Questions about Bike 2/5 $100 - $300 NL Game

Rottersod · #1 06-18-2007, 12:20 AM

The bike has a new game: $100 - $300 buyin, 2/5 NL. Has anyone played in this? is it any good? I would guess that it would be but the other night I noticed that they couldn't get enough players interested in it.

Trae3ab · #2 06-18-2007, 03:41 AM

They spread a similar game in Louisiana and it played really fast regularly because of the low buy-ins. Swings were not too favorable. I don't think it would play too much different from the $200 game at the bike. Do you know what the rake is like in that game?

Why not play the $500 capped $5-$5 NL? That game seems to play less crazy like.

IggyWH · #3 06-18-2007, 04:12 AM

What is a standard buyin for a 2-5 game? Barona here in Diegoland spreads a 1-3 with $100-$300 buyin.

Rottersod · #4 06-18-2007, 06:58 PM

[ QUOTE ]
They spread a similar game in Louisiana and it played really fast regularly because of the low buy-ins. Swings were not too favorable. I don't think it would play too much different from the $200 game at the bike. Do you know what the rake is like in that game?

Why not play the $500 capped $5-$5 NL? That game seems to play less crazy like.

[/ QUOTE ]

I do play the 5/5 at the bike but was wondering about the new 2/5 game.

Rick Nebiolo · #5 06-19-2007, 02:17 AM

[ QUOTE ]
The bike has a new game: $100 - $300 buyin, 2/5 NL. Has anyone played in this? is it any good? I would guess that it would be but the other night I noticed that they couldn't get enough players interested in it.

[/ QUOTE ]

I've played in a couple times and enjoyed it once since that night it was very good. But you are right that it doesn't always go.

My observation is that the Bike has a lot of NL games with very close buy-ins and blinds (I'm speaking of the games with big blinds in the $3 to $5 range). At some point they have to decide which games to stick with since they simply don't have economy of scale.

The lack of economy of scale and variety works for me because I'm experienced and know how to anticipate games about to break, games that are likely to stay good, how to get around the must move from a good game into a lousy game and so on. But this isn't always so for the average customer. They often get pissed when games crumble and there is no easy way to consolidate.

Look at Commerce. Far fewer choices (e.g., not a single limit game between 4/8 and 9/18) but incredible economy of scale. This approach works for them.

~ Rick

otter · #6 06-19-2007, 02:36 AM

I buyin for 100xBB in a NL game. I think it's silly that California restricts the buyin for most nl games to 40 or 60xBB. It's like they think that the state is going to go broke and there won't be any more no limit.

Rick Nebiolo · #7 06-19-2007, 03:22 AM

[ QUOTE ]
I buyin for 100xBB in a NL game. I think it's silly that California restricts the buyin for most nl games to 40 or 60xBB. It's like they think that the state is going to go broke and there won't be any more no limit.

[/ QUOTE ]

It's not a California restriction although the structures tend to compensate for California law regarding the way the drop is taken.

For example LA area clubs have many games with bigger spreads or a minimum buyin. But at low blind levels with a full drop on any flop (per California law) a high buyin would likely attract too many tighter/more serious players and you would often get small pots pre flop were half the pot gets dropped on the flop. This would kill the games/action.

As an aside note that the Bike's 5-5 blind game has a $300 to $500 spread buy. The Hustler's 5-10 blind game (going well lately) has a $500-$1000 spread. The Bike's 5-10 blind game has a $500 minimum buy.

Sorry I can't go into my usual excruciating detail and cover every club; I'm a bit tired after a long day.

~ Rick

shizant · #8 06-19-2007, 04:21 AM

I play in the $5-$5 game at the Bike and the $2-$5 and $5-$10 game at the Hustler. I play at these games almost nightly and have played with Rick often.

IMO the $5-$5 game at the Bike is one of the best games in town. I would not recommend the $100 buy-in game ($2-$3 blinds) or the $200 buy-in game ($3-$5) at the Bike. I would not recommend the $5-$10 (min $500 buy-in) at the Bike because it's always full of regulars and plays more like a $10-$20. On the weekends the $5-$10 at the Bike can get pretty juicy but be prepared to buy in for at least $2,000-$3,000.

I play the $2-$5 game ($100-$300 buy-in) only because there is a lot of action in this game with a lot weak players there to play their nightly tournaments. Also, the main Hustler $2-$5 table will typically have a lot of chips on the table. I used to only play in the $5-$10 at the Hustler if the table had a lot of money on it or if there was a long board. For several months the Hustler $5-$10 would break early. Over the past few months this game has gotten better but be careful of guys that normally play the $2-$5 and are just sitting in the $5-$10 to "hit 'n run".