I'll be in AC a few days over the next couple of weeks and I'm wondering where the best games are for a 1/2 NL player. I'm only really worried about finding the softest game, I know the Borgata is by far the nicest room (or was last time I was there a couple years ago).

Is the answer any different for a weekend day/night as opposed to a weekday?

This is a tough question because it's not just location but the times as well. Generally speaking I'd say the order from _more difficult_ to _less_ would be:

(1) Borgata
(2) Taj
(3) Tropicana
(4) everywhere else

Weekends are better because more people vacation there. I'd think that Saturday night between 8:30PM and 11PM would be the softest games.

Normally I play at the Taj on the weekends but I've played various weekdays (M-W) and at all hours. (11PM-6AM)

You'd expect a weekday game at 4AM to be tough but sometimes these are soft as well since people are tired or desperate or whatever.

Unfortunately the best answer I can give is the old, "It depends." Since it really does depend on who's in the game.

-ph (p0k3rhack3r)

i'd agree with this completely. it really can "depend" on a lot of stuff. but i keep looking outside the borgata thinking i'll find some randoms just playing where they're staying or something but always end up at a table of regs/nits. borgata gets the most action even at 1/2 almost always. it's the best of both worlds... good room and good games.

i should add to my previous statement, there is a 1-1 game that has recently started getting popular and is incredibly soft. buy is maxed at 150 though so your return on investment is limited. but if you sit down at the right time when a few players have built up stacks, you can double up a couple of times with some good patience.

I'm pretty sure Bally's has a 1-1. Is this the one you are referring to or a different one?

-ph

Las Vegas Highrise Reviews and General Info

Leaning towards this. Rooms at the Borgata are basically free - every now and then I get the urge to buy something in Vegas or AC though... must be my ADD.

Thanks for the imput guys, very helpful.

Best,

LT

I took a quick look at the thread. I've researched a lot of Real Estate in Vegas, AC and FL. Since you would be relocating from Manhattan, here's what I would do (if I were at a different point in life).

Move to LV and buy a house in Summerlin (an excellent part of LV). The criteria to use on trulia.com: 4 bedrooms and a pool (if possible) for under $130K. Low ball, low ball, low ball the price of the house until you get it rock bottom ($50K/75K?) and as cheap as dirt. Put as much cash as you can down on it and try not to take a mortgage if possible. Rent out the rooms to other poker players/friends (~$250-$400 a month) to get a positive cash flow of ~$900. [Don't forget, one room is for yourself so it's not $1600.] This will sustain your playing and pay your other bills (health insurance, property taxes, food!, etc.) even if you can't land a job and you may even be able to save a few bucks (however unlikely). I would also get a (part-time?) job of something you really _enjoy_ that will give you a few extra $$$ and health insurance benefits.

*** Don't get suckered into "glory": high rent or a large mortgage. Go for the "safe play" on this one. If you make money off your house -- that is, if your house gives you a positive monthly cash flow -- a HUGE amount of pressure will be off your back.

Good luck.

-ph

(This really isn't part of the AC thread so PM me if you're interested in continuing further.)

yes. i don't know why i left out the name of the place. lol. ballys. just terrible players that love their top pair. it's like playing in florida.

Bella Condos is the tower right next to Revel. Has an indoor/outdoor pool and nice fitness center. Now is the time to buy for good deals.

Thanks for the replies everybody... I'm going to be at Resorts tomorrow night for a company party for a place I freelance, and then I've got a $59 room there, which the company is calling a great deal and I suspect is just OK, but since it's where I'll be drinking, it is what it is...

I figure I'll walk down to Bally's (about a mile down the boardwalk?) and check out that 1-1 game and if it looks good, I'll play there awhile... If not, I'll go get my car and head up to the Borgata. Either way I'll probably head up to the Borgata by nightfall unless people are sitting on some big stacks in the 1-1 game and I'm crushing.

Thanks again for the info.

If it's on a Friday/Saturday you have a good (but not amazing) deal. If it's on a Thursday then not so much.

I'd call Bally's to see if the 1-1 is running before walking over: 1) it might only run on the weekends during the day/evening (since I'm not sure how popular it is); 2) you really don't want to walk on the boardwalk at night during the winter unless you are with a group of people (the summer is not as bad).

Good luck and report your experiences.

-ph

you can see which games are running at any of the ceasar's properties and at borgata here http://www.bravopokerlive.com/

there is also an android and iphone app for this

looks like you need to login to the application to get the info. not keen on giving my info away!

i like this one for iphone. Unfortunately it does not appear to give live updates.
http://www.pokernearme.com/

-ph

Does anyone know anything about the Total Rewards Air program? I was surprised to see that it departs from the air force base near my house to AC, but there is no further info available beyond that. Is this something just for the whales, or can us normals use this too? If I could drive 5 minutes to catch a flight, I'd probably finally make it back down to AC!

Call the casino. I checked out their website:
http://www.totalrewardsair.com

Some of the travel schedules were for 2010! After some googling it does appear you need to pay, although you never know. It could be based on the number of people....

Report what you find.... A free flight to Reno would be awesome...

-ph

Yea I looked at other destinations which have schedules, although many of them are out of date. There is no schedule at all for AC. I sent a message on the form, let's see what happens. This is actually the first i've ever heard of this, and it appears to have been around for at least 3 years.

I'd call Bally's to see if the 1-1 is running before walking over: 1) it might only run on the weekends during the day/evening (since I'm not sure how popular it is); 2) you really don't want to walk on the boardwalk at night during the winter unless you are with a group of people (the summer is not as bad).

Good luck and report your experiences.

-ph [/QUOTE]

The 1-1 game runs daily at Bally's and is usually the only one that runs 24 hours. This game is the main game offered and will usually be found when all other games have taken a break. Using the Bravo site is a good idea to check for games, however, rest assured that this game is readily available any day of the week.

Thanks again for the advice guys. Here's a quick TR. If I recall, strategy is not allowed in this forum so I'll keep that highly limited and post it elsewhere at some point.

I got in Friday around 7 for the company party, which was in a banquet room next to Night Fever at Resorts. Anything I write about the party would be tldr, because it was a typical company party and we spent an hour or so after at Night Fever, which is supposedly a good spot on Saturdays but I have my doubts...

Went to my room ($59 + tax) and it was sweeeeet. I should say, SUITE. Somehow I think they messed up and gave me a suite with a king bed rather than a standard king bed room. I had a huge living room, separate bed room, a jacuzzi and a separate part of the bathroom with a walk-in shower. It was awesome.

I took a walk over to the Taj after checking in just to see the poker room there, since I've never played there. I sat for a little while, but it was disgusting, so I left and walked back next door.

The jacuzzi may have been -EV, because I stayed up an extra hour or hour and a half to use it, maybe the second time in my life I've been in one... Relaxing, but I was very tired the next morning. My buddy and his girlfriend who live near AC took me to White House in the morning for cheesesteaks, which I'd say were not as good as true Philly ones... But still solid.

They dropped me back at Resorts and I walked down to Bally's. I found the poker room, signed up and started playing in the 1/1 around 1 p.m. I got one of the tables near the window, so I could see the ocean which was cool... First poker room I've ever been in with windows and a view. My goal was 6 hours, which I had read in a thread here was enough to get some comp offers or room rates on the Total Rewards card...

I literally had no hands of note, and I'd say the game is not beatable during the daytime once you factor in the rake. I had a few regs nitting it up and nut peddling, so I tried to run over the table... It's probably neutral EV considering the smaller blinds, smaller raise sizes and rake. I ended up in the game for $450 (buy-in is 150, I was down about 350 at my low) after catching a couple cold decks and missing some OESD/FD combos, but the game improved significantly around 5 or 6 and I left at 7 p.m. down $125.

I walked back to Resorts, got my car from the valet and put a bad beat on them. Somehow they charged me $2.78 for the valet, when the car was in there for 24 hours. The self park was $10, and it said something about a special rate level, so I dunno what happened but I'll take it. Between that and the room, maybe Resorts just likes me.

Drove up to the Borgata and got seated in a 1/2 game... Instantly it was MUCH, MUCH better action than the 1/1. It would ebb and flow, but there were always at least 2-3 bad players at the table and at times it got pretty wild. I won two big pots. One with KJ on a KK5x5 board, got it in on the turn against a super aggro villain presumably overplaying a flopped flush draw, which he had done in the past. The other was with JJ on a JT4 board with a flush draw out. Got called in three spots on the flop and thankfully the turn bricked, we got it in on the turn and the river Kx didn't hurt me. I stacked one guy for 300 and doubled through another for about 400 - pot was $1150.

Lost back about $200 w/ trips vs a full house and AK vs AA all-in preflop against a guy with 25bbs. So the overall trip was about +500.

I'd definitely say the 1/2 at the Borg is way better than the 1/1 at Ballys based on my experience, but for those trying to build live bankrolls, you may want to try to grind the 1/1 at prime times - weekend nights.

There's also the fact that the Borgata on a weekend night (maybe always?) is packed with incredibly hot girls dressed to the nines in very tight clothing. It's a distraction, but a good one .

Slightly OT, but never get a cheesesteak at White House. It's not that the cheesesteaks are necessarily bad, it's that their hoagies are so freaking good. They put so much meat in them that a whole Italian hoagie from White House could probably feed a family of 4 for 3 days.

Thank you for the trip report!

Noted - I was told to go for the cheesesteak. Maybe I'll swing back by next time I'm in AC and try a hoagie. I'm doing some work out that way now and then so I'll be there more often.

Definitely untrue, unless you are speaking about a family of mice. White House is overpriced and overrated, the quality of the food is mediocre, the workers don't know how to pack the sub without having it leak all over, and their superstar bread is mostly inedible to hardness. You can get 3 footlongs at Subway for the price of 1 White House sub, and they will be immensely more enjoyable. And the Taj outlet accepts comps, but only at 2:1.

AC sub rolls blow. period. I don't know why people "rave" about them. I think sac of subs is slightly better but same idea.

Now this sounds like you received a good deal. $59 for just a regular room would not have been too special but I'm glad they hooked you up!

The Taj definitely isn't the cleanest of venues. I play there fairly often but part of it is the nostalgia aspect. The second part is that I'd need to take a jitney to the Borgata since they do not receive any buses. So, going to the second best poker room in AC is where I'm at..... Also, in march a new casino Revel will open up two doors down from the Taj. I might make the switch (to Revel) then depending on the action there.

1) Yeah, Bally's poker room is the only one with a view. The table you sat at is normally reserved for their tournament play. Maybe they've changed that. 2) I've played their 1-1 game once. Never again. Didn't really like it....


Sweet!

Makes 100% sense to me!

This is very good to know as I plan on making the switch from Taj to Borgata toward the summer....

The women at the Borgata are the best. They hire models as waitresses, not the other way around!

*** One question about the Borgata action / poker players: how often did you find that you were 3-betted & 4-betted? If so, can you elaborate? Conversely, how often did you 3&4 bet?

-ph

Have to disagree here. You could buy 6 double meat subs from Subway and not have as much meat as one from White House. Subway meat quality and bread is much worse than WH too. No comparison. I'm not one to say OMG, WH is ze best ever, but compared to SW, it is the nuts.