Did it hit?

Is it bad form to call Cazpoker and ask?

Please post results, would appreciate you saving me a drive over there only to find they screwed us tourney donks yet again.

Still unhit as of 8:30pm PDT

Hit at 3:30am

What game hit it?

Played my first evening tourament there in ages last night, got 132 entries

2/3 HU button vs bought button AA 2 4 A

Floor is called. I offer neighbor 2:1 that it isn't hit, he says ssshhhh

bts, button raises 100, blind 3 bets to 325. button calls

blind KK button A5

The blind is an Air Force officer and half of 75k richer.

Finally saw the new scoreboard. Not impressed. Seems kind of pointless.

Anyone know how pften they hire new dealers here?

There is a hiring freeze and has been for a while.

I think it's kind of cool. Went there for the first time this past weekend since they changed from the tent, and WOW! Casino AZ is totally different, poker room too. Whole place seemed a lot bigger/more upscale. Maybe it was just being there on a weekend/drunk/'and a gila reg', but the place is far and away the best casino in AZ.

Yeah I play CAZ regularly & went to Gila River this weekend & not the same action or feel in the room!

I had the pleasure of playing at The Arena at night on Thursday 3/15 and Saturday 3/17. I played the 8/16 O8 and 2/3 SLHE games, as well as an orbit or two of 8/16 LHE. All of you players down in that area are really lucky to have it nearby.

Pros

+ Aesthetics. A large, eye-catching, welcoming room with good lighting, lots of TVs and monitors, and lots of movement throughout the room gave it a lively feel and made me want to get into the action ASAP.
+ Functionality. A competent brush, chip runners, plenty of space between the tables, tables without cup holders (in favor of side tables and more space on the poker table), and above-average dealers made getting into and staying in the action easy.
+ Amenities. Nearby restrooms, quick drink service, and table-side food service with delicious and reasonably-priced food ensured that I never had to miss more than one or two hands at a time.
+ Competition. I found my opponents to be generally both nice people and unskilled players. Conversations about everything but poker were commonplace. There were few arguments or instances of berating or needling.

Cons

- Rules and procedures. I've played in casinos, cardrooms, home games, and underground games from California to Central Europe, but some of the rules and procedures at CAZ were truly unique and took some getting used to.
- Rake. I believe the rake at the games I played was 4+2, with one dollar being taken regardless of whether there was a chop.

Overall, it was an excellent experience. I won a modest amount over the two nights of play and had a great time doing it. I think I might have sat between a couple of 2+2ers at the 8/16 LHE game on Saturday. One was a young Asian guy and the other was a younger white dude wearing Dre Beats and a green shirt and hat. I also think I got to semi-bluff that_pope out of a decent pot at the 2/3 SLHE game on Thursday night!

Thanks to anyone I might have played with or who might have dealt to me; you contributed to my positive experience there. I'll certainly be back if I ever find myself in the Phoenix area again.

Post the hand and we'll see if he owns up to it.

How would you rate the 2-3 slhe vs a 1-2 nl game? I'm curious because I may be going down there to play and where I'm from all we have is 1-2 and 2-5 nl

Thanks

Also what's the room like temperature wise? I know its Arizona but is it real cold in there? Some card rooms I've been in is hot one minute and cold the next.
Thanks,

The temperature seems to be very inconsistent depending on where you're sitting. Either you're right above a vent blowing cold air up your pant legs or you're directly under a hot spotlight. The plus side to this is you can table/seat change if you are uncomfortable which you can't do if the whole room is too hot/cold.

The metal tops for the plates double nicely as air blockers

How many people are they expecting for the last Saturday of the month tournament?

The only reason I mentioned it is I think the guy in the hand with me looked like the guy in one of your trip report pictures: black hat, white polo in the 2 or 3 seat at the time. The hand was very typical for 1/2 NLHE-type stakes with medium stacks. I don't recall the details perfectly, but here's pretty much what happened.

2/3 SLHE

MP raises 3x-4x.
LP calls.
Button calls.
BB [me] calls.

FLOP [12 BB]: Jx 6x 3h

I check, MP bets ~8 BB. LP and Button fold. I call.

TURN [28 BB]: Jx 6x 3h 8h

I check, MP bets ~15 BB. I raise all in for ~40 BB total. MP folds.

I definitely don't want to get into a strategy discussion here so feel free to shoot me a PM if you have strategy comments.

In my limited experience (two sessions amounting to only a handful of hours), it played just like a good 1/2 game on the east coast. There were one or two competent, aggressive players and then a bunch of loose, passive or tight, passive players.

Bring a jacket or hoodie or whatever and you can put it on or take it off as needed. Same as any other poker room I've visited.

Come now, let's not intrude upon the only use for Poker Player Newsletter.

See my reply here:
http://forumserver.twoplustwo.com/20...l#post32282719

Told a senior manager: 'OK! I like the new 'Arena' TV set-up, the AC system seems to be under control and the electronic sign-up system is working great. Now all you have to do is fix the lighting.' The manager brought me to the back of the room and showed me the new light bulbs that will be installed. The difference is instantly noticeable, they diffuse the light better and he says they are 10 degrees cooler than the old ones. The problem? The poker room has to wait for the internal casino red tape before they get installed.

They might as well go all the way with the name change and get some sponsorship as well.

"The Arena Poker Room at Talking Stick Resort brought to you by IBM and Coca-Cola!"

As someone who noticed the name change in passing and just knows the place as "Casino Arizona", it really is cumbersome.

So that means the new bulbs are brighter?

You're prob trying to be funny somehow, but...

http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/diffuse

"2: not concentrated or localized <diffuse lighting>"

In a recent tournament, a guy got moved to our table and as he sat down he said "I feel like I'm being interrogated" because he was directly under one of the "spotlights". The variation in the lighting, seat-by-seat, really is dramatic and pretty awful.

Diffuse lighting is def what they needed and it should help a lot.

Now if they could only "diffuse" the cooling system too, it would be hard to complain about anything anymore (but I'm sure I'll still be able to find something).