Live Tournies and Structures

I'm in SoCal, with many casino's around to play at. In my case I have Hollywood Park, Hustler, Hawaiian Gardens, Bicycle, and Commerce. There is another casino very very close to me, walking distance even, but the marketing folks there were unable to make poker work there and when I stopped in yesterday, they only had one cash poker table going. baccarat (or something similar), and Pai Gow are more popular there. Disappointing as the place has so much potential. Only place in town with a Metro Station in its back yard! I really wonder about them there.....

Anyway, I played, and enjoyed a tourney last Friday at the Hawaiian Gardens Casino that was a free buy-in with multiple rebuys and a bigger add-on. 3K guarantee. I FT'd it and covered my costs. It is a regular Friday game.

For Thursday, with essentially the same structure, except there is a $20 buy-in and increased guarantee is this game;

http://www.thegardenscasino.com/_asset/3d6kd3/Thursday-1pm.pdf .

FWIW, all live games have terrible structure compared to online poker Tourneys.

So tempted;

http://www.thebike.com/images/com_tournaments/pdf/1355879811_wsopc__8.pdf

Might just go watch.

dj11 said:

So tempted;

http://www.thebike.com/images/com_tournaments/pdf/1355879811_wsopc__8.pdf

Might just go watch.

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Why not, I always love to see live tournies and try to learn more.

Oh yes, dj, you should definitely go. To watch, sure, but you probably want to take a roll with you in case you want to register for one of the remaining ring games (I think there are a couple more) or catch some of the side action.

There's also the LA Poker Classic starting on January 15 : http://www.commercecasino.com/tournaments/series/la_poker_classic/

With so many of the better players in town probably in, or watching the games at the Bike, I think another few games at HG would be in my better self interest largely because they wont be there. I could even swing by the Bike after the game at HG which I am talking myself into pretty fast...

Should things go well , that HORSE game on the 22nd at the Commerce looks like fun. The Bike is only maybe 6 easy miles up the freeway, and the CC is only maybe 12 miles up the same freeway.

Temptation........oh whoa is me......

With no CC game today that I feel compelled to play in, I am considering this;

http://www.commercecasino.com/images/pdf/daily_structure_sheets/DAILY_Structures_Sunday.pdf

I've got a couple of hours to evaluate my mental state. I did a game Thursday at Hawaiian Gardens and did not recognize some mental state warning signs, and did not play well. Plus I was still dealing with a cough/(cold?). Not the flu, I got a shot 2 months ago.

-I was overly hyped to play the game, wanting some action. This has never been a situation where I did well in, at any endeavor. I do much better when I get closer to a laissez-faire approach. Thru-out my life some have seen this as aloof. Early in life some saw it as conceit, but what do school kids know, reality was I was scared shitless. Nevertheless, I tend to do better when I don't act like it matters.

-I was distracted by a pretty face at the table I was on.... She sort of reminded me of a very significant lady in my life that things did not work out. Good thing she was all bundled up else cleavage would have really screwed my game up.

Anyway, I have not even been in the Commerce Casino, and feel that I sort of need to at least visit the place. I will not immediately rebuy in this game should I decide to play it.

dj11 said:

There is another casino very very close to me, walking distance even, but the marketing folks there were unable to make poker work there and when I stopped in yesterday, they only had one cash poker table going

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Yeah... When I lived in Long Beach I took the Metro up to play a few. It was like a big quiet hotel with a cuppla people gambling.

Turned around and left.

Problem with public trans and gambling is that Orange County has the worst public transport IN THE WORLD. They roll up at 10 pm.

I would go with the Gardens Dj. Softest fields in the bunch.

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This might be a better deal;
http://playhpc.com/images/daily-structure-3.pdf

Hollywood Park is the furthest away of my local casino's. I seem to remember walking thru the place, but not to play anything. OTOH I might run into Mike Caro there...

dj11 said:

This might be a better deal;
http://playhpc.com/images/daily-structure-3.pdf

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Not a big fan of re-buys.

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JusSumguy said:

Not a big fan of re-buys.-

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Not all that many one-shots around. Sorta surprises me.

How about sitting at one of the $100 tables at HG?

Little cash work. You'll make a cuppla hun.

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JusSumguy said:

How about sitting at one of the $100 tables at HG?

Little cash work. You'll make a cuppla hun.

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If I felt good about my online cash game I might. Even tho I've been told that live cash is easier than online cash, I do not consider ring to be my forte'.
I talked to a floor manager at the Crystal Room, the casino that failed at poker, right after I heard him ream out a player for being too nitty. WTF? , no wonder.
He described the only table in action as 40-100. Is that 40 min, 100 max buy-in?

I went to the Commerce Casino yesterday. Unhappy experience. Huge place, with almost as much baccarat as poker. From an ergonomic POV I do not like the place. I did not feel comfortable from the moment I walked in the door. No warm fuzzies for me there.

The tourney's are at 10 seat tables, which I find too tight. The seats are cheap, with no side stands to hold drinks.

Since it pertains to some (now failed) provisions of the Reid/Kyl bill, I asked how many poker tables the place had. It is spread out over 3 pretty good sized rooms, so I couldn't count them all. Most of the folks who work there had no idea. One guy thought maybe 300. The tourney I was in had 12 tables, and took up about 15-20% of the room it is in. As I remember it, 60-75 tables would describe that fairly. But again I only saw 3 rooms, and the other 2 were smaller, so I have doubts about the whole place holding 300 tables, unless there was a second floor. I walked the casino to the best of my ability and saw nothing to suggest there was a 2nd floor.

It is maybe twice as big as Hawaiian Gardens which is about the same size as the Bike. But these are only my perceptions and as most of you know...I am delusional....

Today I did Hollywood Park. Total buy-in was $40. $2500 guaranteed. With only 36 entrants they did cover. I got lucky and did not rebuy or add-on. Late registration only lasts 75 minutes, which is not long around here.

Nice room. Bigger than the tables in action, meaning a lot of space between tables.
Nice chairs, 9 seat tables. Sort of a long walk from the lot to the Casino. This is not the same Casino I walked thru many years ago. Seems the old casino is now the Showroom.

They have the same game everyday, which is the cheapest buy-in in town from what I can find. The guarantee changes, and I would imagine the player pool will adjust accordingly.

It is essentially the same distance from me as the Commerce Casino, but a much more comfy feel. It seemed to be a quiet room. Hawaiian Gardens seems noisy, partly because they run a lot of bonus drawings and the room reflects sound oddly.

Table comfort between HG and HP are about equal.

Finished about 14th or so, with only 6 paying. Very happy with my play tho.