MD/Philly Poker Rooms (4 Viewers)

[aurumity]

Hey everyone.

Did a quick search and didn’t see anything related to this so I figured I’d gather some opinions. I’m moving from Texas back home to Pennsylvania here in 2 months and I’m looking to play some poker once I get back. My three questions are this:

I’ll be somewhere around York/Harrisburg/Gettysburg area for reference.

1. Which Casinos feature the best poker experience in MD/Philly? So far I’m leaning towards the horseshoe In Baltimore but I’m also interested in Live MD/PA and Parx.

2. Is it true that most games/casinos outside of Texas are nittier and tighter? Or is this just a buzz statement that people over exaggerate on?

3. Is there a big culture difference between a poker club and a poker room within a casino? Lastly, should I expect to be destroyed by rake at the 1/2 or 1/3 level?

Thanks guys. I’d love some pictures too if anybody has played there before

 

[joepro]

@MynameaintEarl
@Herman Pu

 

[krafticus]

in Maryland:

MD Live (Hanover, MD, right off of 295) -- 52 tables
Horseshoe (Downtown Baltimore, next to M&T Bank Stadium) 20+ tables
National Harbor (Below DC) ?? tables - I haven't been there

Not sure if the place in Parkville has poker, but if they do, its only a table or 2.

Can't help you with the PA

 

[Rooster410]

I play 1/3 at MD Live often. Weekends are very soft with weekdays being a bit more nitty. That’s been my experience for the last 2 years playing once or twice a month.

 

[Goldfish]

What game(s) are you looking to play? Holdem or PLO?

 

[JZPdub]

Philly has the three casinos -
Live - south Philly by the stadiums - about 20-25 tables. My favorite room of the three (free drinks, easy to get to, run good there)
Parx - in the burbs north of Philly - larger, probably closer to 35-40 tables. Feels like a lot of regulars; game definitely feels nittier here (no free alcoholic drinks, but a lot more promotions)
Rivers - right of 1-95; haven't been in a long time, so not sure what the game is like lately.

Never played in Texas, so can't compare, but you won't get destroyed by the rake at these places.

 

[aurumity]

What game(s) are you looking to play? Holdem or PLO?

Holdem primarily but I have been venturing into PLO a bit. I’ve been enjoying PLO a lot more then NLHE online.

 

[DZPoker]

Live - south Philly by the stadiums - about 20-25 tables. My favorite room of the three (free drinks, easy to get to, run good there)

I'll second this. Especially soft after a night Phillies, Sixers, etc. game gets out.

 

[Goldfish]

Holdem primarily but I have been venturing into PLO a bit. I’ve been enjoying PLO a lot more then NLHE online.

First, I am not a holdem player so I can’t really speak to the quality of the holdem games at the 3 casinos, except for the big $100/$200 holdem games at the mgm, which I hear from friends can be really good. Second, I typically do not go to the casinos much anymore unless it’s a special game so my comments may be outdated a bit.

1. Horseshoe- for safety I give this casino a 2 out of 10. Walking to your car after a nice win can be nerve racking. Valet doesn’t help because the system is automated and a little far from the front door so the chances of security getting to you quickly is not good. They may have changed that though. Quality of the plo I give a 7 out of 10 if Jimmy the Greek is playing in the game. Horseshoe is the only of the 3 casinos to run 4 card plo mainly because that’s what Jimmy likes to play. When jimmy calls me to play I will go occasionally. I like 4 card much better that 5 card.

2. MD Live - For safety Live took a hit for a while because of a rash of robberies. The high limit games stopped running for a while because of that. However, degens will always degen so the games came back after a while. I have not heard of any issues lately. Quality of the plo games is decent. Plenty of 2/2 5 card games running. Those games can be hit or miss depending on who shows up. The 5/5 5 card plo game can be very good if the right guys are going and the right guys are there more than not. And occasionally a 25/25 big o game will come together so I will go to that. There is also a 10/20 limit big o game that runs pretty regularly that a few friends play in. Live does not run 4 card plo unless it’s a special game.

3. MGM - Ranks the highest for safety IMO. And I think it is the nicest poker room of the 3. Again, generally I only show up for special games. When I have played in a regular running 1/2 5 card plo game, it has generally sucked. Nit fest. There is also a regular running big o game that is a complete nit fest. Big pass for me and I love big o. The 5/5 and 10/10 5 card plo games can be okay depending on who shows up. There are a few limit mixed game options, $20/$40 and $100/$200. I love mixed games and know most of the players in both games. I would probably play in the $20/$40 game before I play at the big boy table. The BB table is a bunch of vipers just waiting for some unsuspecting fish to sit. Very hard game to beat. I like most of the guys that play in that game but I just waive from as I walk by.

To sum it up, for lower stakes I would go to the 4 card plo jimmy game first, then the 2/2 5 card plo game at Live. No way I would drive around the beltway for the mgm 1/2 5 card plo game.

Hope this helps!

 

[aurumity]

Just played for the first time since moving back to the east coast. Ended up going to Live in Maryland since it is the closest to me. Gotta say, it was probably the best experience I've had playing Poker so far. Granted, I had a very good session so I might be biased lol. But the room was nice, dealers were the best I've come across so far & action was good. I also think the 15m high hand promotion is pretty cool. Didn't see that anywhere in Texas. I got there at 10:30 am today and played until 2:30 pm and it was lively the entire time - a welcome change from my local card room in Texas that at most had 2 cash tables open at a time.

In for $400 - out for $1150.

 

[dmoney]

Hey everyone.

Did a quick search and didn’t see anything related to this so I figured I’d gather some opinions. I’m moving from Texas back home to Pennsylvania here in 2 months and I’m looking to play some poker once I get back. My three questions are this:

I’ll be somewhere around York/Harrisburg/Gettysburg area for reference.

1. Which Casinos feature the best poker experience in MD/Philly? So far I’m leaning towards the horseshoe In Baltimore but I’m also interested in Live MD/PA and Parx.

2. Is it true that most games/casinos outside of Texas are nittier and tighter? Or is this just a buzz statement that people over exaggerate on?

3. Is there a big culture difference between a poker club and a poker room within a casino? Lastly, should I expect to be destroyed by rake at the 1/2 or 1/3 level?

Thanks guys. I’d love some pictures too if anybody has played there before

I occasionally host in Lewisburg and play in some games in Williamsport if those are of interest.