I'm traveling to KC for work and want to play some poker while I'm there. I'll be there on a Tuesday night. I've searched for this in this forum and based on a thread from September '08 it sounds like Harrah's has the best options all around. Is this still true?

Will I be able to get a limit game (3/6, 4/8, anything like that) on a Tuesday night? Any other thoughts or advice on poker rooms in KC is much appreciated!

Thanks!

I would only recommend Harrah's and Ameristar. At Harrah's, you will have no problem finding a 3/6 LHE game any day/night of the week. They also spread 1/2 NLHE and 2/5 NLHE. I've never played LHE at Ameristar, but I think you can also find a 3/6 game there. They also spread a higher limit HO game as well as a 1/2 NLHE game with a $5 bring-in.

From a report I wrote elsewhere:
AMERISTAR:
Poker Room:
Likes:
Majority of dealers are great and friendly (Dan, Tracy, Batman, Larry, Judy, Nora, Harry, et al)
Prompt cocktail service (best over Argosy/Harrahs)
Kill pots on the limit games
Can listen to MP3 or iPod while playing
Decent 'class' of players
Can order food from servers and have it delivered to you at your seat.

Dislikes:
Walking through whole casino to get to Poker Room (Harrahs wins out on this convenience)
Name is not paged over intercom through casino and no 'buzzers' if you want to wait somewhere besides the poker room, such as restaurant or slots
No advertisement for games over intercom/loud speaker to entice players to play, especially visitors/newbies
Fewer players all the time, so fewer tables, so wait is about the same as Harrahs on a weekend night
Some tournaments have add ons and rebuys

Argosy:
Poker Room:
Likes:
Seems to spread games other casinos don't (Omaha, 4/8 limit)
A few good dealers
Bright lighting
Dedicated/nearby restroom for poker room
Name announced through casino when your seat is available.
iPod/MP3 usage allowed
Kill pots on limit games

Dislikes:
Cocktail service hit/miss depending on who is working
A lower 'class' of players than encountered at the other two poker rooms-some dealers do not control tables for abuse/harassment (sexual, verbal,etiquette, etc)
3/6 game is not always running, but they WILL start a list of interest, which usually pulls players
Smoke is bad near side rails, smallish poker room
Men using the women's restroom

Harrahs:

Likes:
Very friendly dealers
Attracts a lot of newbies from Harrah's exposure on WSOP/TV
Park on the upper level of the garage, and it's just a few steps inside the door to the poker room
Always a game going on that you'll like/enjoy
Mostly friendly players

Dislikes:
Smoky
No iPod/MP3 usage, can't hear music
Dark
Packed on weekends, can be a longer wait
No paging for players on the list over the intercom
Cocktail service can be hit and miss
No kill pot



Winners:
***Availability of games: Harrah's
***Best rules (kill pot): Ameristar (Argosy has, but is second)
***Class of players: Ameristar, near 2nd is Harrah's
***Location of room: Harrah's
***Cocktail service: Overall-Ameristar (Brenda/Shelly)
***Best dealers: Ameristar
***Smoke ventilation: Ameristar

Thank you! All I care about for my one night visit is game selection so Harrah's it is. Very helpful. Thanks!

Heading to KC today and hopefully posting a mini TR for Harrah's. Will include strategies for lighting money on fire for those interested in detailed analysis of that.

Will my Rewards card from Horseshoe Hammond be good there as well?

I never used my Harvey's card at my Harrah's, but I believe it has the same number.

Not sure if I'm playing tonight or not. I'll be the only (or one of the only) upper 30s woman at the 3/6 table if not the tournament.

PS: Park on the upper deck of the parking garage, go in the main entrance, turn right for the poker room in just a few steps.

The upper deck is the best place to park. I've been to Harrah's a dozen times and have never parked more than 100 feet away from the door closed to the poker room.

Harrah's is the way to go, IMO. Easy parking. Will have multiple tables of LHE 3-6. There should also be a NLHE tourney there tonight, starting at 7 pm. $60 buy-in, I believe?

Is the Ameristar poker room still kinda dead?

It's hit and miss when I've been. Some Fri/Sat nights aren't too bad. None as dead as Argosy when I've been there though.

I wonder if paystation is going to post his trip report. I'm curious.

The Ameristar will run a 1-2-5 NLHE game if you get an interest list going. It's pretty much a 1/2 game and $5 to come in. They seem to offer pretty much any game that people want.

My friend said that he was at a 1/2 table at Harrah's where a few of them wanted to start a 1-2-5 game but Harrah's wouldn't spread it. One of them called Ameristar, and 8 players drove to Ameristar to play 1-2-5. Harrah's banned the guy that called Ameristar.

That is pretty odd. Why couldn't they just all button straddle? That's 1-2-4. Too different a game?

It is likely that the Argosy poker room will be closed within 3 months.

Was at Harrah's the last two nights. Played 1/2. Action was good. Both 1/2 and 2/5 were going until close. 3/6 limit quit early I think.

Is it that bad?

Really? I like their poker room, but they cannot get anything going customer-wise for the life of them. Is this a rumor or your thought?

Ya, Argosy has been going down hill for years. Its a shame to cause their buffet is the best imo

Havent played live in some time. Did Harrahs ever complete that expansion they were talking about at the end of last year? I think they were supposed to add like 3-4 tables and a dedicated cashier.

Also since the $500 loss limit is now gone, does 5/10 NL ever run? Did the 1/2 & 2/5 games get any better?

The TR should be coming soon. Need to catch up on work before I can spend some time on it.

Cliff notes in advance: two short sessions at 3/6, sick heater, one card from a "mini (?) bad beat jackpot", very solid dealers, SODA MACHINE, too smokey for me, nice poker room, random gentleman relieves himself in parking garage..., WILL go back when in KC again

Expansion such as it is, is complete. I didn't play there much before the expansion, so it's all the same to me. Sometimes you still have to go to the cage to get chips, and you have to register for the tournaments at the cage. I prefer registration at the room like at Ameristar.

Paystation: looking forward to that TR! Soda machine????? I do think I mentioned that it was smokey.

Is the 2/5 game a better game than the 1/2 at Harrah's? Never played the 2/5 but every once in a while a guy waiting for a 2/5 spot to open up will play in my 1/2 game and their all horrible.

The worst part about going there to me is the smoke. They have a little sign that says "No smoking beyond this point" right at the entrance to the room. There's nothing to separate most of the tables from the smoke, really. If you play at one of the tables near the entrance, you're going to smell like smoke. And if you sit in the back corner, you're still going to smell like smoke just from walking the short distance through the casino to the poker room. The no smoking sign is right next to a slot machine and there are literally burn marks all over the carpet UNDER THE SIGN.

Being around smokers = lifetilt. Some of the old people there just sit at the slot machines and hit that button like it's their job in retirement. And they're lighting up one cigarette off the last bit of their current one. It turns my stomach to see that and to look at the taxes coming out of my paycheck to finance that.

I want to add that Harrah's is now spreading $2/$5 PLO, which I believe is the first room in KC to spread PLO. Harrah's also has a 20/40 LHE game.

it is a rumor, but one told to me by managers at both Argosy and Harrahs.

Sorry for the delay in this TR. Been very busy since returning from KC but I've had some requests for the TR so I'll take a stab at it. It's been a while so not great accuracy on hands but a pretty good idea of how the game went. Never posted a TR before so I hope this isn't too boring.

I flew into KC late afternoon on a weekday. Short flight but apparently i get motion sickness when I fly these days. Never had that in the past...must be the swine flu ! I almost stop at Harrah's on the way but stay on course to my hotel. Decent hotel room. Whatever, I'm not spending much time in there anyway.

I get outta there, get in my car and stop for a little fast food on the way to Harrah's. After only one wrong turn, I get to Harrah's and park right outside the poker room on the top level of the garage. Very convenient! I step inside to the ATM and get hit hard with the $4 fee. Ouch! I am too late for the $50 tournament which is probably in my best interest since my NL game is worthless and allinaments are not my favorite.

There is only 1 table of 3-6 going so I get on the list for that and for 1/2 NL just in case i have to wait a while. I loose 40 cents on a slot machine while I wait but I'm still bored. After about 15 minutes I get my 3/6 seat and sit down with $180. It looks like most people just play with white $1 chips in this game. I have always played with at least some reds at 3/6 but that was back in AC where I used to play regularly.

Anyway, the game is going well. Most players are friendly and the dealers are very good and consistent. The table is mostly loose passive with one tight passive older guy. I decide I believe in the power of positive thinking and mentally prepare myself to run really good.

Actual Poker Content
I fold for a bit and then pick up AJ in MP. I raise it up pf because it seemed like most players didn't know you could do that. Flop is J high, I raise a donker, bet the turn, river is an A, I bet the river and scoop a nice pot. Good start. Pick up AJ again, flop an A, bet every street and get called down by a weaker A. Later I pick up 88 and flop a set betting all the way to showdown. Winner winner! UP about $100 at this point

Later on a player to my right decides to start getting really aggro for a bit, raising many hands in a row pf. I finally pick up AQs and 3 bet him from UTG+1 and a few people call. Flop is Axx and aggro guy donks the flop so I raise. A caller or two and aggro guy guy folds. Turn is another A, I bet, 1 caller. River completes a flush (not for me), loose guys checks to me, I take him to valuetown, he calls, I flip, he mucks, I tip dealer. One guys comments that he can't believe I bet on the flush card river. I already know he is scared of every over-, flush-, and straight-card but I still thank him for the free information.

Later I pick up 44 in MP and this point I just expect to flop a set. Of course, I flop a set and bet, get a few callers. Turn is a K, EP bets, I raise, he calls, river 4 (my first quads of the night), guy bets 5 all in, so i am very disappointed at this waste of quads. I call and he has AK. I show quads, he looks sad and leaves the table.

At some point I realize there is a free soda machine near the poker room. This is excellent.

Later I raise pf with AQo and get a bunch of callers. Checks to me and I bet. I get a couple callers. Turn is another A and BB donks so I raise and he calls (we're heads up). River is the fourth A and everyone says wow so I laugh and shake my head. BB bets and I pause and raise he calls so I show my quads again and he has KK. The dealer says if I had QQ or JJ I would get a "Mini Bad Beat Jackpot"......WAT!

So I am confused because a boat over boat situation (w/aces full or better) qualifies for a mini jackpot, but quads beating aces full doesn't?! The dealer explains that my Q doesn't play and I say that my Q definitely plays because I have 4 aces with a Q kicker. A floor lady comes over and looks at the board and says "No this isn't a bad beat the Q does not play." So I look at her in disbelief and I'm all like "Yo floor lady, HU4ROLLZ!?" Okay I didn't say that. But I did ask if I have a 4 card hand or a 5 card hand. She obviously couldn't answer this question without it sounding ridiculous because the rules are ridiculous. She finally explains you have to start with JJ or better and I say fine because that kinda makes sense. So I drop it. It wasn't a big argument or anything, I just wanted to make sure the table got it's share of a jackpot if it deserved one. The floor was very nice and handled it well. I tried.

I pick up a few more small pots, look down at my ~300 white chips (+80 in red) and decide it's time for bed. So then I rack up 3 racks of white chips which seems pretty silly but I can't complain. I end the night +$196. On the way out some guy is relieving himself between two cars in the parking lot and shouts at me, "you're lucky you don't work here!" and starts cracking up. What's my play here?...

Cliff Notes
[x] soda machine is much faster and $1 cheaper than waitresses
[x] quads twice in one night
[ ] quads over aces full wins mini bad beat jackpot
[x] friendly staff
[x] room is kinda smoky
[x] +32 big bets

Played for a couple hours the next day and won some more. Maybe I'll post about that later.