Trip Report: Valley View Casino Poker Room - Valley Center, CA

The "new" Poker Room at Valley View is disappointing to say the least. Why? Because they got rid of all their poker tables, chips, decks of cards, and dealers and substituted them for automated poker machines.

8-10 people can sit at each large machine and play tournaments or cash games. When I was there, a morning tournament was wrapping up, and a few people were playing 2/4 Limit.

Horrible. Like playing a video game. The Excalibur in Las Vegas has done the same, and you might as well play on-line if you want to play fake poker. For those like myself that like the "feel" of the cards and chips in my hand, my one word response is "FAIL!".

Two positives though. Since they don't have to hire dealers, the drop on the games are usually lower than you find in REAL poker rooms. Only around $2 per hand. They also offer 2 tournaments per day, and you get a rather large starting amount of chips for a relatively low buy-in.


Grading:

Poker Room: F. Fake Poker.

Dealers/Staff: Incomplete. One "poker room manager" runs the place, and he might as well be running a Chuck E. Cheese. I wanted to ask him if I can trade in my chips for redemption tickets and prizes.

Strength of Players: Not sure. I'm guessing very low. I was only there for about 10 minutes before I got the hell out of Dodge.

Overall, keep driving 5 more minutes 'til you get to the Harrahs Rincon Poker Room. Automated poker..what a lame idea.

It would be easier to follow your trip if it were in 1 thread imo.

Thanks for the reports


Snow

You are absolutely right! I should have thought of that last week..probably too much work for the mods to combine them into one thread now. :-(

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So lame that Sunday's the last day VV is offering it. And I don't believe they had poker prior to this. I play Harrahs a lot, but I really like Pauma's tournaments. Cheap but fun. A lot of regulars mixed with The Next 18 Year Old Superstars.

I'm a big fan of Pauma as well. Will do a future trip report on both Pauma and Harrah's. You nailed it on Pauma..lots of regulars as well as 18 year-old "wristbanders".

The last two times I played at Pauma (last Sunday and 2 weeks earlier) I cashed.. both times we chopped for the win. I've played at Harrahs several times and have yet to cash..

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I'm almost always there for the Wed tournament. Kinda well known there ("JD"...ask Manny the dealer, he'll have some kinda smartass thing to say )...big fish/small pond, but the winner usually has to come through *me*. It's "home" though. The occasional NL game used to be very profitable thanks to those "wristbanders". Enough local sharks figured that out so you have to be more careful now, but it was almost comical before. Kid with $ from LA comes in (only 1 of 2 casinos that let 18's play) with his posse and starts playing like he's seen on tv. No better feeling than sitting on the nuts and having Mr Next Poker Superstar try to knock you off them.

Manny is probably my favorite dealer there..good sense of humour.

Pauma tournaments you get $7,000 in tournament chips for $43 WED-THU and $53 FRI-SUN. Great value for your poker dollar, but you also get a LOT of very loose players. I think I have more fun in the tourneys there than anywhere else, locally, with the possible exception of the Lake Elsinore TH Mini Deepstack.

I have never seen a 1/2 NL game there..when I go usually they are only spreading 3/6 Limit, besides the tournament.

Was originally going to play there tonight at the 4pm tourney, but going to go to Harrahs and try their Crazy Pineapple tournament tonight..something different..

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Um...the Wed tourney is $23 for 3500 chips. Wouldn't mind trying that CP tourney.

I stand corrected:

MO-TU: $23 with an optional $20 rebuy.
WE-TH: $23 no rebuy. (They add $250 to the prize pool)
FR-SU: $33 with an optional $20 rebuy..

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Now, I know Harrahs changes all the time, but they had(have?) a tourny I really liked: $25, unlimited $5 rebuys, $1k added. Wed or Thur. I don't understand why *everyone* didn't play like me: all-in (with any 2 decent cards), then rebuy, then do it again until it worked.

Do you play Pechanga too? I used to play the Fri AM tourney every week when business was good. Gotta occasionally work these days.

Oh...do you play Ocean's 11 too?

Pechanga is my "home base". Have played in over 100 tournaments there the past few years.

Yesterday was a "Poker Orgy" of sorts for me, as I played in 3 tournaments..here are my results:

Saturday 10 am. Played in the Pechanga $28, $4,000 guaranteed tournament. Approx. 200 entered. Never got into a groove and after 20 minutes lost most of my chips on a "bad beat". Got dealt J-J in the small blind. Player raised 3X the BB, everyone folded but me, who called. Flop comes 10-6-4 rainbow. Other player goes all-in. I detected a touch of weakness so I called. He turns over a pair of snowmen, and I'm a huge favorite. But then the motherlessloveing 8 falls on the turn, and that was that. I had about 1,000 more chips then him, so I barely survived, but got eliminated a short while later. Time to drive the 20 minutes for tournament #2..

Saturday 12 noon. Pala $50 $1,500 guaranteed tournament. Only 23 people entered, so the casino had to make up the difference. Started slowly and unlike Pechanga, had luck on my side. Final Table, 7 players left and I was the chip leader. We decided to chop it, and I got more since I was the chip leader by quite a bit. I won $250, the other 6 won $208. Total tournament only took about 2 1/2 hours.

Saturday 4 p.m. Next I had a choice to make: Either the $53 Hold Em tournament at Pauma, or the $40 Crazy Pineapple tournament at Harrah's Rincon. I decided to try something different, and chose the Crazy Pineapple tournament at Harrahs. 50 players entered. Overall did pretty well but couldnt get a hand at the end. I finished in 11th place, just one spot short of the final table. Crazy Pineapple goes much slower than Hold Em, as there are extra decisions to make. I like Hold Em much better.

Overall on Saturday:

$ Spent on Buy-ins: $118
$ Won: $250

Very fun day.

Nope, I've never been to Oceans 11. I have been to the Lake Elsinore Card room, and I would highly recommend that one.

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Dang! That Pala gig was some serious overlay. Good job.

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O-11 is probably the most *serious* room around. Biggest $, best players. Nice, but there's certainly softer spots. Never did LE. Been by it 1000x, just never made it in the door. I heard they stepped up big (and Pechanga didn't) the year Jerry Yang won.

Yep, I think LE is similar to O-11. First time I went there I certainly noticed the difference in clientele as compared to the casinos. No tourists just looking to have a good time.. more hardened poker players. It's a tough room.

Thanks. Sometimes you are just "walking around lucky and don't even know it". Yesterday morning I decided to "press my luck" in the Pechanga Sunday morning tournament. 170 started, so they paid two tables. When it got down to the final table everyone wanted to chop, except one guy, the chip leader. He ended up going out in 7th, and the final 6 of us split the prize pool. The big chipe leader (had everyone 4:1) took home $900. The other 5 of us took home $304 each..now after 20+ hours of Poker this weekend, I need a little bit of a break..

Chopping 7 ways when you are chip leader, and in position for a big payday, why would you give up your opportuinity for a big win.$250 is a fair cash considering $50 buy-in.Im curious of your considerations before agreeing to this?
Did you feel the other players were better or?
How much did 1st place pay?

Congrats




Snow

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I'm sure there's "chop vs non-chop" threads around here. Sometimes I do, sometimes I don't. Usually depends more on whether I *like* the people at the table than chip stacks. If I'm on/near the lead though, I usually feel like I'm the best player, and I won't chop. I ran into a situation at Pechanga once...2 tables left, I'm the chip leader, and everyone but me wanted to chop. So *2* tables were pissed at me. I went OFF. I did NOT like being put in that situation. I thought there should be an annonymous vote. Wound up at the FT, and was finally *begged* into chopping, so I did.

My favorite non-chop was at Pauma. I was short stack at the FT, and everyone wanted to chop but the chip leader, who had a *very* small lead. I don't get mad when people won't chop. I get it. I do it. But this guy is one of the few jerks there. He was looking at *my* chips when he declined. I get that. Knock out the short stack. No problem. The problem was (and is) his attitude, and the fact that that he was demanding 1st place $ to chop. The weird thing was, EVERYONE AGREED! Except me. Mr Short Stack. The guy who had the most to gain. I was just so pissed that these people were so weak, that I said no. So, 2 hands later, I'm the chip leader, and the leader is now short stack and wants to chop. It was beautiful.

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Hmmm...I saw this after I posted my chop/no chop thing. Lots of factors: are you equally or over matched? Are the other players friends/regulars? Are you tired/want to get home? Is the extra $ worth the time/energy? Etc.

I wasn't a huge chip leader by any stretch. I had less than twice what #2 had. All it takes is one all in and you go from the penthouse to the outhouse.

Since this was a small tournament, it only paid 3 places. I think it was around 700-450-350..something like that.

Right before the final hand I was 2nd in chips. The chip leader then lost a huge pot and put him back in the pack. I was more than happy to take the $250, knowing that blinds were getting huge, and 4 more people still had to leave to even make the money..also there was another tournament up the road just an hour later..

I think I know the non-chopper you are talking about at Pauma.

Usually I will chop, but not always. Like you said, there are a lot of factors.

One thing I don't like is when everyone puts tons of pressure on a no chooper to chop. It is his right not to chop. What I hate is when the chip leader refuses to chop..until he loses a big pot..then all of a sudden he wants to chop..

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I always defend the non-chopper. I hate when they get bullied/called names/etc. When it's me, I just blame it on the wife: "My wife says if I don't *win* I can't play next week."

Yeah...that dude pissed me off agin last Wed. I tend to push a LOT, and I kept buying pots. So I'm heads-up against a stranger, and I push, and Mr Jerk says: "You sure are buying a lot of pots." I said: "Did you want to tell the newbie that?" Fortunately dude folded or you would've read about it in the paper.

I like your analyzation of the situation and may have likely done the same thing with only paying 3 spots,well done again!




Snow

I play at pauma about once or twice a month on sundays. The players their are crazy loose...

Anyone playing Pauma tonight?

Well...busted out early. However...on the way out the door I heard an announcement about it being the last day for "match play". I buy $100 worth (the max). I'm not a black jack fan/player, but I know a deal when I see one. Put my $100 (now $200) down on one hand, win, and walk out with $300.

VERY nice JD!

I'll be playing the Pechanga Saturday 10 a.m tourney tomorrow. Saturday mornings it is $4,000 guaranteed, and they usually get around 200 people. Won't have a chance to play Pauma this weekend...maybe next Sunday, though.

I'm pretty much always there Wed, and usually only then. get there at 5, play the $3/$6 game (which can be weird/fun. I once turned $100 into over $600 in an HOUR. People still bring it up. In fact, Indian Marv mentioned it Wed.) until the tourney.

When you play LIVE from 5 pm - 7 pm, and then you play in the 7 pm tournament do they give you a chip bonus for having played live?

It looks like they do, according to the flyer posted online.

http://casinopauma.com/docs/poker-to...edule-2009.pdf