http://www.ho-chunkgaming.com/madison/gaming.html

It's some sort of a bizarre electronic/live hybrid version of a poker room. Seems to me that they're trying to save on dealers. Has anyone ever heard of anything like this being done anywhere else? I was really excited at first to hear that there's finally going to be a poker room in Madison, but now I'm having some qualms about playing.

Anyone?

They tried this at the IP a few years ago, didn't fly. Also saw it being played at the 4winds casino(Mich) a few years back, didn't play but they had several tables running with just a room manager.

As sketchy as it may look, I will definitely be checking this out. I have been looking for 18+ poker in Madison for a long time now and if this has any decent amount of regular traffic and it runs ok I will probably become a regular. Thanks so much for posting this.

they are PokerTek tables

They're not bad.
They used them for a fairly short period at the Excalibur in Vegas.

I'm stuck some $ in PokerTek stock so please go to the casino and tell all your friends how great it is.

They do fine in markets with no competition from Live Poker.

They added a couple of the tables at Turning Stone a while back. They were alright especially because they ran sngs and the poker room didn't run any other form of sngs. They weren't too popular though and were gone a few months later.

There alright if you don't have another version of live poker. People tend to play pretty horrendous.

If there is no real cards and chips live poker around they do okay.

The machines tend to make people even bigger calling stations then live player calling stations already are. You have some of the advantages of online play because pot size is displayed, the pot is never pushed to the wrong hand, and angle shots are reduced (it is impossible to string raise LOL).

Play ABC and rack up some money on your card.

I called in for more information, they are getting 2-4 tables a night and can spread NLHE (1-2 up to 5-10), PLO, LHE, Omaha 8 (I am assuming limit but it might be pot limit) and seven card stud. He said, not surprisingly, that the 1-2 NL game is most popular and the guy didn't say this but I'm betting that non hold'em games are rare. The poker room is open from 10am-4am. I am going to be checking it out sometime this week, will report back.

Oh and rake is 10% up to a max of $5, pretty standard, plus no dealers so no tipping so thats a plus.

ive heard they also spread as low as .50/1 nlhe if people will play it? is this possible?

Just went in and played today, played for about 5 hours. They open at 10am but a game didnt get off until 1, but when I left at 6 it was going strong and a second table was there for a few hours. I guess traffic is much better at night and on weekends and the games have been lasting until 4 am according to one of the regs. The system works surprisingly well and goes very smooth, very easy to pick up. The system seems legit and I don't suspect anyone was trying to cheat or anything (except when my two pair got cracked by an overpair that rivered a set after getting all in on the flop, that hand was rigged )And yes they can spread .5/1 but 1/2 is more popular. Once traffic picks up I'm sure there will be more .5/1. Once they start advertising on TV I think the traffic will pick up, I've seen one ad already and they are expecting to be stepping up the marketing on it in the next few weeks. All in all I'd rather play with real chips and cards but its a great alternative for an area without other casino poker options. And because there is no dealer, there is no tokes and the game goes quicker since every hand you are on a 45 second clock automatically so the pace of play is faster. And thats about all I have to say off the top of my head, if you have questions you can ask I might know the answer, or better yet, check it out sometime.

really would love to play omaha on these machines because live omaha is torture, so slow and then all the debate about who gets what at the end of each hand that goes to showdown (which is like all of them).
Why would you have qualms about playing? In theory, it's better for you to play on pokertec as it's faster, rake is lower, don't have to tip dealer, no mistakes and no one playing out of turn, etc. Of course there are downsides - fewer tells, not as much fun as holding real cards and chips, could play "computer poker" at home, but still, these are good.

I would love to see omaha as well, something like .5/1 would be nice to start out for me since I have only played micros online. There was one guy on the omaha list tonight, and I definitely would have joined the game had there been enough interest, probably would have tried it out for a buy in even at the 1/2 level, but not much higher.

I think the qualms would be about the system and random card generators, etc. For example the casino could have employees playing pretending to be guests and program them to get better cards. I think this is semi-paranoid as the system seems on the up and up to me (not to mention the trouble the casino could get in if this is found out). And if you are consistently losing over a decent sample despite playing well (need to be honest to yourself here) then you can suspect cheating. However, other than an inside job, the electronic tables makes it less likely for your average shark to be able to cheat.

I've been there a couple nights now. I definitely don't claim to being a great player. I'm slightly profitable online, but never played live before and there's definitely a difference.

That being said, here's my observations which you can take with a grain of salt if you wish...

-The tables are nice. As an online player, I figured this would be the best way for me to transition to live play as that's what I'd like to do(especially with all the questions about online play in the US). The hands don't go quite as fast as FTP or PS, but they're faster than live poker with a dealer. There was nothing odder about the dealing than what you'd see on Full Tilt.

-Their already seems to be a group of regulars here. I went two different nights, and each night included five of the same players. A few of the guys were discussing their recent results at the recent Ho Chunk (Dells) tourneys, so they frequent Wisconsin casinos in general. One guy was actually a dealer from Poto. All-in-all, I think at this point the tables are primarily experienced local players who are excited about have an option for Poker close to home.

-Someone mentioned more calling stations with this game, I definitely feel that's the case. Most hands had at least three guys seeing the flop. The table typically had 1-2 guys who would see 75% of the flops if it wasn't raised above three times the blind. I saw someone call a 5 BB raise with a 74s(and of course they caught two pair on the flop to win the hand).

-The first night I was there, I got there about 5pm and there was only one table going of 1-2 NL. By 7pm, there were two tables of 1-2 NL... and that was it until 9pm when I left. The other night had one table of 1-2 NL, and another of 2-4 NL when I was there about 6pm. It starts to pick up about 6-7pm, no idea how long it stays though. There's 8ish tables there altogether, with TVs all over the wall. Typically there's two people working in the room. They'll bring you drinks if you ask.

My inexperienced opinion says that the venue itself is a fun experience. I like the iPoker aspect as it speeds up play and adds some internet aspects like automatically calculating the pot size, telling you how many times you see the flop, showdown, etc. The play seems a bit loose, but each table seems to have enough experienced players that it maybe hard to exploit at this point. I think as time goes on, the game will become easier. I think mainly just poker regulars realize the room is open.

Personally though, I'm going to try to avoid it for awhile. As fun as it is, I'd rather continue brushing up on my game and studying and waiting for the rooms to even out a bit. I feel like I am better off improving my game at lower stakes online than trying to do it live where the mistakes cost you that much more.


Oh, and there's no alcohol here. I was so sick of hearing people talk/complain about the need of beer in this room. I like to drink like any other Wisconsinite, but it's an 18+ casino and I highly doubt they'll ever change that with the 18-20 crowd they bring in, so I highly doubt you'll ever see a bar here.

Anyone interested in playing some PLO on these tables?

Also 10% up to $5 sounds pretty heft for electronic tables where more hands are occuring.

Does anyone know if they will spread low limit 2/4L, 3/6L or is it just trying to get NL games going? Do they have a wait list hat you can call (number please if you have it) and how long prior to arriving can you call? Thanks

Yes they will throw low stakes limit, there was a 3/6 game going for a while yesterday, but I left at 6 so I'm sure they get more later in the night.

There are wait lists but according to the rules you must be present to get on a wait list. Not sure how strictly this is enforced since I haven't tried calling in but you could give it a shot.

I played here over the weekend, and actually quite liked the room. The only negative was game selection: there isn't any yet. Apart from a 1-2 PLO game that ran for a few hours on Saturday night, there was just 1-2 NL and 2/4 LHE, which seems characteristic of a poker room that opened less than a month ago and is only now starting to advertise. But the place has got potential. This was my first experience with electronic tables, and it made me wish they were a lot more prevalent. In my first two hours of 1-2 NL play I saw 85 hands, compared to the 50-60 I'd see with a live dealer, plus you save at least $1 per hand in tokes, you never have to stop and count the pot or ask another player how much they're playing with only to have them stare stonily back at you, etc. Ordinarily I find casino 1-2 NL pretty much agonizing, and DeJope was the first place in awhile where this wasn't the case.

no. this facility's gaming license only allows electronic gaming.
notice how there is no pit, etc.

the poker is actually a gray area, and i expect it to be challenged soon.
the only other gaming allowed there is bingo and bingo related machines.
but if it holds, should be nice to clean up on noobs for awhile.

Do you guys see this place taking players away from the nasty rake ($8) at the POT for 1/2NL? Or will the POT change their stupid ridiculous ways?

It was such a bummer when the referendum failed a few years back. I cant wait to not have to drive an hour to play some form of regulated live poker for once. Decent!

There is a set of these at this weird all-electronic casino I visited last year before the Big Ten tourney in (I'm pretty sure) Muncie, Indiana. Virtual blackjack, craps, you name it. Even though it seems to attract almost as many fish as an ordinary live table, and perhaps introduce them to aspects of online play... I'm still not at all a fan of these tables. I'd rather play with real cards for better atmosphere, or online for more tables at a time.

Pretty decent setup imo.

If you've play at least 1 hand online you'll be able to figure out the electronic table interface.

Played for a couple hrs lastnight and didn't see any real difference compared to HC or POTO as far as level of play - lots of limp/calling pf. If you can play a remotely solid game this place should be a goldmine.