course by the lighthouse. Nice course but the greens were pretty sandy. Still had a good time. The other side of the island from the hotels is very barren, almost like a moonscape. Some people took jeeps to that side of the island and enjoyed it but it is a rough ride and desolate. Downtown did not seem like much besides jewelery shops and bars. The odd thing is every resturant/bar seemed to be playing light hits from the 80's not exactly my choice of music.

Poker
I think it will be pretty different during the tournament than when I was there. The locals said that the scene really picks up around the tournament.

When I was there the Radisson had two to three tables going out of six (they said they add more cash tables during the tournament time). It was 1 to 2 4-8 limit games and 1 5/5/10 NL game. I am a winning LLNL online and live so playing in the NL was bigger stakes for me but hey I was on vacation. Plus the Radisson had a Sunday tournament on our second day there where they added $500 to the prize pool. Only six players showed and by using basic SNG strategy I took first and my wife (a recreational player) took third so I had a little bigger bankroll.

I was really shocked by how passive the NL game was. The game was comprised of relatively equal number of tourists and locals. The players were really loose passive. Many hands had a lot of openlimping from all positions. Since there was only 1 NL game a couple people were playing above their bankroll also. The locals were a combination of people killing time and a few focused on trying to make money. The two best players were in their mid-30's, play poker for a living, bought in extremely deep, were very tight, and essentially were waiting for a loose player to give away their money to the two players premium hands. While I am not experienced enough to see sophisticated collusion, I did not see any squeeze plays but the two players did softplay each other if they were headsup.

Anyway, a very profitable comfortable game for a decent poker player. Hope you have a great time!

jmxthievez · #5 08-25-2007, 06:23 AM

Ok, so aside from all that. Is there anything fun to do?
I heard it's awesome, but any specifics? thanks.

scotty-win · #6 08-25-2007, 06:12 PM

Rent a Jeep and just drive around. Go explore the national park, but be sure you have 4wd. While you have wheels, also go to a seafood place called The Flying Fishbone. It's literally right on the beach (like your feet are in the water) and has the best seafood I've ever had. Get info from DePalm tours - they have scuba, snorkeling, ATVs, bar crawls, etc.

Re. casinos, be sure to grab one of the free tourist guides at restaurants - it's got a match-play for every place. Don't expect to play any cards during the day either, unless it's some special event. If the casinos are even open, it's bingo during the day, then table games in the afternoon and poker gets going around 7.