The danger at the Oaks is grossly overestimated. It's like downtown Vegas - definitely not the Strip but not some back alley cardroom.

Never the less, you wouldn't want to go to the Oaks or AJs. They're not destination resorts. Cal Grand isn't really either. Bay101 and M8trix are, as is Graton.

San Jose isn't super picturesque but by far has the best poker. Cal Grand has decent poker and is surrounded by nicer places. Consider Mount Diablo (doubly so if you're a geology nerd) and Lafayette Park Resevoir. San Pablo Dam Resevoir also has some nice trails (and note some of the trailheads are in Tilden Park in Berkeley rather than in Orinda).

If your schedule is free you should plan a trip to Graton. Poker is whatever but the strip of Route 1 from Stinson Beach up to Point Reyes is heaven. There are also a bunch of state parks with redwoods worth visiting.

Also consider stopping by Monterrey/Carmel Valley and Santa Cruz on the way up. It's a little out of the way but it's the central coast at its finest. The only downside is that you may want to save some of it to visit with a significant other in the future.

IIRC you're from southern Florida. Be warned the water here comes down on the Alaskan current so it's not at all like the Gulf Stream bathwater that you're used to.

I'm actually a Canadian grinder that's been grinding Vegas poker every winter for the last 5 years. But this year, due to running bad and playing bad here, and overall finding the games worse than ever (seriously, Vegas is nit-central, I'm always being honest when I tell people I winter in Vegas more for the weather than for the poker), I've decided to take a break from it.

Yeah, I was more interested in Cal Grand for the area it's in than anything else.

Thanks for the tips. I once did the coastal highway from Southern Washington down to San Francisco with s/o. I'm actually thinking now about doing the stretch on this trip from Ventura up to Graton. Camping, poker, hiking, and chilling, etc. along the way. And then if I'm still feeling no rush I might just continue up the coast.

Thanks for the tips on trails and such!

FYI to the earlier poster, it is very rare for AJs to get a no-limit game going most nights, and it will generally be 1-1-2 if it does get going. Virtually all of the NL action will be at LC.

Graton is a nice room, a little on the dark side for my blind-as-a-bat ass, but otherwise fine. Chip delivery is always sketchy (most people are best served getting them themselves) and unlike the other rooms in the Bay Area, they are on Bravo.

Oops AJs is 1-2-2, 5 to go (when it goes)

Is LC's small game also 1/2 NL with 4 to limp?

I believe it's 1-1-2 and 4 to go

And played only with $1 and $20 chips, which led to some pretty funny pots.

Anybody ever play the $40 tournament at The Palace in Hayward or the $65 tournament at Lucky Chances? Any advice on their value would be greatly appreciated!

How does LC get NL 5/10 but Graton can't? Makes no sense to me.

Isn't Lucky Chances the closest room to the wealthy city of San Francisco, while Graton is way out in distant countryside?

Graton is in the boonies

Yeah but a way nicer room. Everyone at LC looks like they have been awoken from their dead slumber nearby in one of the graveyards


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Any chance any players would want to try and get a 1/2 plo going somewhere. The 5-5-10 buy in games at graton and lucky chances just seem too big for a little minnow like me and I'd imagine a bunch of people feel same.

I think Napa Casino has a 1/2 PLO. Not sure how often it runs or whether you need an invite.

How is the 1-1-2 game at Oaks doing these days? Looking for a place to play after work and I'm closest to Oaks and Grand. My bankroll is 1.5k now and the 2-2-3 game at Grand looks like higher variance than 1-1-2 at Oaks

Do any rooms in Bay Area track hours and pay comps?

The only one I know of that does this is Graton.


Can't believe this post is almost two years old...they're doing the same thing (I believe the start date is 3/13) because the reserve is now closing in on $1M. Pretty close to impossible for me to ever participate in this...nice to know they're trying to redirect that fund to a very narrow percentage of players!

If anyone needs proof that casinos don't understand math any better than the typical sucker, that big of a reserve is it. The caps on the BBJ are unreasonable for how restrictive the 8888+ rule is.

2222+ gets beaten about once every 100k hands if everyone plays everything and sees the river always. If you assume people VPIP 30% and that captures 50% of the BBJ equity, and partially offset that with a 25% house rake, the cap for the BBJ should be in the $100-$150k range. Anything smaller cap (or a smaller rake) will in the long run build an infinite reserve.

Even with a 25% edge, the long run on the BBJ is super ****ing long. N0 easily runs into the millions of hands - that is, over the course of 10-20 BBJs, it's possible the casino still loses money. And eventually, this happens and some suit gets the bright idea to raise the bar for payout.

8888+ is about half as likely to hit. Which means the cap should be raised to double (or else the reserve naturally trends upward). But it's not. Which is why after the casino takes a few hits, they overcompensate and end up with these gross jackpots.

If any of the casino bean counters is reading this, or any of you are banging one, point this out. 2222+ cap should be $100-150k, 8888+ should be $200-300k, depending on how much the vig is and how tight people usually play. Doubling the jackpot at certain hours only exacerbates the variance problem - the casino ends up stretching out those breakeven stretches if a few jackpots hit during double hours.

Clarification: My understanding is that this time it will ONLY be on Mondays and from 6a-12p

Dropped in this morning to see the madness lol all tables running nobody hit. Can only imagine everyone leaving at 12:01

Jackpot has now hit twice in the intervening time, once during the promotion on a Monday, once "normally". They are getting so much play on Monday mornings, they have taken to spreading 7-handed games up to 20-40 at blackjack tables. Reserve is still north of 900K

are the casinos on bravo? cant seem to find any

This sounds absolutely hilarious. I happen to be flying out of SFO on a Monday early afternoon in about a month. I wonder if I'll be able to swing over to see it myself and maybe even get a seat. I kinda assume the wait lists will be ridiculous though.

Some people told me that to get a seat, you have to arrive by 5 am.

How good is the $3-200 game at Livermore during the day on weekdays?

How long does the $45 M-F 11am tournament take to complete? Looks like it's 15-mins per level. Does it finish by 5pm (you know, so I can come home normal work hours and the wife will be none the wiser).