Survival Tournies are sooo soft imo

This.

Agreed but we dont play for the badbeat amirite? Rack of yellow is not too shabby as a room share. I do remember playing for a BBJ in my youthful years when Mille Lacs first opened and playing every Fri-Sun up there when the BBJ was over 100k.

is the 30 game still running as LHE/O8 mix?

Ummm, yeah but you are still contributing $1 out of every pot in addition to the rake.

There is a 30 game almost every night and 2 on weekends with one usually being a mixed game.

What's the rake structure for the limit tables?

How does it compare to Running Aces?

Yeah, you are BBJ eligible in these.

-HF

This. Jackpot went off in Survivor last night. CP was packed today for the Kentucky Derby. I played in a fun game with a lot of "gamble gamble" going on.

OK, GopherBoys, help a brother out...

...the website says they're hiring dealers, but only on a "seasonal" basis. I see the live racing meet starts in a couple of weeks, so I presume the "season" is the live meet, through Labor Day.

But this thread indicates that the place is packed right now.

I've got my app in, but before I commit to moving to the Great White North, tell me what you think the next 6-12 months looks like.

Also, the live racing schedule shows dark on Mon-Tue-Wed, as if the poker room needed something to impact how slow those days would normally be. Or maybe you guys will tell me that this isn't a racetrack with poker, but rather a poker room with racing.

(Yeah, I'll take a summer job, but I'd prefer a permanent one. I probably should have ditched the Sox cap in the avatar before showing my face here, you guys are still pretty sore about us getting poaching Moss, Garnett, and Ortiz from you...)

EDIT TO ADD: And while I'm being nosy...this is the first I've heard of the Survivor tourneys (you can bet I'll be telling my New Hampshire friends, hamstrung by similar silly laws, about this one). Do you tip the dealers with tourney chips? Insane.

For the Survivor tournaments, they put the tip box on the table at the end and you tip as you feel appropriate after you're paid out.

I was out there last night and played in one. There was a guy at my table who did try to tip the dealer with tourney chips. The table had a chuckle about that. (He also tried to straddle as well at one point).

On the subject of tipping after one of these, I'll put it out there - what is an appropriate tip based on? In a normal NL cash game, even if it's a losing session at the end of the night I would have tipped the dealer after the pots I won. It seems like I could do something similar here - keep track of the pots I won and tip based on that at the end of the tournament. However, it feels somewhat unnatural to me, if I happen to be stuck loser after one of these tournaments, to still tip. Plus, the dealers aren't generally getting tipped from those players who busted out and didn't rebuy.

To answer your question, imo this is a card room that happens to have a racetrack and not the other way around.

AFAIK:

Canterbury: all limit tables cap at 5 + 1 (with the exception of 15/30,30/60 which are 4+1 i believe)

blue chip games (2/4, 3/6, 4/8) are 10%, yellow chip (6/12, 8/16) are 5%, O/8 games are 10% regardless.

the 1$ JP drop is taken at a pot size of 15$

--

RA: 6/12 and 8/16 are 5% with 4 + 2 cap.
Other fixed limit is ?
Spread limits are 10%? with 5 + 2.

So I just got back in town from school and went to Canterbury for first time in 3 months...my thoughts on the room are these...

1. The chairs now suck. The levers don’t hold on most chairs and it’s hard to find one that can tighten, you know what I’m talking about if you play there.

2. The 30 game has gotten 10x harder with the new/old faces that are now coming around. Lots of action still just a lot more solid lineup. Again, you know who these guys are if you play or watch the game.

3. The tournaments on Sat and Wed have good potential. The rake is high (200+30+5, and 150+25+5) but the turnouts seem to have been going up each week now by looking at the results online. I think they are pretty stubborn about change but if enough people play these and make requests things could change. I think a few levels could be added in each tourney for more play and lower the rake. Payouts are 20% which some like and some don’t. Also, the Fall Classic needs help. The late rounds are shove fests and I think everyone that plays these would agree they need to add a few more levels or chips at least.

4. The $45 tournament is a joke but even those could be a little better with a few more levels and a few more chips, I know they just run them to make a quick buck but make them a little better structure to attract more players looking to play MTTs. Also, high rake (30+10+5). Does the 5 actually go to dealers or what?

5. I see there is a $550 tourney coming up; they should have more of these I think they will grow along with the other tourneys. Maybe a weekly 500? Might be slow to start but they could run satties. Also they need another 1000. People travel in for these and I think it would be a good summer tourney? Or, maybe have a 500 on Sat then a 1000 on Sun once a month?

6. People want to play here over running aces. Aces have nothing on Canterbury except the $5 an hour for ring games and chairs. Games are bad, dealers are bad, and staff is bad, even the chips are bad. People need to make requests at Canterbury for small changes to further distance them from aces.

7. I’ve only played a few survivors as I play limit cash and MTTs but they are pretty good games. We can start them shorthanded, I think, with buy-in up to 2500. Correct me if this has changed. You can also negotiate times and structure to some extent?

Anyways these are what my thoughts on the current situation at Canterbury are. Please add to my list of good and bad things that happen or you would like to see happen. Also correct me if I’m wrong on anything. I think we could get a lot of action in the card room this summer and into the classic which needs help badly IMO.

My guess is that seasonal means the summer/fall for the Canterbury Classic tourneys.

They end up keeping a lot of the tourney dealers who do well

Very well said. I've played a lot at Aces this year (mainly because of the $5/hr and some of the other promotions they've ran), but have been back at Canterbury lately, and am just amazed that I had forgotten how much better it is than RA for the reasons that you mention.

I don't get what you mean by "tell me what the next 6-12 months looks like". No one can really predict traffic and subsequent hiring for you. If you want me to ask specific questions of the floors / dealers lmk as I know some folks there who will give the straight scoop. Not really sure what you want to know though.

Oh and fyi early november to late april no temp above 60. But CP is a great room

Sure they can, if they've seen what's happened in prior years, that should give them some idea. I'm just asking, is the place boarded up in the winter? Do they lay-off half the staff when the racing meet is over? I've never set foot in Minnesota, how would I know, so I've got to ask you guys.

One guy ITT says they keep the best of the seasonal hires fulltime. This is exactly the sort of info that I seek, that you suggest that nobody could give me.



You're not gonna believe this, but after 7 years in Vegas, followed by 10 years in Mississippi, I'm actually sick of HOT climates. Spent the last two winters in New England, and actually enjoyed them. This, coming from the guy who joined the army at a young age, mostly to escaped the hated winters. Grass greener etc. People look at me like I'm nuts when I tell them I'm excited about the prospects of living in Minneapolis or Seattle, and hope to God I don't have to move to LA or Vegas.

CP is not that much less busy in the non-racing season.

If you're sick of hot weather, boy do we have a climate for you!

Actually, summers here are pretty hot because it's so humid.

It seems like a large percentage of dealers have been there for awhile. From my experience here awhile means since 2007 when I started playing there, some have been there up to 10 years. IMO about 75% are doing pretty good and keep the games moving, but there is some that are past their dealing prime and some who should be replaced. I think a few night dealers need to be moved to day/evening. They are very stubborn about change, and since some dealers have been there for a long time they still get the prime hours. Some night dealers obviously might prefer the overnight but again this is just my opinion of what I notice.

There is always room for improvement just like any business, if you are a solid dealer with a friendly attitude that keeps **** moving no matter how ******ed some players are (there will be a lot of these here) I think you will get a good shot at getting a job. I'm pretty sure you have to start in casino games which seems to have a lot of action and good jackpots but you cant really take my word for this as I am not a frequent participant. I'm also not sure how long it takes to become a poker dealer as it seems like a lot of the casino dealers have been there forever, but again I have no idea if this is because they dont aspire to deal poker.

So yeah If you want to deal cards in MN Canterbury is the place you want to be. Just take note that its kind of still a small place in a small town run by the same people since it opened. Don't get me wrong, the staff is good and very friendly and you will be treated with respect, but don't let the new room fool you. The way its run is for the most part the same and "change" is not a word used commonly here. Anyways, I'm not trying to keep you away at all, you will be treated well if you get a job, and the place has by far the most action around. Its hard to have a good game without a good dealer. I hope they see you can improve the games and give you the job.

I'll second the person that said CP >> RA apart from the $5/hr comps (not sure I agree about the chairs bit).

Does anyone know if the Racino bill would allow CP and RA to spread NL cash games? A friend assured me that it would, but I haven't found anything online to confirm.

I'm not sure what "stuff" is talking about but they get rid of bad dealers all the time. And you don't have to start in casino games. The Canterbury dealers in general are very good.

Thank you for correcting me, like I said I have been away for the last three months. I usually play days and evenings and it seems like they have had the same dealers for quite some time. I guess they must be there because they are good, like you said and others dont last long. I'm glad to hear they are staying on top of their **** because its by far the best cardroom around.

Agree that it's the best cardroom I've been to.