Congratulations! You just became the manager of a Vegas poker room!

[*TT*]

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Both excellent suggestions! Too bad your other suggestions redefine operations of the casino as a whole, and therefore cannot be considered. You get to stay for one more round int he board room - I'm not firing you yet.

TT [img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img]

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What can I say? I'm more of an idea rat.

Maybe I don't fully understand the constraints of the problem here, but how is having a comfortable place for people to wait inside the poker room with poker-related reading materials and drink service "redefining the operations of the casio?" In fact, I have an idea to take it a step further, combining the lounge with your shorthanded "lesson" idea:

Pay a well known pro to write a short (say, 10 page) guide to playing shorthanded limit holdem with suggestions about starting hand selection, valuing "trouble" hands like middle pair, running short handed bluffs etc. Have it targeted at the competent mid-limit full game player. Write it so that it talks up the advantages of short handed (less boredom, direct access to the fish, more hands per hour etc.). Leave these pamphlets lying around in the lounge. They may drum up some interest in and of themselves, and at the very least they may convince someone who's tired of waiting that they're willing to play shorthanded after all now that they know how to do it without losing their shirt.

Now, back to making the board work right. I can see how the coasters would be a PITA for the rest of the casino since they would inevitably end up abandoned at some craps table. So scrap that. A similar idea would be offering to take down cell phone numbers when people go on the board, so that if they miss first call, you can then call their cell. Some people would be adverse, and some people would take it as a license to wander off, but I suspect it would be a net win. You could also use this as a tool when you're slightly unsure if you have a game (ie. 4 shorthanded on the list, but only 3 of them are in the lounge or playing 15/30) you can call the 4th guy before announcing the game. If he says he's on his way, announce. If he doesn't answer or says he's not coming, don't.

You also wanted me to convince you on the subject of avoiding a "rake bubble" and instead scaling it in some way. I think the basic idea is that 0 rake attracts nits. The problem is that you need those nits to stay to get the game filled up the first time, and get your props out if you choose to use them. My experience is that if they came for the 0 rake, they'll seriously consider leaving when the rake kicks in if it kicks in all at once. I think the best strategy is to increase the rake slowly, on the "boiling a frog" theory. Those increases could be time based, fullness based etc. depending on what you find works best.

Mmmm, boiled nits...

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1) Poker rooms in vegas cannot easily redesign their operating environment, for most rooms the real estate for a lounge is not available unless a lounge was built for the room on day one.

2) I like your idea about the short handed guide, if marketed and worded correctly. Interesting concept, it might work... At the same time we should also discuss the house rules, they are are rarely available in a format as complete as found at Commerce - I think this should be a dual operation.

The more I read this thread, the less I like props and the more I like game hosts. The downside of hosting is that they can take the game elsewhere should a problem occur.

TT [img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img]

[SplawnDarts]

Hmm, another idea. Most rooms use tournaments to attract people to the cash games. I'm assuming you do the same. I think the sweet spot is to have tourneys with an entry fee of 1/2 to 1 cashgame buyin. So if you assume your 30/60 players will sit with about $1000, you ought to at least look at the possibility of having tournaments in the $500 to $1000 range if you don't already. Possibly offer a partial, or even total, exception on the tourney vig on the basis of having played some number of hours at 30/60 (or higher). If a player is trying to eliminate their tourney vig, that gives them an incentive to play short and get a game started so they can rack up some hours.

[*TT*]

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Finally, I don't want another job. Sorry. [img]/images/graemlins/wink.gif[/img]

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You dont really think you will make money as a scientist or as an author do you?

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TT [img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img]

[Justin A]

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All,

How much of an effect on game stability do you think permanently reducing the time charge from $6/half to $5/half would have?

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Probably a decent amount because the game is very close to being a regular game as is. I think it'd be a good change.

[Justin A]

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All,

How much of an effect on game stability do you think permanently reducing the time charge from $6/half to $5/half would have?

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No effect at all if the marketing campaign isn't there to back it up. Its only part of the solution.

TT [img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img]

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Within a week almost every 30/60 regular at the Bellagio would know about this. Word of mouth is the strongest marketing tool amongst the locals, and I really don't see how any other medium would even come close.

[J.A.Sucker]

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You dont really think you will make money as a scientist or as an author do you?

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TT [img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img]

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I don't know if I make any money, but I know my scientist job owns when Zee tells me he's jealous of it. [img]/images/graemlins/laugh.gif[/img]

[pokerfloor]

Caesars has been $5 since it opened and can't get the game going

[pokerfloor]

Go blow up every other card room in town thats the only way this is going to happen

[kyleb]

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The No Rake idea when the game is -5 is really good.

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it seems like it would be tough to pass that threshold though, with either the aware player not wanted to play with rake but still semi-shorthanded, or all the people giving him the evil eye as he went to sit down.

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That's why a scaled reduced rake is better than no rake. No "rake bubble" = no cranky players.

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I am beginning to believe this too... convince me some more.

TT [img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img]

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TT,

This is what we use at the cardrooms in Seattle. Tell the people at the ***********that they should do this as well, and that the "will play short" option on the table list is a good idea as well.

And it's obviously the **********. Come on, man.

note from *TT* - no guessing which card room it is, thats one of the rules!

[Riverman]

The problem with Vegas is that the pros do everything imaginable to drive the fish away. It is close to impossible to start a mid-limit game that the moron locals won't kill.