AMERISTAR TRIP REVIEW: Saturday night, May 7th 2011 Just got back from black hawk this morning, spent all afternoon/evening yesterday playing 4/8.
Ameristar Black Hawk is a LOT of fun, super table action. Great service, looks like a big vegas hotel in the mountains. Excellent service from everyone. The poker supervisors like Eric and others were great guys, very friendly, answered all my questions. If I were to do it over, I'd go Wed/Thur nite since rack room rate is $99 vs the $199 I spent last night. Still pretty much worth it, got a 28th floor huge room w/decent view of the little city there. Not the same as Mandalay strip view lol but overall still very nice. Big spacious fancy bathrooms, soft beds, big flatscreen tv, though I only spent 5 hours in the room (to sleep, last night). The restaurant there has outstanding food and the manager, Todd, and his staff were great. Recommend the Reuben for lunch.
Only downside is no tournaments, I asked several poker supers and same answer: no space since they can fill tables with cash games, and I'm guessing they provide better rake per hour than tourney's rake does, so no tourneys on the schedule yet.
Played: 4/8 table from 2:30 pm til 1:15 am straight no breaks last night. Had coffee and water most of the time. Players were 1/2 retired regs in the afternoon/early evening, then some easy-fry fish early evening. Several donks wearing sunglasses. Once young guy looked like an internet poker dweeb with a hat and glasses on. Stared daggers at me whenever I took a pot (so did a couple retired guys, lol), he left after just 3-4 hours.
If you were there last night, I was the guy who rivered quad 7s against your KK777 full house. Priceless look on his face. He got up and left a couple orbs later. Looked like some college internet poker player kid. Fish fish fish.
Lessons learned:
#1) played ultra tight, only played 5-10% of hands, and that worked best. Sometimes I'd add to a sb with Kx Ax. Mostly played TAG strong hands, which meant I sat out multiple orbits paying my blinds. Takes a lot of patience. Maybe 1-2 strong hands an hour, at most, I slowplayed those heavy into the river/turn, was easy to trap.
#2) btw almost nobody buys in with 100BBs, usually just $80-$100 worth of chips at the 4/8, lots of white 1s and small stacks o reds. The 30/60 had big red stacks, looked more fun, wilder/looser table action though.
#3) lots of bad players, I couldn't believe it watching guys getting out cash to rebuy chips after losing. I won chips, had a big stack, never had to rebuy chips all night, and left with a profit; had two full racks+, it was easy. Don't know if the 30/60 table has tougher players (anyone?), the 4/8 was shooting fish in a barrel. Tipped dealers $1-2 per pot won.
Last night the tables were packed, lots of energy and excitement, great place, though I wish there was one like this closer to Denver without the drive up through the mountain roads. Suprisingly great service, huge property, it's a lot bigger in person than photos would appear, also very nice indoor pool/jacuzzis and fire pit/chairs up on the rooftop of this big hotel-casino. Not to mention they have the only Starbucks in Black Hawk at Ameristar. A++ I will be back.
And dudes - don't wear sunglasses indoors at a poker table, you look like complete morons. In fact I used a lot of reverse tells, like smiling like I had the nuts when I had KT or other lame starting pair, as if I had pocket aces. Way too easy to trap fish. I developed a rock table image so got a lot of folds whenever i went past the flop.
I remember felting a guy who had club flush K high and I had the 7/A club flush for the nuts, he was a sunglass-wearing dude who got really upset I cracked his K-hi flush, it was hilarious. He kept going on about how tough poker was to beat he never got a break wah wah wah who gives a crap, lose like a man, sparky. Sometimes I snap my fingers when I slap the nuts or trip As or whatever down, hard to resist tilting the newbs.
I know, "Don't tap the glass". It's just really funny sometimes to see the expression on their faces when they're tilted on a bad beat.
Anyone play the Ameristar 30/60? usually I've found more fish/retirees/donks at low limit tables, tougher competition at higher limits, common sense.
Last edited by ontheriver; 05-08-2011 at 02:59 PM.