Being forced to short stack

So tonight I went to a cardclub to play some NLHE with a friend. They had a bunch of different limits and I decided to try playing 1/1. I sat down and threw 100 on the table to buy in for 100bbs like normal but when the chip guy came over he said the table maximum buy in was $40 bucks. I was like "What? $40?" Everyone at the table was like "Oh cmon" "it's only 1/1 man". I was really disappointed but i still played. My buddy said we should switch to the 2/2 table which was pretty much the same thing, table max buy in was 100. It wasn't just this casino though, I've been to another where I could only buy in for 50bbs too.

Any idea on why casinos do this and not let anyone buy in for 100bbs? (I should mention that at the higher limit tables you could buy in for 100bbs)

Everyone isn't going to be as baller as we are...

Sometimes, those local low buy in games are fueled by regs who don't know how to play poker... management has to shift the rules to make those players feel comfortable... or the game will dry up. Those regs probably like to buy in for a small amount and then c/c until they hit "High Hand Of The Day" or whatever...

Play in some local rooms during the day... You'll be chased off property for raising people off pots, "That could have been a JACKPOT hand!"

Don't let a craise cross your mind or you'll wind up fighting some old guy from the VFW in the parking lot...

Casinos here do it too, it's annoying. I don't know the actual reasons they do it but there's a few possible explanations. They may want to encourage more small all-in pots so the rake gets capped on more hands. They may want to make the game seem more affordable to more players too - putting $100 on the table all at once might seem like a big deal to some people, but those same people might plow that and a lot more besides into the game $40 at a time once they're seated and hooked.

im wondering what casinos u guys are going to......do you have to knock a certain number of times on the door and give a secret password or some secret handshake to get in......just sounds kinda strange....every casino here in saint louis and every one ive been to outside of here for that matter has a 100bb max buy in 200 for the 1-2 nl and 500 for the 2-5 nl...theres also a 5-10 nl with a 1k max buy in and thats at harrahs lumiere place hotel and casino and ameristar although ameristar is fairly cheesy i think they only have a 3-6 limit game which sucks ass and even the max buy in for that is 100$

I love living in Connecticut, at foxwoods and mohegan, I can buy into 1-2 NLHE for $300, and if im daring enough for $5-$10 NLHE they let u buy in 200bb deep for 2k, a lot of fun here...

It's usually done to enforce some stupid state or local law in most cases. Where were you playing?

There are less than 10 casinos in all of Australia. There are two that are an hour or so's drive apart (in Brisbane and the Gold Coast), every single other one is at least a plane flight away from all the others.

The one closest to me is Crown Casino in Melbourne, the one that hosts the Aussie Millions. Last I checked they had a $60 min / $80 max buyin at $1/$2 and a $50 min / $200 max buyin at $2/$3. I've also played at Star City in Sydney where they have a $100 max for $1/$2. In the past they've charged time and raked each pot in cash games - I think Crown phased this out a little while ago but it was certainly the norm for a long time.

They don't have any competition so they can do what they like (private real-money card clubs aren't legal here either) and the reasons I speculated on above could be just some of the reasons they choose to limit their buyins.

im in san diego california, so its mostly indian casinos here

I dunno, last time I checked one could get from Launceston to Hobart without a plane trip

But yes I agree, no competition so they can do what they like.

LOL - I'll admit it, I didn't know Launceston even had a casino

2nd oldest in the country..tisk tisk what do they teach the kiddies in the schools these days!

Yeah, Sydney's Star City has an hourly rate+rake. It's pretty irrelevant though when you've just topped up and get AA all in v QQ and KK like I did for a $320 pot. Beauteous. Then the Queen hit...