Well, Florida, how did the first day of NL/$5limit games treat you?

[soulvamp]

By the way, anyone care to comment on the poker room at the Isle? Great facility, but man, is it managed badly. Wait times are about as bad as they are at the Hard Rock even though there are a lot of tables going unused. And they give you nothing to do while you're waiting. You just have to stand there and wait. There are no slots around the poker room, there is nowhere to get a bite to eat around the poker room, they don't have any of the freebie poker magazines -- all you can do is either wander the rail or it down at one of the unused poker tables and stare off into space and wait.

At least at the Hard Rock they give you electronic pagers so you can go grab a meal or play the slots or do a little shopping or something.

I went to the Isle Sunday, got there about 1 p.m., and there were more people on the wait list than were actually playing. And about half of the tables in the room weren't being used. I left after about 45 minutes and went to Gulfstream when it was apparent the wait lists weren't moving and they were making no move to open more tables.

[iopsycho]

Yes, we found the same problem there. They need to fire the management team and replace it with people who understand how to run an effective room. We found the sign up desk staff rude and unprofessional. The wait is bad although tables are empty. Great looking room and very clean, attractive casino but the PERSONNEL and the decisions that they have made will bankrupt this place. I play at the HR and Seminole.

PS: What's up with Dania? That place is dead!

[djames]

[ QUOTE ]
The ridiculously bad play is somewhat balanced by the obnoxiously high-rake for such a low-stakes game. When they're taking $5 or $5 rake out of almost every pot you have to consider that no matter how large the pots are getting, the house is raking 1BB or more every single hand.
Yiikes, That's a lot.

[/ QUOTE ]

A couple fun points though. First, when we play our TAG strategy to beat these bozos, the rake isn't that bad to us. Since we play relatively few hands (but scoop alot), it's mostly being paid by the bozos. I don't mind scooping a $95 pot instead of a $100 pot if I'm mostly scooping when I play. (Although I can't wait for HR to up their stakes rumored to occur shortly.) Second, imagine what the "rake" is at a blackjack table that occupies the table real-estate a poker table does. Poker pales in comparison to house table games.

[djames]

[ QUOTE ]
By the way, anyone care to comment on the poker room at the Isle? Great facility, but man, is it managed badly. Wait times are about as bad as they are at the Hard Rock even though there are a lot of tables going unused. And they give you nothing to do while you're waiting. You just have to stand there and wait. There are no slots around the poker room, there is nowhere to get a bite to eat around the poker room, they don't have any of the freebie poker magazines -- all you can do is either wander the rail or it down at one of the unused poker tables and stare off into space and wait.

[/ QUOTE ]

I haven't experienced long waits there, but it was incredibly clear that they need a better system at refueling the $1/2 chips to the dealers. It's stupid that they give all reds as a default for buy-ins from the windows since the tables quickly run out of blind chips due to the rake and tips. It's laughable that the dealers constantly buy chips from the players sitting at other tables! It's good times though [img]/images/graemlins/cool.gif[/img]

[soulvamp]

Last time I played at Dania was sometime in June. I went there to play the 2-straight double-flop. It was right after they opened for the day, and they were putting together an interest list for double-flop but putting people at a 1/2 HE table. I said I didn't want to play 1/2 HE, but there were about six names on the interest list for DF, so I told them I'd wait. After about 20 minutes, with about 12 names now on the DF interest list, I asked them when they were going to start a table. The brush said they're trying to figure out how to do it without breaking up the HE tables. I went to the restroom for a few mintues, returned to find that they had started a DF table and filled it up, and my name was no longer on the list. I told the brush I should be at the DF table, but she said they took people at the new table first-come, first-served and a new DF list was starting. But if I wanted back on it, I had to play 1/2 HE to keep that table from breaking up.

I told her not to bother putting my name on the list because I'm going to the dog track, and I haven't been back since.

[stevematador]

[ QUOTE ]
By the way, anyone care to comment on the poker room at the Isle? Great facility, but man, is it managed badly.

[/ QUOTE ]

This crap was going on when I used to play at the old Pompano Park Track next to the Isle. They brought the same incompetent dealers and management over to The Isle. I would have figured they would upgrade the staff, but apparently they haven't, it's just as bad. When I've played at The Isle recently my tables have been 7 and 8 handed for hours on end as the wait lists grow and grow. It's probably the worst run poker room I've ever been to, and such a shame because the facility is top notch in appearance. But for my money I'd rather play at Coconut Creek or some other ratty room that at least has a clue how to operate correctly!!

[stevematador]

[/ QUOTE ]

A couple fun points though. First, when we play our TAG strategy to beat these bozos, the rake isn't that bad to us. Since we play relatively few hands (but scoop alot), it's mostly being paid by the bozos. I don't mind scooping a $95 pot instead of a $100 pot if I'm mostly scooping when I play. (Although I can't wait for HR to up their stakes rumored to occur shortly.) Second, imagine what the "rake" is at a blackjack table that occupies the table real-estate a poker table does. Poker pales in comparison to house table games.

[/ QUOTE ]

This is why I really think one could make a decent profit playing the 2/4 limit games, because as you say a TAG player isn't involved in many pots so the few you win you're not paying as much rake as a horrible weak LAG player is. I would think by winning a high percentage of the few hands you actually play to showdown even with the $5 rake you could profit from the weak players making mistake after mistake. Anyone else care to comment on this?? Is anyone out there making profit in the 2/4 limit games around town?? So much talk of 1/2NL, I'm curious if any 2+2 players are making money in the loose limit games.

[stevematador]

I'm wondering if anyone tried the new tourneys around town this past weekend?? As much as we are frustrated with the staff at The Isle they had some nice structured tourneys begin this past weekend, especially the $350 10k unit with 30 minute blinds on on Sunday afternoon. I'm curious if anyone played any of the tourneys now that the $45 crapshoots are extinct. [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

[soulvamp]

[ QUOTE ]


A couple fun points though. First, when we play our TAG strategy to beat these bozos, the rake isn't that bad to us. Since we play relatively few hands (but scoop alot), it's mostly being paid by the bozos. I don't mind scooping a $95 pot instead of a $100 pot if I'm mostly scooping when I play. (Although I can't wait for HR to up their stakes rumored to occur shortly.) Second, imagine what the "rake" is at a blackjack table that occupies the table real-estate a poker table does. Poker pales in comparison to house table games.

[/ QUOTE ]

[ QUOTE ]
This is why I really think one could make a decent profit playing the 2/4 limit games, because as you say a TAG player isn't involved in many pots so the few you win you're not paying as much rake as a horrible weak LAG player is. I would think by winning a high percentage of the few hands you actually play to showdown even with the $5 rake you could profit from the weak players making mistake after mistake. Anyone else care to comment on this?? Is anyone out there making profit in the 2/4 limit games around town?? So much talk of 1/2NL, I'm curious if any 2+2 players are making money in the loose limit games.

[/ QUOTE ]

I'm mostly a limit player, I rarely play NL outside of the occasional tourney. And yes, I'm doing very well at the 2/4 games here.

I've played 3/6, 4/8, 5/10 at B&Ms in St. Louis, Detroit, Tunica. The 2/4 games I've been finding here play pretty much the same as those -- much closer to those games than the 1/2 of Florida past. Extremely loose and passive. You'll have four or five people see every flop, but you can get most people to fold on the turn or river if you get aggressive. So unlike the old 1/2 games, you don't have to showdown the best hand every pot you get involved in. Even if you do, most of the time you'll have one or two people showing down third pair or something like that.

And they're so passive that if you encounter a raise somewhere along the way, you can be sure they've hit something and you can get the hell out. Very easy to read people. I'm finding that people will go into check-call mode with anything from bottom pair to middle two pairs. If you get a raise from someone, they're going to have at least top two pair. The only time someone will raise preflop is if they have AA or KK.

I hated the 1/2, wouldn't play it. I'm loving the 2/4. I think it's extremely beatable. I'm not going to make a living at it, not going to try. But I think I probably won't have much trouble making my car payment and the monthly cable bill or something like that.

[Fishhead24]

The dealers at the Hard Rock are definetly the best in the Tampa area.