teepack
Legend
Bronze Level
Virginia's first official casino-based poker room opened in January of this year. The Rivers Casino in Portsmouth features a 24-table poker room. The room opens daily at 10 a.m. and closes at 4 a.m. The casino is very easy to get to. It is right off the highway and has ample parking. Restaurant options are limited but more are coming. The hotel has yet to open.
I checked it out last week. I live about three hours away. I rolled in right around 10 a.m. on a Friday. I signed up for my player's card, bought in for $200 and got sat right away at a $1/$3 table. The table was still getting organized, so it was about another five minutes before they dealt the first hand.
General thoughts:
Room is clean and well lit. Tables are spaced well so you don't feel like the table behind you is right on top of you.
Dealers were good and friendly.
I don't think they allow food at the tables, although I did get to eat my KIND bar.
Drink servers come around often for complementary soft drinks and water. They also have some kind of house drink called "Poker Punch" but I didn't try it.
They were good about opening a new table every time they got a handful of players waiting.
They don't allow you to record your session on your phone.
They do not offer tournaments yet, although a regular said he had heard they would start next month (July). The dealer, however, overheard our conversation and was skeptical they would begin in July.
Promotions:
You must have a player's card to qualify for all promotions and cards don't transfer from other Rivers' properties.
Bad beat jackpot (quad 10s or better must lose, both cards play and it must go to showdown)
$500 royal flushes
When I was there, they ran a $100 hot seat promotion every 20 minutes where they would randomly draw someone's name. Every third hour, they bump the prize to $200. I actually won a $200 hot seat promotion, and two other people at my table also won $100 while I was there. You can win the prize more than once. A lady at my table had won it three times in one day the previous week.
Game play observations
The game was like just about every other $1/$3 table I've played. Even though the room was only open for a few months, more than half the table appeared to be familiar with each other and the dealers, so there are already a lot of regulars.
Play is soft. Lots of limping and players chasing gut shots and flushes. Not a whole lot of bluffing that I saw. A few calling stations, a few players that played almost every flop, and a few tight ones. Ages ranged from guys in their 20s to retirees, including a guy who is 97 years old.
In the beginning, there was hardly any limping. If a hand limped pre-flop to the button, either the button or one of the blinds would almost always raise it up. After a few hours, however, limping became much more prevalent. It wasn't odd for 5-6 players to limp to a flop.
The standard pre-flop raise was in the range of $6-$15. 3-bets were not common but did happen.
They do allow a button straddle for $6.
I wound up cashing out for $599, which included the $200 hot hand bonus, so I won $199 for the day in poker plus the $200 promotional win. I am already planning to head back there on July 3.
I checked it out last week. I live about three hours away. I rolled in right around 10 a.m. on a Friday. I signed up for my player's card, bought in for $200 and got sat right away at a $1/$3 table. The table was still getting organized, so it was about another five minutes before they dealt the first hand.
General thoughts:
Room is clean and well lit. Tables are spaced well so you don't feel like the table behind you is right on top of you.
Dealers were good and friendly.
I don't think they allow food at the tables, although I did get to eat my KIND bar.
Drink servers come around often for complementary soft drinks and water. They also have some kind of house drink called "Poker Punch" but I didn't try it.
They were good about opening a new table every time they got a handful of players waiting.
They don't allow you to record your session on your phone.
They do not offer tournaments yet, although a regular said he had heard they would start next month (July). The dealer, however, overheard our conversation and was skeptical they would begin in July.
Promotions:
You must have a player's card to qualify for all promotions and cards don't transfer from other Rivers' properties.
Bad beat jackpot (quad 10s or better must lose, both cards play and it must go to showdown)
$500 royal flushes
When I was there, they ran a $100 hot seat promotion every 20 minutes where they would randomly draw someone's name. Every third hour, they bump the prize to $200. I actually won a $200 hot seat promotion, and two other people at my table also won $100 while I was there. You can win the prize more than once. A lady at my table had won it three times in one day the previous week.
Game play observations
The game was like just about every other $1/$3 table I've played. Even though the room was only open for a few months, more than half the table appeared to be familiar with each other and the dealers, so there are already a lot of regulars.
Play is soft. Lots of limping and players chasing gut shots and flushes. Not a whole lot of bluffing that I saw. A few calling stations, a few players that played almost every flop, and a few tight ones. Ages ranged from guys in their 20s to retirees, including a guy who is 97 years old.
In the beginning, there was hardly any limping. If a hand limped pre-flop to the button, either the button or one of the blinds would almost always raise it up. After a few hours, however, limping became much more prevalent. It wasn't odd for 5-6 players to limp to a flop.
The standard pre-flop raise was in the range of $6-$15. 3-bets were not common but did happen.
They do allow a button straddle for $6.
I wound up cashing out for $599, which included the $200 hot hand bonus, so I won $199 for the day in poker plus the $200 promotional win. I am already planning to head back there on July 3.
