i played at The Grand in Pacheco the other day, and i feel i need to voice some opinions / complaints:
- there is absolutely no use of mobile phones while seated at the table, unless it is specifically being used as a "listening device". floor people , hosts, and dealers were not shy about jumping down my throat as i tried to text my wife / change my music selection / check in for a flight on line. i have never encountered such anal-ness (
) about this rule, especially in a cash game. holy kriste. two ridiculous example include:
1) i was seated in my chair, but had moved it about 5 feet away from the table so that i could text in peace. i was facing away from the table and was accosted by a host that i "need to be removed from the table" in order to use my phone, which he further explained means that i need to be standing. wtf?!
2) i had just moved from a must move table to the main game and had just received my meal, so i told the dealer not to deal me in and that i would wait for the button to pass. in the mean time while i was eating, which was about 3-4 hands, i received a text and picked up my phone to read it. the dealer immediately jumped down my throat telling me that i could not use my phone while seated. hmmmmm......let's see: i was not dealt into this hand or the previous couple of hands, in fact, i haven't been dealt a hand at this table yet since i "must-moved". what rule could i possibly be breaking regarding the ongoing poker game?
- when two players are all in, hands must be tabled. ummmm......let's think about why this rule was put in place (for TOURNAMENTS !!!). it was to prevent chip dumping (collusion), which makes a difference to your fellow players. in a live game, who the F gives a crap if player A wants to muck a winning hand when he's in position to player B, essentially giving him cash money. how does that affect the other players at the table. what the casino is saying is that all players who are all in are immediately suspected of collusion and need to show their hands to make sure they are not trying to give money to each other. this is insulting to poker players who have a brain.
- the drop policy. we as poker players understand that the casino needs their take to provide a nice room to play in, dealers, chips, floor people, electricity, etc. but the policy at The Grand includes dropping $4 every hand NO MATTER WHAT. this is greedy beyond all belief. when it is folded around to the blinds and there is a potential chop, the house still takes $4. when there is a raise and take it, the house still takes $4. just gross.
looking back on my session (in which i did leave a winner), i can't believe i stuck it out there for a whole evening, considering these three issues. the card room is nice enough and the dealers seemed competent and the action was pretty good, but i doubt i'll ever return to play poker at The Grand, unless there is some re-formatting of their "House Rules".
whoever is out there reading this that knows management at The Grand, please forward a link to this post.