Saw the official threads for Showboat and Foxwoods, and I thought it was time that AC's biggest (and best, IMO) poker room had a thread of its own. I know that there are more than a few of Borgata regs out there lurking these forums. Just wanted to start a central thread to discuss the place, its policies, the people, anecdotes, questions, etc.


*** FAQ for Borgata, created by sirpupnyc ***

Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa
1 Borgata Way, Atlantic City, NJ

www.theborgata.com
www.borgatapokerblog.com

Property map: http://www.theborgata.com/assets/web...map/index.html

Live game and waiting list data is available on the Bravo Poker Live app and website

"TAB" / Tab Duchateau is Borgata's Poker Tournament Director (more often seen in the MTTc forum). ("Ruler of the East" / Stan Strickland, Borgata's Director of Poker Operations, left April 7, 2013.)


GETTING THERE

For the nearest parking, use Surface Parking: keep right as you come off the highway. The Poker Room is inside to the left.

There's no direct bus service.

The #2 Jitney drops off near the Surface Parking entrance. Jitney fare is $2.25; exact change appreciated but not required.

Cab fare within AC is $13 max.

All Atlantic City casinos are 21+. State regulations require all employees to check ID whenever they're in doubt. The Security desk can provide a wristband or hand stamp to cut down on carding.


COMPS

Get a My Borgata Rewards card at the front desk just inside the poker room. Give the dealer your card when you sit down to clock in. You stay clocked in until you leave (they don’t use the “lobby” function when you go away from the table, except at 20/40LHE) and you’re clocked out automatically when you give up the seat.

• 2/4LHE earns $1/hour
• 3/6 and 4/8LHE and 1/2NL earn $1.50/hour
• 10/20LHE, 10/20O8 and 2/5 and 5/10NL earn $2/hour
• 20/40LHE and up and 10/25NL and up earn $3/hour

There's no poker rate for hotel rooms. Log a modest amount of play and discounted rates will be available. Generally it's play first & get offers for next time. There's no fixed "do xyz and get a free room," the comp system takes a variety of factors into account, but Sunday–Thursday and Sunday–Friday comp room offers aren't too difficult to reach.

Comp dollars can be used throughout the property. Restaurants on the main floor take comps 1:1. Shops (and shoppes) and the Cafeteria are 2:1, 2 comp dollars for each actual dollar spent.

ABOUT THE ROOM

Borgata's Poker Room has 77 tables. For special tournaments and tournament series, additional temporary tables in the Signature Room (opposite the Racebook next to the Surface Parking entrance) or Event Center (up the escalators at the other end of the casino, by Metropolitan) are used. The permanent tables in the room have auto-shufflers; the temporary tables don't.

The front desk will put your name on the waiting lists for games, or send you on to the appropriate area if there's no list.

The poker room is non-smoking (including electronic cigarettes). The nearest smoking areas are the racebook (out of the poker room and to the right), the corner of the pit in front of Wolfgang Puck and murmur (out of the poker room and to the left), and the slot areas between Wolfgang Puck and the Water Club.

1/2NL starts in the front of the room (tables 1–6 on the left and 8–13 on the right). 2/4LHE is usually in the first section beyond the cross-aisle (those are tables 15–19). 2/5NL starts on 20–25 to the left just beyond the cross-aisle. All three games spread through the rear section of the room as needed. Tables 26–38 are the section in front of the bathrooms, 39–58 are across the back. The daily tournament tables are usually in the area between the bathrooms and the aisle to the high-limit room. Tables 66 & 67 are in the ultra-high-limit room in the back right corner; 68–85 are in the high-limit room all the way across the back. 10/20LHE and up and 5/10NL and up are generally located in the high-limit room.

Initial buy-ins must be made at the cashier; subsequent top-ups/rebuys may be made at the table. The cashier will sell only full (20-chip) stacks of sub-black ($100) chips. The high-limit room has a chip cart, only for cash, no color-ups or cashouts.

• There's free wi-fi in the poker room.
• Drinks are free in the casino; tipping the waitress is customary.
• There's no eating in the poker room, except in the high-limit room.
• Phones/music players/tablets are OK at cash tables as long as you're not in a hand (and can still hear and pay attention to the game). They're not OK at tournament tables at all.
• Poker dealers keep their own tips.
• The main room uses Gemaco cards. The high-limit room and PLO games in the main room use KEM cards.
• You can leave the table for a bit over an hour: each incoming dealer should put an ABSENT button at each vacant stack, and you can be picked up after you have two. Time is still taken in time games. You can also pick up and go on the dinner list: you can be gone for 90 minutes (two hours weekends) and get the first available seat when you come back.

• No flop, no drop.
• Last aggressive actor shows first, even if the river is checked down
• Highest hole card gets the extra chip in uneven chop
• Cash doesn't play in NL
• Betting line: slide chips across it on the felt, they're in the pot; chips in hand = betting, but the amount is what's released/cut onto the felt
• Straddle: UTG only, 2BB only. It's live.
• Run it twice (turn & river only, all-in on single flop): 5/10NL+ (up to 4x) and 2/5PLO+ (2x 9-handed, 3x 8-handed, 4x 7-handed)

Borgata's chips are Bud Jones V7s. No, they're not magnetic. There is a brass slug in them, but they're not magnetic. The smooth, flat surfaces and recessed centers produce a suction-like effect. Really, they're not magnetic.

GAMES

No-Limit Hold'em

1/2, 2/5 & 5/10 are consistent. 10/25 frequent, 25/50 weekends.

Pot-Limit Omaha

1/2 & 2/5 run often; best chance weekends or during tournament series. 5/10 mostly during series.

Limit Hold'em

2/4, 10/20, 20/40 run consistently
40/80 runs often; higher on weekends and during tournament series.
3/6 and 4/8 run sometimes, but the gap between 2/4 and 10/20 is stubborn.

Limit Omaha Hi/Lo

10/20 is consistent, other limits rare

7-Card Stud

20/40 is consistent. 75/150 weekends. Lower rare but welcome.

Mixed Games

40/80 is consistent, higher games run often. Lower rare but welcome.

mixes can include (H) Limit Hold'em • (O) Omaha Hi/Low • (R) RAZZ • (S) Stud high • (E) Stud Hi/Low 8 or Better • (Q) Stud Hi/low No Qualifier • (P) PLO • (N) No Limit • (T) Triple Draw • (T2) 2-7 Triple Draw • (B) Badugi • Pineapple • Crazy Pineapple • (BD2) Badeucy • (BDA) Badacey • (R2) 2-7 Razz • (RD2) Razzdeucey • (RDA) Razzdacey

BUY-INS

No-Limit Hold'em

1/2 60min, 300max
2/5 100min, 500max (no, this isn't going to change)
5/10 500min, 2000max
10/20 1000min, 5000max
10/25 2500min, no max
25/50 5000min, no max

Pot-Limit Omaha

1/2 100min, 500max
2/5 200min, 1000max
5/10 500min, 2500max

Limit games are 5BBmin, no max

RAKE/TIME

1/2NL, 2/4 to 5/10LHE are raked 10% up to $4

10/20O8 5% to $4

Other games are time per half-hour:

2/5NL & 10/20LHE $5
5/10NL $6
20/40LHE $7
40/80LHE $8
80/160LHE $10

BAD BEAT JACKPOT

• $1 from qualifying pots: minimum 4 players dealt in, $20 in pot at 1/2, $50 in pot at 2/5 NL, LHE under 10/20; minimum 7 players dealt in, $100 in pot at 5/10NL and 10/20LHE
• 40% to the losing hand, 20% to the winning hand, 40% to remainder of table
• Four 2s – four 9s beaten hits 1/4 of the jackpot up to $50K; Four 10s or better beaten hits the full jackpot
• Both hole cards must play, quads need a pocket pair.

TOURNAMENTS

January: Winter Poker Open
April: Spring Poker Open
June: Summer Poker Open
September: Borgata Poker Open
November: Fall Poker Open

Non-Open months feature special tournament events ($100k guaranteed Saturday, two-day deep-stack, PLO weekend, etc.)

Regular daily schedule:

http://www.theborgata.com/play/borga...daily-schedule

Tournament registration is at the Poker Room Cashier, left-hand window, lining up toward the elevator. You'll need a My Borgata Rewards card to enter.

Tournament play doesn’t earn comps, and tournaments aren’t BBJ eligible.

All I know is that I always run like dogsh*t at Borgata.

That's all.

GREAT IDEA...

Looking forward to keeping up with the BBJ and tourny info here.

tag

Borgata: Where nits and regulars are at every table and the fish are intimidated and scared away at the door.

Last session at Borgata (Wednesday night,) I played some 2/5NL on my way out the door. I was coming down off 7 hours of 5/10NL, and wanted to have a beer and relax with the BBJ chasers before I went home.

My very first hand, I was dealt AA and popped it to $35 after 3 limpers. Got called in two places. Flop was QJ9. I made it $135 to go. First caller shoved all in for $40 more, and me and the other caller called. Turn was 6. Caller checked, and I checked fearing that one of them had surely just completed a flush draw. River was 2, and we checked it down.

Showdown:
All In reraiser won the pot with AK. He had shipped it in with no pair, a gutshot, and backdoor flush draw that got there. The other guy had 1010 (killing two of the other player's outs, btw) and confided that he was content to play for stacks with an OE straight draw, even after the turn card put the flush out there.

There were similar plays to that all night long, where people were literally trying to give their money away. Of course, variance can bite you, but the 1/2NL and 2/5NL games there are free money, IMO.

Yeah there's some of that, to be expected though from the premier room in AC. There's also a a ton of well-heeled 1/2nl-5/10nl folks who play a few times a year looking to have some fun.

About time someone put up a Borg thread. Good job.

Will be up in 2 weeks, probably March 6 and 7. Will play one of the WSOP circuit events at Caesars one day and cash games at the Borg the other.

Played there yesterday. Ran into AA 3 times in 5 hours (all getting my shortstack AIPF)

Once I had 77 (lost)
Once I had AK (lost)
Once I had K7soooooted (made a flush, ldo)

Love the room and love the action. I'm a fish and the room doesn't scare me away. As for the nits/regs... maybe since I only play 1/2 and occasional 2/5 (though I have played 5/10NL and 10/20 hold'em) I don't notice it as much.

Tony Luke's dominates as well. As good as Fat Burger is, I never get a chance to enjoy it when those delicious cheese steaks call to me.

One of the best places to play poker for sure.

I just wish there would be more PLO players.

You may have plenty of regulars there, but thats b/c the regs know that's where the most fish are. If you play 2/5, and are at a bad table, where else in AC are you going to have 10+ tables (on the weekends) to choose from that you can move to. I was there this past week on a wednesday night and there were 5-6 tables going.

Would be nice if the PLO game ran more often. It ran yesterday, and seems once it is called and even if it starts short-handed, it picks up. Maybe this thread will help generate some interest.

Overall, good idea on the Borg thread. It's obviously the AC room with the most players, so this should be a good central place to go for what's happening there.

One idea would be for PLO players to use this thread to coordinate.

It is true that the Borgata seems to have the most fish. Usually young hipster guys or older guys just hanging out. I keep telling myself I should only play there, cause the Taj has a decidedly harder game

I'm thinking about an afternoon/evening trip down tomorrow for the 4p $100+20 tourney. Anyone have any info. on this particular one. How many people, etc.?

bust time to play at the borgata is monday nights when all the kids with the comped rooms come from murmur, drunk and have money to blow..IMO

Did someone hit the BBJ yet? Last I heard a few weeks ago it was approx. $250k.


I was there for the Winter Open in Jan. and it was $165k. I had 2 outs to win the BBJ.

57dd v 88

Flop 8d 6d 9x all the money goes in the flop. turn 8 river brick. So I got 1 outed and didn't win the BBJ ouch.