Where are the softest games in Vegas during the series with the least amount of pros?
Is it still MGM for 1/2 and 2/5 nl? Haven't been in a few years. I remember those games used to be east to scoop $500 in a session at $1/2 nl.

Prob better question for the Las Vegas Lifestyle forum than here. Short answer is "all of them" for 1/2. Very few pros play that level. I find Golden nugget and Planet Hollywood particularly juicy when I'm in the mood for 1/2.

2/5 is a mixed bag. Lots of folks swear by the big rooms, but I find Aria and Venetian tend to be reg-infested. MGM doesn't reliably have games, nor does PH, but they're juicy when they go. Bellagio is my go-to, though many don't like how crowded the room is, nor the $500 cap.

1/2 NL is like McDonald's fries. Maybe one store has better fries than another, but if you can't pick one at random and leave fat and happy, you're doing something wrong.

actually the games are soft enough at the wsop that a player should play much higher than he normally would. it is the time to make some real cash.

This is 'the' advice also IMO.

The only thing I can add to Garrick's comment is to just slow down a bit and let the excited, tilted and playing over my head opponents create the action for you and then just c/r your way to some good scores.

I have found that a lot of dealers play at PH and thus there is a lot of trapping going on ... but that could be anywhere as well. Just what I ran into when I have played there.

Research some of the promos that are going on as well. GL

I find the Rio perfect for cash games, 1/2 & 2/5, during the series. There are mediocre tournament players, tourists (to get the WSOP-feel) trying to play cash. Game and table selection is huge, and if you can't walk away a winner here... give up playing.

A couple years ago, I woke up one morning and made my way to play some 1/2 while waiting on some friends. In <1hr had about 6BIs. Not too uncommon, just not usually THAT fast.

I wonder how many 1/2 players get obliterated at 5/10 during the series because someone advised them to play much higher than they are used to..

Yeah, I'd say it's a great opportunity for a $1/2 player to take a shot at $2/5 if the timing is right. That is, if you have been wanting to take a shot and have the roll for it, WSOP is a great time to do that.

If you don't feel like taking a shot and are a confident $1/2 player, you will do well staying where you are too. (Pros aren't playing $1/2, OP.)

Play at the Rio or throw a stone. You won't find a bad game in town during that time.

Also, if you think your game isn't great, change tables. There's a billion games going on.

To be clear - @ the Rio in the WSOP area. The Rio poker room will still be in full swing and can still be a rock garden at times with players that specifically don't want to "get draw'd out on in every hand"

Me too. I mean aside from the baseline number of 1/2 players who get obliterated at 5/10 because they're idiots in general.

With the caveat that I've never been to Vegas during the WSOP, it just seems like the bell curve for people who travel to Vegas during the WSOP is going to be shifted skillward over people who travel to Vegas outisde of WSOP. For those on the far right of the skill curve, this is great because instead of having a single, occasional 10/20 NL or 80/160 LHE, there will be multiple games and a crusher can probably beat all of them. But for people in the center-right of that skill curve, like solid winners at 2/5 NL - 15/30 LHE or small winners at 5/10 NL - 40/80 LHE, I can't imagine this is a feast. And certainly for the center-left of the skill curve, like solid 1/2 NL - 6/12 LHE or small 2/5 NL - 15/30 LHE winners, this is probably worse than usual.

Again, I'm not presenting this as expert opinion, just wondering if someone out there who is admittedly a non-stellar regular player wants to give an opinion from the middle of the bell curve.

I've only played poker in Vegas twice, both times for a week during the WSOP. I played 1/2, 1/3 and 2/5nl at Harrahs, the Rio regular room, and the Venetian. I had always read about how soft the games in FL(where I live) were, and how much tougher the Vegas games were.

Though it's a tiny 14 day sample, I was surprised at how soft the games seemed. I had lots more success in Vegas, and not so much as I ran hot, but by the crazy play of the others. So in my limited experience, the low level games were very soft during the WSOP.

Then again, I could have just been seated with a bunch of tourists from FL !

My experience (small anecdotal sample size, of course): going during the WSOP for the purpose of playing cash games was that it was difficult to get a table, as Bravo was showing 43+ names waiting on 2/5 at Bellagio and Aria every time I checked. I finally got a table at Bellagio at 12:30 am sheerly by dumb luck and did well but I ran like God. WSOP cash games were frustratingly nitty and people who'd just busted the main wanted to just check things down. Nobody there for the WSOP were going to the smaller-name rooms with the exception of PH.

Here's a link to a similar question asked in the beginner poker forum:

http://forumserver.twoplustwo.com/32...vegas-1534004/

This is one of the most asked questions in the LVL forum and will usually get you a bunch of semi-snotty responses about using the search function. The short version is that in general playing in Vegas is all about table selection and that no one room is particularly softer or tougher than any other. To add to that, I'd say you're more likely to find good action during the WSOP at bigger name rooms.

sure lots of smaller players that step up will get wiped out. some will do well. and some of that some will take that and move into higher games as they find they can win at them.
those that get busted because they werent good enough, get to learn and find out where they stand and also get to see what little it takes to play bigger.
those that get busted because they didnt have enough br or got unlucky will maybe see that and come back and work their way up.

if you ever want to make serious money you are going to have to play higher. and during the wsop there are lots of tables to choose from and lots of bad players with money to lose.

Thanks for all the input!

Am I being a nit, or is it correct to think that a 1/2 player skipping 2/5 and moving directly to 5/10 is probably a fool?

If it is all about table selection, then perhaps the best advice is to go where the most tables at your preferred stakes, balanced against the expected wait time to get onto a table. Possibly there are diminishing returns, so a room with x tables at a given stake is going to have close to the same ability to table select as a room with 2x tables, for a sufficient value of x.

This is correct, but somebody who is trying to run up their $3k to play the main event probably is not worried about EV or bankroll management.

if you play 5 times as high as you normally do instead of losing or winning one nights wages you are just gambling one weeks wages. and if you are a winning player you can make that up with a little work when going back home.

but to me anyway it is worth the risk to get that giant jump in bankroll and the experience to find out what it is like to play much bigger.

no one is saying you should empty out your life savings, but maybe it is a good time to step it up.

As a 1/2 player going to Vegas in July for my first real poker holiday... I plan to just play 1/2. :|

You'll have a blast and make bank. It's fine.

1-2 players should be sitting 5/10 during WSOP

2-5 players should be playing 25/50

And 5-10 players should betting yachts

Likely some folks actually will for the next month or so. Not a hint of sarc. in your post LOL

Just saw 2 posts on Twitter where pros said that the 10-25 game had 'gone bad' and they needed to go back to 5-10 or 2-5. Issue with moving tables or stakes is that the lists are so large!!

I would think that weekends are a good time to step since a lot of the lower buy-in events are on weekends, but during the week it may play tighter. GL