If I recall correctly the 2/3 and 2/5 had the same drop so it is/was a no brainer to play the 2/5 game. Correct me if I am wrong but the 5/5 game is now the highest NL game on most nights.

TRIP REPORT

I was in LA for business and hoping to get some sense of the bike card room but didn't find much here so this is my attempt at community service.

I've played at Commerce before and found it a rathole of unhappy degenerates. Happily, I found a far more affable and hygienic group at least at the 2-3 table no limit I played at. The brush was pleasant and helpful and I got immediate seating on a Thursday night at 10p.

You can get chips from a runner at the table and away we go. The chips were actually clean, really. Quality of competition fairly weak tonight. Seemed like guys loved to chase draws. 3 betting nearly non existent. Occasional straddles.

Bar service seemed few and far between but plenty of old ladies bringing food including a sweet giant hunk of watermelon for $2. Seemed like an ocean of low limit players and handful of no limit games with a 5-5 and several 2-3s although annoyingly no bravo system to know that ahead of time.

The toilets were pretty darn clean, folks seemed to like their tableside food and dealers made no mistakes during my 3 hour session. TV near me was giant and while the neighborhood didn't seem like chamber of commerce stuff I had no issues getting in and out via Uber.

Seemed like a pretty typical melting plot of player types including the college slackers in hoodies, old man coffees, angry ninjas and an occasional female and tourist like me.

Also just missed the live at the bike taping which would have been fun to participate in and see what an idiot I might look like if my play was analyzed for the interwebs.

All in (swidt?) A pleasant experience with plenty of bad players with multiple rebuys. I'll be back.

Thanks for the trip report.

I'm going to be in LA a couple days for work and want to kill time during rush hour before driving back to Irvine.

How is the 1/3 game compared to 2/3? Which games have easier access on weekday evenings, which one is more passive? Do they play differently at all?

I use to be a slight winning player but moved away from poker rooms and quit fighting online. So I'm probably at best break even.

The 1/3 has a buy in of 80-120, the 2/3 has a buy in of 100-300 with an additional dollar rake. I personally like the 1/3 much better and tends to have more action.

Also, the hotel is supposed to open December 1st according to a sign outside.

Hotel is accepting bookings from 3rd December - $189/night and up. 1/3 seems the way to go to me as well. Make sure you get a player card - get all the rakeback you can. At 1/3 after three hours you can have your meal comped by voucher. The blackened salmon is excellent.

$189 a night minimum?? Who exactly do they think will be staying here? I can't imagine many people taking a poker trip would want to pay that much. Any plans to offer comps or at least discounts to players? Or are they marketing this as something other than a place for a poker tourist to stay?

Chinese tourist groups playing the Asian games.

No word on any discounts or player comps so far. And yes I think there's another market in mind - the hotel is designed to have a full service spa/salon, 'The Bike Brewery' with its own handcrafted beers etc. It'll be interesting.

Lmfao @ $189 a night in the city of Bell Gardens.

Just because they're charging it now doesn't mean they'll be charging it a year from now. They'll price it at what the market will bear.

I mean is this really that out of line? I stayed at a ****ty flea ridden motel a few blocks away from the Bike back in the day and that cost 100$ for the night. Everything in LA is ridiculously expensive so not really surprised.

Considering they are new rooms and arguably the best(not saying much) in the vicinity then $189 doesn't seem out of line.

Blah, no more free food in the 5/5 game... Which is crazy considering it's the biggest NL game that constantly runs. No bravo either. 😒

I heard the Bike is getting Bravo sometime soon.

That said, personally I like it without free food. Too many people just sit down for free food, get an out btn, and never play a hand. Then you got all these people who eat with their hands and never wash them and continue to touch cards, chips with greasy ass hands

$1/3 NL and up receive free food after 3 scans on players card (3 hrs).

"I heard the Bike is getting Bravo sometime soon. "............
and I heard Putin going to deal some Omaha-8 there.

I doubt seriously that either will happen soon. The Bike has been married to that awful 1990s system, and the hand scans as well. Archaic is a nice word for their poker software.

I only heard it on the live at the bike promo. David Tuchman was commenting on live at the bike and heard Nicole Jurgens say they were getting Bravo soon.

From Below.

The Bicycle Casino in Bell Gardens, CA will open a boutique hotel on December 1, 2015. Affectionately known as “The Bike,” it has long been home to one of the largest poker rooms in the world and has been a popular destination for poker players for years. It hosts several big tournament series a year, including The Legends of Poker, WSOP circuit events and the Card Player Tour.

We had the opportunity to interview Hashem Minaly, General Managing Partner of The Bicycle Casino about the expansion. We know that the players in our community are excited about the expansion and want to thank Hashem for his time.

First of all, what excites you most about the new expansion?
There are so many great elements to this hotel. We have designed a luxury boutique experience that will focus on service and guest experience. With 99 rooms, including 29 suites, the hotel is intimate, but has all the excitement we think our guests will be looking for – including a VIP gaming area, a new restaurant, The Bike Brewery, a full-service spa and a beautiful pool with private cabanas.

What will excite the players most about the new expansion? I believe our players are going to be surprised by the level of services and design that the hotel offers. I think the new VIP gaming room and Bike Brewery will be what excites our players most – the VIP gaming area is stunning and provides an elevated level of play that we haven’t offered before. At the Bike Brewery we have two of our own signature craft beers and 29 total taps. Our chef will be bringing a modern American menu to the property that will make us a true dining destination.

What are the biggest improvements that players can expect to see?
With the new hotel, we can offer our players so much more on a daily basis. There is more valet parking, increased dining/food choices from the Bike Brewery and our new Bakery, as well as spa services and relaxing massages, as well as a great lobby experience for cocktails and social gatherings.

Will you be making any changes to your poker, table game, or tournament offerings?
We will be expanding all of our gaming areas soon after the hotel opens. This will mean an increase in poker and table games immediately, plus a new VIP High limit room will open in hotel lobby. We are very excited as this room will attract many out of town visitors. There are also plans to add a Poker High Limit room in the not-so-distant future. Once we establish the current gaming areas with the new hotel, gaming expansion will continue - stay tuned!

Will you be offering any incentives for players to come and see the new expansion?
We will be offering many incentives for players to come and visit the hotel. Currently, our player rewards members receive 25% off the best available rate when booking a hotel room. Members also receive 20% off spa services and will soon be able to redeem their earned points hotel/casino wide in all of our amenities.

Will you be implementing any new systems or technology that your players will benefit from?
We are currently in negotiations to bring on a new player tracking system. The new system will be giving us a much more accurate way of determining player ratings which will benefit our customers greatly. In addition to ratings, we'll be able to offer better promotions casino-wide and provide a more technically enhanced tournament experience. We can't speak of specifics until the deal is done but we know this new addition will raise the bar for our players.

PokerAtlas, as you know, has comprehensive information on every card room in the LA area. What attributes of your new expansion will make the biggest impact on players looking for action in LA?
Players in the LA area will now have the ability to have a great gaming experience combined with a superior hotel experience. Players in Southern California previously had to travel out of market to enjoy a luxury hotel and gaming experience. With the addition of the Bicycle Hotel, they can now stay and play right here in the LA area.

Any other feedback or information you’d like to share with the PokerAtlas community?
We hope that the card playing community will look at the Bicycle Hotel as their home here in LA. Our vision was to create a hotel that is welcoming and friendly, and offers a high level of service. Whether they are staying the night or just coming in for a beer and burger at The Bike Brewery, we have designed the hotel to meet and exceed expectations. Our rooms are spacious, our spa offers signature services like the Full House and Bike Facial and when it warms back up, our pool and private cabanas are going to take center stage. This is really a dream come true for us and we hope our players enjoy what we have built for them.

No question, the 2/3 is way better with deeper stacks. I just started playing again recently and I'm already up $5K in 86 hours, 23 sessions. There usually seems to be more 2/3 games running than 1/3. The 1/3 is basically a short stack game so it's going to be hard to beat the rake.

Yup my feelings exactly. People use to go there to feed their entire family. They would come in behind the button, order food and sit out once the big blind got to them. While they were eating they would still get they card scanned and then leave after finishing their meal.

isn't the comfort inn the best place to stay if playing the bike?

I know, that **** is soooooo tilting to me.....
My favorite is the guy who waits for the scan, orders foods, sits out for 50 minutes, comes back, re-scans, and sits out for another 50 minutes.

How is/was the action opening night?

I will be there sometime this thursday or weekend to check it out ...

It was crowded like crazy fun evening with 2 BMW give aways and other things such as iPads and so forth.
Was lucky to be able to table change and get the best seat at my stake but play in general was not the best as many were there for the promotions and play stopped multiple times at multiple tables because people just left their seat and clearly didn't want to play, just kill time and hit some promotion.

Also on Friday they have a $100k GTD 1day event no re-buy no re-entry with a buy in of $150.

Pretty good tournament.

Did they have a lot of 2/3 games going?

Holy ****, just got home from there. It was paaaacked tonight. They completely ran out of tables, including in the new area. Tons of 2/3, 5/5, two 5/10 games, a 10/20 game, a 50/100 mix game, etc.