Huddle's Poker Travels

Horseshoe~Tunica, MS

2009-01-27T20:03:00.000-08:00

The Horseshoe is where the locals go, the grand dame of Tunica. Though it is looking a little worn I found the atmosphere very appealing. The dealers were all very professional and friendly. The patrons were a lot of fun to play with.

Gold Strike, Tunica MS

2009-01-26T19:38:00.000-08:00

We ventured over to the Gold Strike which is a MGM property. The poker room was packed, actually the whole place was packed. Too packed for me as the tables were crammed into the room. Very nice though.

WSOP Circuit Event~Tunica, MS

2009-01-25T13:40:00.000-08:00

Jody and I have travelled to Tunica MS to play in the WSOP Circuit Event in Tunica MS being held at Harrahs. On our first day Jody played the NoLimit Holdem event while I chose to play the Seven Stud Eight or Better event. Deep into the tournament we were both chip leaders in our respective tournaments. Later in the evening we both made the final tables. When my table got down to 4 players we decided on a chop. Jody ended up going out 7th in his event. We are both happy with the results, as our trip is now "paid for"

Caesars~Atlantic City, NJ

2008-06-18T23:50:00.000-07:00

What a beautiful room. I came to play the evening tournament as I read about the deep stack tournament. For $120 you get 20,000 in chips and 20 minute rounds. I only wish I stayed in long enough to benefit from the structure! The live game was full of action, with several pots over a $100 preflop. Lots of fun indeed.

Trump Plaza~Dealer-less Poker Tables !!

2008-06-18T23:38:00.000-07:00

I've read about the computerized poker tables but this was the 1st time playing on one. On Friday the 13th the new poker room at the Trump Plaza opened with a dozen 10 player computerized poker tables, a handful of headsup tables and even some computerized blackjack versions. They were actually kind of cool to play on, but I'm not convinced that they will be accepted.

The table itself is about the same dimensions as a regular table with 10 monitors around the circumference. In the middle is a larger flatscreen that shows the action. There was only one table in use and I played it for a couple hours. Everyone that played on it seemed to have a good time. If you are interested check out http://www.pokertek.com/

The main advantages are that the rake is less and you can play more hands per hour. I sat next to a guy who had only played online and was using this as a transition into live action. Interesting.

Tropicana~Atlantic City, NJ

2008-06-18T12:23:00.000-07:00

The Trop is another casino that is situated on the Boardwalk. I immediately liked the room when I walked in. It's another older room, but was well kept and had the dark wood, country club feel to it. All of the dealers were long time employees and proud of it. The Trop is not part of any of the mega companies, remaining a stand alone casino that is family owned. I found a 7 stud game and settled in to play for a couple hours. It's very hard to find a stud game anymore, and even harder to find good stud dealers.

The evening tournament was well run with a great structure. I stayed to play the NL game until the wee hours with some of the funniest guys I've ever played with. I lost $400 in one pot to a guy and we were high fiving each other, sick really. I would recommend this room, so far my favorite.

The boardwalk area in general is nice as it is right along the Atlantic Ocean, though you don't want to wander off the tourist area as it gets pretty scary.

Borgata Resort & Spa~Atlantic City

2008-06-17T00:00:00.001-07:00

It's off to play at the Borgata's evening tournament. There were 160 entries that played tonight in a gorgeous poker room. Great place to play. It reminded me of another favorite room, the Venitian in LV. I made it to 13th place to take home a little money. 1st place would have been better....$10k.

One note on all of the casinos in NJ is that they are nonsmoking with the exception of small designated smoking areas. Very nice to not have to walk through smoke to get to the poker room.

Trump Taj Mahal~Atlantic City, NJ

2008-06-16T23:55:00.000-07:00

This place is huge! It's got over 80 tables in one large room. I would guess that 40 of them were full. This room was also very old and rundown. I didn't stay too long here either. Long enough to drop a couple hundred, lol.

Showboat~Atlantic City, NJ

2008-06-16T23:48:00.000-07:00

The Showboat is an older casino that is situated right on the boardwalk. The poker room has 28 tables and we stopped in to play a little NL. The room was old, the chips were filthy and the dealers surly. Time to move on down the boardwalk as there are several others to choose from.

Bad Beat at Atlantic City Harrahs

2008-06-16T09:20:00.001-07:00

The 1st day at Atlantic City was a good one. I'm staying at the Harrah's Resort which is on the beach. While playing in a NL game I was witness to a bad beat at our table. The bad beat pot was over $122,000! The scenario was two players with pocket pairs, 3s and 7s. The flop came 3,3,7. The turn was a 7. The bad beat player got over $60k! I received $4,400 just for being at the table. Not a bad Fathers Day.

The room itself is very nice with around 15 tables. The game of choice is NL. The only limit offerings were 2/4 and 3/6.

Hooters Casino, Spokane, WA

2008-04-01T19:03:00.000-07:00

This is my favorite Spokane poker room. Ben and I came over for the month end tournament as the add money is always so good. This time was no exception with $2000 added to the prize pool. There were 54 players that bought in for $225.

The structure of this tournament is awesome, with 10,000 in chips and 30 minute rounds. Most of the players are solid. It got down to 5 players after about 6 hours of play and we all agreed to a $1,978 chop. Not bad.

They were also spreading a $2~40 spread game that Ben and I both did very well at.

Great time. I try to make this tournament every chance I get.

Lilac Lanes Casino, Spokane, WA

2008-04-01T19:00:00.000-07:00

This is 6 table casino that is part of a larger casino attached to a bowling alley. It was a very nice room that was well run. The only game going was a $2~10 spread game that kept 3 tables going all Saturday night. Lots of action with of course a mainly locals crowd. Good time.

They have a $425 buy in tournament coming up that offers a $10,000 1st place prize.

Northern Quest, Spokane, WA

2008-04-01T18:57:00.000-07:00

I stopped in on my way to the Hooters tournament with my friend Ben to check out the new No Limit game. They now have a $1/2 blind with a $200 buy in and a $2/5 blind and a $300 buy in. The game I was in was very tight, with tiny pots. After a couple hours we took off.

Commerce Casino, Commerce, CA

2008-03-17T19:44:00.000-07:00

This place is huge! Any game you want to play is here. I chose to play 7 stud, mainly because I never get to play it anymore. The food here is also very good, though overall The Bike poker room is my favorite LA poker room.

The Comedy Store, Hollywood, CA

2008-03-17T00:16:00.000-07:00

As many times as I've been to LA I've never been to Hollywood. So I went down there on a Saturday night to get the full effect of the world's largest freak parade and I wasn't disappointed.

I also went to the 10pm show at The Comedy Store, a famous LA icon. I have to say the first few comedians were some of the worst I have ever seen. After enduring 5 or 6 of these the emcee announced that there was a special guest in the house, and out came Carlos Mencia !! He is one of my alltime favorites. He had just gotten back from Iraq entertaining the troops. He tore up the stage for the next hour or so. I laughed so hard that my sides hurt. Quite a treat for an audience of 30 or so. Only in LA.

Bicycle Casino, Bell Gardens, CA

2008-03-15T18:39:00.000-07:00

This place is great! They have a huge room with any game you want. They have 115 tables that are also managed in groups, such as NL, High/Low, Limit, etc. I played NL and even there I had a choice of $100 buy in with $2/3 blinds, $200 buy in with $2/5 blinds, $500 buy in with $5/5 blinds, etc. Another interesting note, when the blinds chop it the small blind still has to pay a $1.

The action was great, the food was great (free in the NL area and gourmet quality), the players and dealers were great.

They were also having a $300 NL tournament in the evening in their tournament area and were expecting 250 players.

Normandie Casino, Gardena, CA

2008-03-15T18:34:00.000-07:00

What a dive, didn't play here at all. I was worried about my truck in the parking lot, lol.

Hustler Casino, Gardena. CA

2008-03-15T18:29:00.000-07:00

Well I've made it to Los Angeles, the capital of the poker universe. There are still more poker tables in LA than anywhere in the world.

Hustler was a little disappointing as it seemed a little run down. The players and the staff were all very surly and grumpy.

Also, I found out that $5 chips in LA are all yellow. This won't look good with the rest of my poker chip collection.

They run the limit games and the no limit games separately. Interesting.

Avi Resort & Casino, Laughlin, NV

2008-03-15T18:22:00.000-07:00

Finally, a nice property in Laughlin. This casino is a few miles south of the rest of the casinos and includes a nice hotel and golf course. The poker room is well run by friendly staff with hourly giveaways. For instance they would have "Kings dominated" for an hour, in which if your pocket kings are beat you get $50. The most they pay is 3 times in the hour. Then the next hour it would be something else, like best hand, etc.

If I every play Laughlin again this is where I'll go. There is a lot of beautiful new homes and condos on both sides of the Colorado river.

Harrahs, Laughlin, NV

2008-03-15T18:01:00.000-07:00

This was a newer property, in keeping with Harrahs standards. There wasn't much action in the poker room though, just a couple $2~6 limit games.

Riverside Hotel & Casino, Laughlin, NV

2008-03-15T17:58:00.000-07:00

This place is old and dirty. Did a walk through and didn't even grab a poker chip.

River Palms, Laughlin, NV

2008-03-15T17:52:00.000-07:00

This property was OK, with a $2/6 spread game that had a lot of action. Otherwise, not noteworthy.

Colorado Belle, Laughlin, NV

2008-03-15T17:43:00.000-07:00

My original plan was to venture back on track to Las Vegas, but between the March Madness and a huge convention in town the cheapest room I could find was $240. I'm not doing that good on my poker run, lol. I checked out Laughlin on expedia.com and the whole town was on sale with $20 rooms. What a deal.

I've stayed in Laughlin before and wasn't really impressed. This trip comfirmed my opinion. The average age of the hotels, the players, the dealers, and the cocktail waitresses is over 70. I'm not kidding. This hotel has one of the biggest poker rooms with 12 tables.

I will give it credit for being a great bargain. I rack is cheap on the tables (down to quarters) and they did have a lot of action.

This hotel was designed to look like a riverboat as it's on the Colorado River. I hear that the town is a zoo on spring break. Sorry I missed that.

Sky City Casino, Acoma, NM

2008-03-15T17:39:00.000-07:00

This is literally a casino in a huge tent just off of the freeway. They only have one poker table that is "usually" busy on the weekends. I grabbed my souvenier poker chip and left.

Route 66 Casino, Rio Puerco, NM

2008-03-15T17:32:00.000-07:00

I loved this casino so much that I stayed an extra day. Very nice poker room with again a lot of friendly local players. The casino itself is themed with a 50's Route 66 motif. The hotel was brand new with all the trick stuff like flat screen tv, granite everywhere, nice beds and a rate of only $66! Can't beat it.

The Albuquerque area in general was the best poker experience out there. It's a large city with a lot to offer besides great poker and great weather. I would highly recommend that you check it out.

Sandia Resort & Casino, Albuquerque, NM

2008-03-11T23:58:00.001-07:00

This is one of the nicest Indian casinos that I have been in. The evening tournament sold out with 100 players with alternates waiting. They had most any game you wanted to play. The hotel rates were pricey at $169. They also have a golf course on site. Overall, a beautiful place. I didn't realize how big Albuquerque is, over 750,000 residents and growing. Again, mostly locals that know how to play.

Santa Ana Star Casino, Santa Ana Pueblo, NM

2008-03-11T23:55:00.000-07:00

This casino is a newer Indian casino that has a nice 6 table poker room. They didn't have a NL game while I was there but the $4/8 with a 1/2 kill game was nice. Mostly locals.

Riviera, Las Vegas, NV

2008-03-09T21:55:00.000-07:00

I've spent the last two nights here at the Riviera with my daughter Heather. The last time I stayed here was over 20 years ago, and they haven't changed a thing, lol. If you want to see what LV was like 30 years ago this is your place. The poker room has 7 tables and offers 3 tournaments daily (which I won in the evening) For cash they offer $2/4 (yep that's right), $3/6 and $1/2 NL. I played til the wee hours at the NL table as the cast of charactors that night was amazing. Otherwise, I would recommend you avoid this room. Heather played in her 1st NL cash game and held her own! Way to go daughter.

Palace Station Las Vegas, NV

2008-03-07T13:59:00.000-08:00

I basically took US 93 all the way from Jackpot to LV. If you are looking for a road to clear the head this is the one to take, miles and miles of wide open space. I wasn't able to find a poker table between Jackpot and LV. I stopped in Ely and thought I might find one there as there were several casinos but none offered live games at all.

I pulled into LV and saw Palace Station on the right side of the freeway. I've played their newest property before, Red Rock Casino and thought I'd try this one out. They have seven tables and offer NO tournaments at all. Interesting, I've never seen that before. I settled into a $1/2 NL game with a $40~$200 buyin, their biggest game. Good time, mostly locals.

The highlight of the day was driving down from the high desert into Las Vegas at night. What a sight to see.

Cactus Petes, Jackpot, NV

2008-03-06T14:39:00.000-08:00

First night of the poker run turns out to be in Jackpot, NV. Jackpot is a wide spot in the road just south of Twin Falls, ID on US 93. There are 5 casinos here in town, two with poker rooms. I played at Cactus Petes. They have a newly remodeled 7 table room filled mainly with locals. The evening tournament was in progess with 6 tables going. I put my name on the $2/5 No limit list and in 10 minutes we were rolling. Great game, great people. Also spread were a couple $3/6 games. Cheap rooms @ $39.

Starting in Las Vegas

2008-02-26T11:05:00.000-08:00

The purpose of this blog (my first ever) is to share my experiences as I travel around playing poker. I am passionate about the game as I enjoy everything about it, the travel, the competition, the variety of all of the great poker rooms, and of course the interesting cast of charactors that you play with.

I am starting my journey in Las Vegas, arriving around the 7th of March. I am driving down to meet Heather, my oldest daughter who will be in town for a wedding. I have played LV a lot over the years and know the town and the poker rooms there like the back of my hand.

From there my plan is to wander over the Los Angeles and play there for a week or so. Los Angeles is still the center of the poker universe and I have never played there.

In doing this blog I will be able to describe the various poker rooms and the games they offer, as well as any personal observations I may have. I hope you enjoy.