The biggest difference is in LHE, where Bay 101 has more games at more limits. They both have healthy Deep stack 2/3/5 NL. It may be a matter of which place has the shorter list that makes your choice for you. You're out of luck for PLO.

mib211

san jose is about 20 minute drive and about the same to go to artichoke joes in san bruno or a little more to lucky chances in colma. all about 20 to 30 miles north or south of you.


rush hour who knows?

I go to bay 101 after work sometimes and rush hour is indeed pretty brutal. I average about 1:10 from Foster City to bay 101 leaving around 5:00. It's not much better if you leave earlier. Mountain View to San Jose is stop and go the whole way.

If I worked in Foster City, I think I'd prefer heading north to Lucky Chances; at least I could take 280 and dodge the 101 traffic.

You're pretty dedicated to poker if you're driving one of the worst freeways in one of the worst areas at quite possibly the worst times in terms of traffic.

I salute you!

Appreciate it!

The reason I drive down is actually usually to play the m8trix Monday or Tuesday tournaments. I agree wholeheartedly with the guy before who said if I'm looking for cash I should just go to LC instead.

Played here last night. My thoughts as a newcomer.

2/3/5 seemed pretty soft. Lots of straddles, blind raises and general donkey play. Al,list no 3-betting. Of course I sucked out in a big pot so maybe I'm one of the donkeys.

Comfy chairs and the food was pretty good for a casino (I got the Pad Thai).

Beer selection was lousy.

I usually don't care at all about dealer quality but dealers were noticeably bad here IMO. One groused and pushed back on counting out people's bets and said something like "I can't believe you made me count that and then folded." He may have been the worst dealer I've ever had at a casinos. One told me the wrong rules on whether I could bring my full stack (more than table max) if I switched tables. One called the floor over an exposed card when dealing when it was obvious it should have been the burn. Many struggled with making change for blinds or drop. Again not something I usually focus on but stuck out here.

I don't understand the $2 on the button. Doesn't change gameplay at all but just requires more process. Why not just play 3/5?

Because if there's a chop, someone has to pay $1.

Why? Is that a San Jose law or just the way they do it? SB could pay too. Seems like a strange reason to do it.

california for years had played poker with three blinds and one on the button. so did we always have 3 blinds at the wsop and all the no limit games back before 1990 but not usually on the button..

the button blind was a holdover from the limit lowball and draw games before holdem was legalized in California.

The button blind is an excuse to fund BBJ and encourage bigger pots.

The button blind has been a feature of Bay Area poker games for more than a century. It certainly was a feature of the first NLHE game I ever played in, at Artichoke Joe's twenty years ago.

Trust me, you don't need to have a blind on the button to fund a jackpot.

I played the 3-6 limit at garden city way back in the day... back when it existed. It had a $1 SB and a $3 live blind on the button, which the dealer took and placed on the drop chute before dealing the hand (back when rake was $3). This created the illusion that the casino wasn't raking so much, particularly on small pots (since all the chips in play at the start of the hand remain in the pot throughout), and the button, once the hand starts, feels good that he's getting a freeroll. It also produced more action overall. Of course, anybody who thinks about it for more than a second sees through the illusion, but much of what makes a game structure successful is about spreading a game that feels good to play for the casual player.

yes the button blind has nothing to do with bbj or anything else except it was part of the way california always played all games.

Is the September 29 date a closing date for the old location or an opening date at the new one?

Jackpots are illegal in San Jose anyway.

As far as I know, the new location should already be open for business. They were supposed to open on Monday the 18th, but there was a slight issue with the permit for the cameras, which was supposed to push the move back to Tuesday or Wednesday.

The September 29th date is a "grand opening" after a week or two of soft open.

I actually came here to find out if anyone had been to the new location yet.

Heh, I was hoping to drop by the old location and play one more session for old time's sake.

I'm pretty sure the old location will remain open through the weekend at least. There was apparently a minor issue with permits on the new building.

The old building closing and the new building opening will effectively happen simultaneously as it did with Garden City/M8trix


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The old location is officially closed. Soft opening for the new location will be around 8AM Tuesday.


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Please do a trip report on the new place.

Are all the games and limits going to stay the same?

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Also what about tournaments? Can anyone confirm they'll still have their second Saturday $550 on 10/14?

My observations after playing there yesterday:

• tables are REALLY close together. Don't lean back too far or you'll likely bump the guy in the table behind you.
• fewer tables (31 vs 21) than the old Bay. They converted the lost 10 tables into baccarat, I heard. I think the lower limit games got cannibalized the most, which mean wait times are about to get longer
• parking was plentiful. Large outdoor lot as well as the indoor garage.
• $5 for coffee? $4 for bottled water? $4 for a Coke? no thanks
• kitchen isn't open yet, no food service
• ambiance and decor is very nice. Reminiscent of Vegas rooms (e.g. Aria, Wynn, etc)
• new tables and chairs are great, wish they would have replaced the chips too though

No more free coffee?

The hell with decor.

Nothing wrong with the old tables and chairs. They were the best I've played on anywhere.