I saw it running Friday the 16th and more recently this past Monday the 26th. It was still going around midnite. It's a little outside my bankroll but I watched for a bit as I waited on my wife to finish a tourney. It was a full table including a certain 'stack-it-stack-it-to-the-top' lady participating in this game and it did seem like everyone knew everyone and was having a good time.

Maybe when I am free some Monday night I'll give them a call and see if it will likely be going, cause it is quite a drive for me, but that would be a fun change of pace although we are finally starting to get some non hold'em games at the 20/40 level at CAZ.

Updated 10/9/11 - Removed the 2-100 Omaha from WHP. The player base just doesn't exist.

Was that a High Only game or Split?

I'll add a note about the 20/40 Fort Mix game when I get home. Google Docs is finicky from work.

Split

Was just curious, kind of surprised that the split game would go away, i thought that was pretty solid down there.

The omaha players seem content with 4/8 limit with a full kill and those who want to play spread prefer holdem. I thought it would be a solid game too, but the market dictated otherwise. *shrug*

yeah, the 2/3 -300 high only game we started spreading has been slowly been fading as well, most are returning to the 8/16 half kill.
Same reason, lack of players for the type of game.

The structure of those games seems pretty likely to break a few players before it gets a chance to build up a base. The smallest game that would generate interest might have been a better start...

Yes the bad players going broke too fast was probably a factor. Guy tries it once, gets skinned, goes back to his normal game.

Casino Del Sol outside Tucson has been spreading a little higher stakes games since the recent poker room renovation.

This past Friday night we got a 1-3 blind "pot limit" omaha-8 going, ran from 8pm until well into the night (I left around 2am and the game was still full). Buyins for that game are 100 minimum, 300 maximum. The prior Friday we played 2-5 "no limit" holdem, buyins 100-500, which stayed full into the morning. Of course in both cases the maximum bet is 500 this being Arizona.

If we can fill these sorts of games the Casino will happily spread them. Since there seems to be a division of interest among the regulars between PL O-8 and NLH, I'm going to suggest that they offer an option of mixed games with both variations, rotating with each dealer change or round by round. That may help encourage a full lineup at least on weekends - anyone in the area interested in playing a little higher than 1-2NL should check it out.

Was there actually a pot limit on the bet, under 500 of course?

Just spread. You could overbet the pot.

Yes, it is pot limit until you hit the max. One of the problems of course is players and dealers who are not used to keping track of the pot size, so the game can move pretty slow.

Are you sure about that? I'd been told repeatedly it was straight spread, and that there wasn't a provision in any of the rooms rules to allow pot-limit anything (up to the cap).

You play in Tucson Palimax?

I do not.

I did, tbh, hear grumblings that they were playing pot-limit (with cap) down in Tucson...

I am pretty sure about it being pot limit, having spent several hours playing in the game. But don't spread it around if it is somehow a problem. Seems to me there should be no problem with pot limit as long as the cap is not violated.

The pot limit 0-8 1-3 blinds game seems to be taking hold at Casino del Sol in Tucson. I gather they played all night Thursday. Last night we introduced a mixed format, with 1-3 PL 0-8 and 2-5 SLH, changing with each dealer. Seemed be fairly successful in that we pulled a couple of players who normally would not sit in O-8, and kept the players who might not sit in 2-5 SLH. Stayed full from about 8 until a little after 2, still six players at that point.

Im from Chicago and I got a couple selections to choose from here.

Grand Victora- Elgin IL
Positive:2/5 is played with a $300 max which is kinda cool bc It plays like a deep 1/3 game.

Negative: $8 dollar rake and horrible dealers as well as staff and only gives 50c on your players card. Also even tho they rake $8 dollars there is no Bad-Beat. Only has 1/2 and 2/5NL

Hollywood-Aurora IL
Positive: They have the only 10/20 limit games in chicago land. Also biggest bad beat out of all the boats. Currently as of today at 460,000

Negative: $7 Poor dealers and only has 6 tables and only gets 2/5 off once or twice a week. 50c comp an hour on the card

Harrahs- Joliet IL
Positive: They run deep stack 1/3 no limit and deep stack 3/5 no limit. They let you buy in for the biggest stack at the table. Give free rooms away easy. They run 2 bad beats a mini and a reg bad beat. Also gives out promotions

Negative: 6 table room. $7 dollar rake also they dont let you rebuy chips at the table which really is a pain in the ****ing ass. Only has 1/3 and 3/5 NL

Majestic- Gary IN
Positive: Runs a 6/12 HOE game on tues and sometimes friday. All of the dealers from the horseshoe play here and 9/10 of them dont win and lose 2 or 3 buy-ins. Also PLO gets off on thursdays and fridays. Also they have 4 bad beats. Omaha Holdem 7-stud and Tournment bad beat

Negatives: Very poorly run. Always 1-3 seats open with 7-8 players on the list. The chips and disgusting. Its in a horrible area

Hollywood Joliet:
Positive: Have not played with one good player in the whole room. 160,000 dollar bad beat

Negatives: 3 tables with one main game and the other 1 or 2 tables that are open are feeders. Some dealers are very rude

But out of all of those non of them even compare to the Horseshoe Casino in Hammond IN.

Horseshoe Hammond:
Positive: $240,000 bad beat Best dealers in town. 30 tables and there all full on friday night and saturday night and 75% full the other nights of the week.
So I know the people in phoenix have a pretty good Idea What casino is the best one. They spread 1/2nl 2/5nl 5/10nl 1/2plo 2/5plo 5/10plo 3/6 limit 20/40 limit 6/12 horse 40/80 horse

Negative: $7 dollars in tolls unless you want to drive through the worst park of chicago at night. Games tend to have 1-3 people at a table that know how to play well.

Thanks guys

Can you guys give me the same kinda details about the casinos out in phoenix.

Theres two worth mentioning.

Casino AZ - Scottsdale. http://forumserver.twoplustwo.com/19...ale-az-758800/

Gila River Wild Horse Pass - Chandler. http://forumserver.twoplustwo.com/19...nix-az-619393/

Cliffs: True NL is illegal in AZ so we play quasi NL spread limit. CAZ has 1/3, $100 min $300 max buy, $300 max bet. 3/5 and 5/10 are $500 max bet but you can bet 500, then raise +5, 4 bet cap in multi way pots, no bet cap HU iirc.

Comps suck - $.20 an hour and a $5 food comp for each 8 hour session. GL.

Just a heads up for people visiting Az or those who live here looking for alternative rooms to play in other than Casino Az...

I was a witness to the raid that happened last Friday night at "The Nuts" poker room located in Phoenix. I was playing the $40 1r1a MTT and around 8pm we were raided by Goodyear and Phoenix police in full swat gear with nearly 100 total police/detectives on scene.

Pretty surreal moment that at first seemed like a robbery but then was obvious when both doors were broke through and more police than I could even count swarmed around us wall to wall. They stormed the room with M-16s drawn and secured all 52 of us playing with handcuffs and commanded us to sit and not talk for 2 and a half hours. They told us nothing of what was specifically happening or what we were doing wrong other than if we cooperate and we have no warrants, we will be released at some point that night.

They stood guard over us with their hands on the safeties of their M-16s and pistols as they took our mugshots one at a time, and wrote down all pertinent information about who we were and how they could contact us later. They bagged and tagged all of our chips (tourney and cash game) and included that with the information they took on each one of us. (I guess I made day 2 of the tourney??????)

One by one we were lead out the backdoor and another mugshot was taken with a dry erase board on our chest. After that, they ran us through the police computer network, and if we had no warrant were uncuffed and told to leave the premises immediately and that we were now trespassing. We were not charged with anything on site, but are now being told that we are witnesses to an illegal gambling operation. So far, one of my friends has been contacted and questioned via phone regarding the case, and told exactly that.

The owners were arrested in California on the same evening. The same owners ran both the rooms that were raided this night.

The nuts poker room is just one of many that are publicly advertised and visible for all to see. There was no alchohol sold there, and they did charge a $20 membership to make them a unique private establishment, which is one of the reasons they were investigated, as they were profitting off of the players. If you have been playing in a room like this, or thought about doing it in one of the many that are probably still operating, I guess its pretty clear how the state is going to react and it is best to avoid them entirely.

I dont' wanna derail the good info this thread has, so apologies if I am not supposed to post this here, but seems like the best place to make sure the local people and those who visit Arizona are made aware. It really disturbs me that our country, our state, is treating this the way that they are, and that us as players are made to feel like terrorists for playing the game of poker. They also did their best to pick a prime time to make the most media and public noise as possible since the room is next door to a very busy bar/nightclub along with a few restaurants and it was a peak time to show up on a Friday night and circle the wagons and make this very public display.

Here is the article highlighting the raid:

http://www.azcentral.com/community/p...ts-raided.html

I would contact a lawyer to see if you have any chance in a case regarding excessive force, false imprisonment, etc. I'm not a lawyer but I think they need to have reasonable suspicion that you committed a crime to detain/handcuff you. As far as I know, playing poker is not a crime. Definitely take pictures if you have any related injuries; I know that handcuffs can leave some nasty marks.

Thanks for the awesome description. I'll take this back to the legal forum with me.

There was a 5-month undercover operation prior to the busts. Pretty sure they did their homework first.

Playing poker in Phoenix, actually, is a crime.

More importantly is the state law. You ABSOLUTELY 100% CAN GAMBLE SOCIALLY IN ARIZONA. The problem is that if the owners are making money, then you playing there isn't social. It fouls the whole game, and you're all guilty of a misdemeanor, because you're not gambling socially.

....or this is what the state thinks.

IANAL
TINLA