FYP. And yes, you are a scumbag for not caring about these things and if you do play there knowing the background, for financially supporting someone who steals from the community.

Yes. You also seem like a douche in general. I assume you are an adult but you keeping typing LOL like a teenage girl so maybe I am wrong. Either way how about you gtfo.

"I don't think it is the poker community's job to stand up for people owed money by a specific individual."

Well thanks for making your opinion known, man.

Reputation is one of the few things that matter among the poker community. Not only is it seen as a betrayal to support someone with a bad reputation who owes others money but it's also idiotic to entrust that person with your money. It'd be like going to a casino run by Bernie Madoff because you somehow think THIS TIME it will be on the up and up. If you go there, you are going to get screwed in some way, shape, or form. Why trust your money to a known scammer?

Well I read this place is finally open so I stopped by to do a little recon last night. They had two 1-3 games running, and it is a nice clean looking very open space with floor to ceiling windows.

The membership fees are as advertised and no credit card is needed to play. You purchase $5 time chips at the front and pay these every half hour. They have a cage where you can cash out when you are done playing.

The place seems decently run and relatively safe, I don't see how someone could be scammed by the club while playing cash, but I don't have much experince in clubs like this.

I have not decided whether to play at this club yet as I do not like supporting a known scammer. I don't not know Mr. Eakman or the people he owes money to, that being said I can't imagine this room failing would do anything to help people get paid back. Maybe Eakman is a complete scumbag and there is no hope anyway, in that case good luck in spreading the news of this guy.

One last thing, if anyone is planning on confronting him, it might be best to wait a week or two for the crowds to get bigger and make a big splash of a confrontation. In the short time I observed the games last night, it seemed as though many people knew each other. While they could know each other from the game or poker community in general, I couldn't help but feel that these could be friends of Eackman to help get the games started. In short calling him out in front of two tables of possibly his friends would do less than calling him out in a room full of customers.

lol check your avi before calling someong "immature".. you gtfo douche..

lmao as these hypocrites.. you don't live in texas so please excuse us for not caring so much about the owners reputation instead of driving 3 hours or playing at other places where the rake is 10%..

http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-c...n/con-20025568

The word "hypocrite" doesn't work in this situation. Unless you're suggesting others would do the same thing if in your situation but that doesn't hold water either since you have no evidence to support your claim and you haven't laid the premise to that claim yet. Your post would have made more sense to say "lmao, you don't live in Texas....blah blah blah" and just leave the word hypocrite out.

But I digress. If someone tells you someone else is a thief, a liar, and a scammer, does it make sense to visit that person's establishment and give him money?

This will be last post on this thread. So many upstanding and honorable poker players (aka gamblers) here. Our hobby is taking other people's hard earned money that can cause them pain, bankcruptcy, suicide, etc. Yeah we don't steal it from, we just take advantage of their addiction and lack of common sense. But we shouldn't play if the owner is shady because that is wrong!

If you feel that way, why do you play poker?

Lets give Rake its fair share of time in this debate

Let's talk about why you don't see "time charge" in casinos.

Because it is not profitable for the players.

Time charge is used in higher stakes games because the rake would be maxed on every hand - the average casino rakes $5-7 per pot including monies for promotions - this is capped at 10% of the pot and if the pots are always $50+ the rake is maxed.

This leads to about a $125/150 per hour taken off the table or $12.50/$15 per hour.
Now we have rake free poker coming to texas but almost all of them charge about $10/hr to play. So you are saving money right?

No - you have to pay a door fee - you have a monthly fee and of course nothing you want to eat or drink is complimentary.

Why would you pay the time charge of a casino ($5/half hr) and pay to get in the door...and then you have to pay a monthly membership fee for a low stakes game?

Now you are paying the same price as you would in a casino playing 5/10 or higher....but almost all of us play 1/2 or 1/3 for our "fun time".

----------------------------------------------------------------------
Now - what is the "reasonable time charge" for the lower stakes game - I have run the math of rake vs time charge and you are looking at no more than $3 per half hr - the question is can an business operate at this level - I think they can - at the rate of $100 per hr per table AND a door fee AND a membership fee - no wonder more and more places are opening up - there will come a time where these numbers will come down and be a major benefit to the texas players.

This post needs to be framed and hung in a museum. Just say that the room owner seems shady but I want to play poker and I'm going to take my chances,

Because he's a shady human that happened to find this thread.

AcesHigh2 aka Mr. Eackman, can you please respond to our questions?

Thanks for the review. Looks like two reviews are up on Yelp now (not counting Clive's) and one is a 4 star and another is a 5 star. Pretty solid.

I may have to go check this thing out. Do they have any security personnel? Any shady characters hanging around? How much did it actually cost you all in, including chair rental, upfront fee, membership, and any other additional fees? What was the caliber of play like?

Take that to PM please.

Art, from Vandelay Industries was very effectively trolling.

What he was insinuating Professional Poker is that Clive is working both sides of the coin. He has run an underground raked game out of his house for years living off the rake. He was also involved in opening a time charge room like Mint Pokers which he is no longer involved with. Now he is planning to open a new time charge room. His goal isn't to help the poker players, its to continue making money off them as he has for years.

Also just looked at the Yelp reviews:

Clive at least used his name, 1 of the 2 positive reviews is definitely a shill by Eakman

Wait... I thought Clive had a diverse portfolio? No, wait, I thought he retired as a grand master chess player? No, wait, I thought he was a professional poker player that started running tournaments at his house for fun? No, wait, I thought.....(insert some other inane ramblings here). Point being is this. I've known Clive and his shenanigans for a LONG time and it boils down to one thing. He LOVES attention. So, everyone, please stop feeding the troll.

Feel free to PM me and I can go on and on about Clive shenanigans i've dealt with from him dating back to before he started running games out of his house. I won't clutter this thread up anymore then it's been clogged up.

Gypsie

Look like another five star review up on Yelp. So far every review except Clive's is a 4 or 5 star. The Yelp page also now has several pictures of the action. Looks like some cheap chips and bare walls. Reminds me of a home game or something.

time change gypsie...i remember that nearly 20 years ago i was running a game and competing with others....i ran a game for 5 years with no income based on it...then my wife got sick and i retired from the corporate world..for the next 15 years i did run a game that showed a reasonable profit

Over time - i have been a day trader for nearly 45 years - now my folio is large enough i no longer need an income outside of it - I am retiring my own game except to select individuals and opening another rake free game (the first one was successful but funded by private investors who decided to take it from rake free to raked (with door fee) - I immediately pulled my support and endorsement - within weeks people stopped coming and within 2 months they closed their doors

That being said - I have stated i am opening at least 5 clubs over the next 5 years throughout the houston area - they will be owned and operated by the employees and dedicated to donations to helping veterans causes.

Read the entire thread to determine the WHOLE plan

As far as all those that played /hosted 20 years ago..not one has lasted - i make no qualms as far as turning a profit but my game has always been reasonable and attracted people from all over - I don't run short hand games - i publish a reserve system online so people don't waste their time going to a short handed game.

The market has changed - poker attendance has declined to its lowest levels - the number of poker tables in LV has decreased by 25% in the past 5 years - rake free is the new venue - its not going to succeed at $10/hr and a door fee and a monthly charge but the market will determine that. Austin now has 5 operations and it is coming to houston.

I have always been a terrible player / a decent coast and an above average Promoter - yes promoters must be "bigger than life" its part of the resume. But I am upfront on my dealings / i strive to be honest and never owe anyone a dime.

Of course I want to see a profitable enterprise but the goal is that each of the centers make enough ...to cover the operations and building of the next center. I have the capital to run for years without a major profit but am investing on a long term goal.

Low stakes games get raped rake on time charge either one. Time charge is more obvious cost to the rec players while rake just disappears... But that doesn't keep solid players from beating them at high winrate still and it doesn't keep rec players from going.

In Austin, TCH is probably on the high side fees wise, chisolm looks to be solid, throne as well. Plano has it figured out I'd say.

Being in Austin and not having to drive to Winstar for some action is well worth the pricepoints to me. I hope these rooms thrive. I understand they are a threat to the underground games but Clives bashing them is not going to stop them. It's a great model that should benefit some local tax bases rather than it going to Ok and La.

Guys..lets get this straight..im not bashing rake free...i plan to open several time charge locations - the first one will be a $1 door / $1 per half hr for the first 10 players and will never exceed $5 door and $3/half hr - there will be a membership fee - you may attend three times before membership will be required - the membership fee will go to building the next center

Yea we've heard you say this repeatedly. Post up when they're open. Until then let people decide if these rooms are for them or not.

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