Montreal and Casino de Montreal - any advice? (1 Viewer)

snooptodd

snooptodd

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Doing a guys weekend in Montreal with some of my old poker crew from Boston (non CT/PCF group, though some of the MA/NH crew has met them) in mid-December. Other than a Canadiens game (which is on the agenda) any other advice for 4-6 guys in their late 30s/early 40s that won't end in divorce/jail?

We'll also likely be making a trip to the casino. It appears they have live poker though I'm not certain what they've got for cash games/tournaments. Website offers a little information, but no idea how many tables run, what kind of stakes they offer, etc. Any advice would be appreciated!
 
Went there when I was 18, 19 and 23 don't think I'd be able to offer any good advice.
 
Fuck Montreal and their breed specific legislation. I hope that city is the first one to get nuked in the coming nuclear holocaust started by President Trump.
 
bergs said:
Fuck Montreal and their breed specific legislation. I hope that city is the first one to get nuked in the coming nuclear holocaust started by President Trump.
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Montreal has been one of my top 3 favorite party cities but I agree, the doggie stuff is so WTF.

Edit: I've hit the casino there but we always seem to be playing table games between visiting the lady spots.
 
and don't forget to pass by Chez Parée, or "the N.1 gentlemen club in Montreal" as they call themselves :)
 
I was there a couple of years ago. Nice place, but I wasnt too impressed. We didnt stay very long.

Rather hit Catherine Street :)
 
Peel pub pregame (the original). Peel(ers) post game?

Be aware the cards at Casino Montreal are in french. R D V, Roi, Dame, Valet.

Playground club has the busiest room and is class all the way. The rake is crazy high but includes food.
 
I believe Playground Poker is about 20 min drive from Montreal. You should definitely go there instead of Casino Montreal.
 
moose said:
Almost forgot, do not miss:

http://www.stviateurbagel.com

Get them hot from the oven and you will eat 6 by yourself before you can get back to your hotel.
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I prefer Fairmount Bagel...their shop is old school and you can watch them being pulled from the oven and served hot. And yes, you will eat at least three before you even leave the store. (But they are smallish bagels and super cheap.)

Also, Schwartz's Smoked Meat sandwiches are amazing pastrami, and this is coming from a guy who lives in NYC!
 
It will take a while to get used to seeing R,D, V if you only peel the corner of your cards to look at. They will know you have a face card if you pick them up higher to figure out which one it is. Once you open your mouth they will look for this tell immediately.
 
I was there about a year ago. They have a decent number of tables running 1/2 hold em, but I seem to recall the poker room being difficult to find. I think it was tucked away on the 4th floor somewhere. I know several years ago they had a law that said you could not drink at the tables. I think this rule changed, but waitress service was so unreliable, I recall still needing to walk to the bar for a beer.
 
moose said:
Be aware the cards at Casino Montreal are in french. R D V, Roi, Dame, Valet.
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This.

I played in Montreal seven years ago (during a my brother's bachelor party weekend) and was unaware of this until I sat down at the table. Wasn't a huge deal, but it took a few orbits to get used to it.
 
I'm traveling to Canada in a couple of weeks and had planned to play at Playground Poker Club one night...especially after seeing it on TV this week on Poker Night in America. It looks like a neat place and I can't imagine just having poker rooms scattered around that look like regular restaurants/bars.

My question is about currency transfer. I assume since I'm traveling from the US that I need to contact my bank and get some Canadian cash there instead of waiting until the airport or until when I get there. I know when traveling to come countries, like Mexico, they will take US dollars. If I show up to a Montreal Poker Room with US dollars, I assume that's not the right approach. Go to a US bank and get the $$ first? Is that the best option?
 
Last edited:
Actually you will probably get the best rate in the poker room. If not, any Canadian bank will exchange at a fair (but not great) rate.
 
codeman00 said:
I'm traveling to Canada in a couple of weeks and had planned to play at Playground Poker Club one night...especially after seeing it on TV this week on Poker Night in America. It looks like a neat place and I can't imagine just having poker rooms scattered around that look like regular restaurants/bars.

My question is about currency transfer. I assume since I'm traveling from the US that I need to contact my bank and get some Canadian cash there instead of waiting until the airport or until when I get there. I know when traveling to come countries, like Mexico, they will take US dollars. If I show up to a Montreal Poker Room with US dollars, I assume that's not the right approach. Go to a US bank and get the $$ first? Is that the best option?
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If you have money in your Party Poker account, you can pay for tournaments and have your winnings paid directly through your Party account. Not sure what rate they'll give but I'd check out their website and email them.
 
200 Motels said:
If you have money in your Party Poker account, you can pay for tournaments and have your winnings paid directly through your Party account. Not sure what rate they'll give but I'd check out their website and email them.
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I think we're locked out of Party Poker here in the US. We have limited options such as Ignition and America's Card Room, but even that it state dependent.

I did go ahead and email Poker Playground and they will accept the US Dollar and will exchange it for CAD at the exact rate of the Royal Bank of Canada. However, they will not convert it back to the USD when you leave. I'll have to do that some other place or when I get home, I guess.
 
I went to Playground Poker Club last week and all I have to say is WOW! The only public places that I've played poker are casinos and well, let's just say this was a completely different experience. Imagine just parking in a regular parking lot, walking into a regular buidling and there being poker tables and games going on everywhere. Their slogan is "For Players, by Players" and that was so true. I signed up for a membership card, The cage cashed my USD for Canadian dollars, and the other desk sent me to a table. $250 cash given out every 30 minutes to the high hand. They had tournaments going on with multiple cash games on a Tuesday night with many dozens of table to spare. Serious stuff.

If you are ever in the area, Playground Poker Club does it right and it won't be the same going back into a "casino" to play.

ppc chip2.jpg
 
Kain8 said:
I've heard the rake is really high at Playground. Any confirmation or evidence to the contrary?
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Being that you get free food and drink while playing cash (and free drinks while playing tournaments), my guess is that the rake has to be pretty high. I have heard this also...but I never asked since I was only going to be playing one night on a business trip. I wasn't in a position to shop around. I should have asked though because you aren't the first person that asked me that question.
 
I live 4 hours from Montreal and have local cardroom players that went to the canadian version of wsop at playground 2 months ago. The rake is very high but like it was noted the perks are nice too. There was a ridonkulous $75 rake per hand for $25/$50 PLO but the perks had prime rib, alaskan king crab and amazing booze setups. They also required you to play for 4 hours at the big boy table so you couldn't just sit, chew and screw. It was unclear to me what would happened if you got felted and left after 20 minutes. Its all kinds of crazy in terms of rules/rake.

There was a $1.3 Million bad beat jackpot going on and $60K bad beat PLO jackpot going on too. I think it was quad 7's or quad 8's for the nlhe BB.

Some pics texted to me. This was 2/5 PLO. Food is general gao and poutine fries.

13603_1506970291678.jpeg


13607_1506970261596.jpeg


13613_1506970240242.jpeg
 
guinness said:
I live 4 hours from Montreal and have local cardroom players that went to the canadian version of wsop at playground 2 months ago. The rake is very high but like it was noted the perks are nice too. There was a ridonkulous $75 rake per hand for $25/$50 PLO but the perks had prime rib, alaskan king crab and amazing booze setups. They also required you to play for 4 hours at the big boy table so you couldn't just sit, chew and screw. It was unclear to me what would happened if you got felted and left after 20 minutes. Its all kinds of crazy in terms of rules/rake.

There was a $1.3 Million bad beat jackpot going on and $60K bad beat PLO jackpot going on too. I think it was quad 7's or quad 8's for the nlhe BB.

Some pics texted to me. This was 2/5 PLO. Food is general gao and poutine fries.

View attachment 124696

View attachment 124697

View attachment 124698
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$75 rake per hand?! That's freaking robbery. Even at the $1/2 or $2/$5 levels, if they're raking 10% of a pot with a maximum of $10 or $20, plus jackpot dollar, plus any other promo dollars they have going on, and then you add on tips for dealers and serving staff bringing you the "free" food and drinks, how in the world can anyone make a profit there??
 
Kain8 said:
$75 rake per hand?! That's freaking robbery. Even at the $1/2 or $2/$5 levels, if they're raking 10% of a pot with a maximum of $10 or $20, plus jackpot dollar, plus any other promo dollars they have going on, and then you add on tips for dealers and serving staff bringing you the "free" food and drinks, how in the world can anyone make a profit there??
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That's a great question...I had a great 4 hour session and feel fortunate that it happened on my one night there. Now I wish I would have asked the rake...it must be pretty hefty....especially with the bonuses they pay out.
 
Just realized I gave a trip report. We ended up going in the midst of a massive snow storm so we spent a good deal of time just chilling at our AirBNB rental, which had a pool table, darts, foosball, and of course I brought poker chips and cards. We did go to Casino du Montreal for a bit one night and played for a few hours, as @ssanel54 mentioned above, it was incredibly hard to find. Players/dealers were all quite friendly to Americans, though Lord knows what they were saying about me when they switched over to French.

I just emailed the Playground Poker Club to see if they would send me their rake rates, will update if/when I hear back. Definitely interested in going up there to play at some point, it's about a 2:15 drive from where I'm living now.
 
snooptodd said:
Just realized I gave a trip report. We ended up going in the midst of a massive snow storm so we spent a good deal of time just chilling at our AirBNB rental, which had a pool table, darts, foosball, and of course I brought poker chips and cards. We did go to Casino du Montreal for a bit one night and played for a few hours, as @ssanel54 mentioned above, it was incredibly hard to find. Players/dealers were all quite friendly to Americans, though Lord knows what they were saying about me when they switched over to French.

I just emailed the Playground Poker Club to see if they would send me their rake rates, will update if/when I hear back. Definitely interested in going up there to play at some point, it's about a 2:15 drive from where I'm living now.
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Very interested in hearing the rakes, thanks @snooptodd
 

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