Favorite Card Room in Bay Area? (1 Viewer)

[thinkinaboutu]

Curious to hear people's thought on the action at different card rooms through out the bay? I've played at most of the major card rooms around the bay(LC, Oak's, Graton, M8trix), curious to hear what people like and don't like about each one, and how the action varies between the card rooms?

 

[RocAFella1]

TeddyKGB’s except the no-shuffling of chips in play and magnum size cards.

 

[jamesjkim]

South Bay (m8trix and bay101) have really long wait times.

You can find a seat at Oaks and LC pretty quickly, and action at both is pretty good but I give a slight edge to LC although I frequent Oaks more cause it’s a bit closer for me.

I’ve only played Graton once and action wasn’t particularly great but it was also a Sunday. Slightly smaller in size but not a big deal.

Which do you prefer?

 

[Skullzer]

I’m in the North Bay, and don’t have any experience in any card rooms yet.. but, I’ll be checking out Graton next Monday. A friend and I are going to do their $65 entry tourney they do on Mondays and Wednesdays. Figured it was an affordable way to play in a real card room for the first time. I’ll be following this thread to see what others suggest too! -cheers

 

[chrismurda]

I don’t know if it’s my favorite, but I tend to frequent Livermore Casino for the free breakfast for poker players.

 

[flyingsquirrel]

It might not count as the Bay Area. It's more central valley/coast. But Bankers Casino in Salinas is a great spot on Fridays as well as the occasional weeknight. Pretty small but the games are fun. Only about an hour from San Jose.

 

[dremonk]

Been thinking about checking oaks card room - closest one to me. Any idea on the rake structure at oaks card room? How is it for someone who hasn't spent that much time in card rooms?

 

[jamesjkim]

Been thinking about checking oaks card room - closest one to me. Any idea on the rake structure at oaks card room? How is it for someone who hasn't spent that much time in card rooms?

$6 drop. Be aware that they usually play a Mississippi straddle on the winner of the previous hand. Mississippi straddle is a straddle from any position - e.g. $1/2/3 plays $1/2/3/6. Also, $1 blind is played on the button, $2 SB, $3 BB.

I'd also suggest Lucky Chances - drop is $7 but they have bigger jackpots. Probably similar distance from SF. Blind structure is similar to Oaks but they don't play straddle on the winner.

I wouldn't worry about not having played in a card room. Just pay attention to where the action is and the dealer will usually announce what's happening, and don't hesitate to ask for clarification. Good luck!

 

[dremonk]

Does this mean that it plays closer to a 2/5 game in terms of pot size? haven't ever encountered that before

 

[jamesjkim]

Does this mean that it plays closer to a 2/5 game in terms of pot size? haven't ever encountered that before

When the winner straddle is on, yes it definitely plays like 2/5 - common opens are $15-25. It makes your $300, 100BB buy-in play like 50BB.

I should mention that even if the winner straddle is on, you can refuse it but it's highly likely someone else will opt for the straddle. I should also add that the winner straddle isn't always on and I've sat down enough times where it isn't for the entire session but I would prepare for it nonetheless. In either case, anyone can ask to straddle at any time.

 

[Mathbook]

Also makes the 2/5 game at Oaks fantastic, as 100bb deep eff 5/10 with standard low stakes players can print.
Straddle-wise I rarely see an unstraddled hand at 2/5 while it's on about 70% of the time at 1/2/3 (where every player is choosing to straddle)

 

[slyninja33]

I've only been played cash games at m8trix, but I was wondering which places tend to have the best tournaments?