Large casinos who are constantly running 2-3 stake levels of NL will try to keep the BI at the lowest level 'low' so as to not scare off the Players if they feel too bullied by the larger stakes just sitting down and dominating their smaller stack (which may be 3x a min buy for them).

While most poker Players know that 100bb is 'nothing' in a lot of spots, it's still $300 to a lot of Players in larger markets so the casinos can (and will) do what it takes to force the deeper pockets to play 2/5 and leave the 'social' Players alone at 1/2-1/3. GL

Looks like Greentown adjusting hours.. make sure to check in before just showing up.

First time in long time .. amazing the difference from a smoking casino to non-smoking.. GL

FINALLY got back to Detroit poker .. two sessions at MGM, one shorty at Greektown.

1) I think MGM Floors deserve every day off they get! Lots of personalities in that room .. but that goes for any poker room too. They strive to answer every phone call and bluntly/honestly snap off answers to every Player that tries to grab their attention. And I'm not sure the Players really know how well they have it compared to other large rooms.

2A) MGM 2/5 NL is about as Nitty as it gets .. 3 tables basically all the same. Saw one Player who I'd give props to.
2B) MGM 3/3 PLO was about the same .. maybe a little tight on Friday night, but Saturday was a good game to sit at.

2C) MGM 'super' PLO ran Friday night with a couple of big 'stars' .. doubt it went all night but looked like a good game until about 240am when a couple busts and 2-3 Players running off to a meal slowed the table down. (Most 'good' food ends at 3am)
2D) MGM 5/10 PLO ran Sat evening and seem very 'pro' heavy .. very quiet

3A) MGM Dealers seem better than last visit, but they still POOL THE TIPS .. sad face
3B) MGM was short a Dealer or two Sat afternoon, especially with HH going. Dealers did call in absent and other Dealers were there on OT .. and some Dealers did show up after being called in early or on day off. So basically the same as any other room, but perhaps some 'team' effort being put in by the staff.

4) There are very obvious REASONS why Greektown struggles .. and I was only there for 90 minutes. I could rant, but it's really not worth getting into .. today. GL

I play at MGM D on the reg. Hard agree with your take on 2/5 NL being a nit fest. There’s also more regs/solid players than you think. I will only play 2/5 NL on the weekends and between the hours of 7PM - 12AM.

And yeah, it’s really unfortunate they still pool tips. Most the dealers are slow and don’t control the games, but I don’t blame them

Having played a lot of live around the country, I do find the MGM player pool to be on the toxic side, even for poker players.

Really surprising you guys think 2/5 at mgm is nitty. Do you guys have any kind of sample size there? I have played in many rooms including Vegas LA Maryland and Detroits 2/5 scene is honestly by far the softest out of all those places…I have over 500+ hours of each place at 2/5 and Detroit is my highest hourly by a pretty significant margin…

TBH I'm a PLO Player and only play NL when I'm waiting, so my sample size is extremely small in poker terms. My reference is just that I played at 3 tables (time of day different too) and all three were exactly the same dynamic. I try to separate my evaluations from my stack result and there's no chance that I would want to spend 'hours' at any of these tables. Def a Reg filled room and I'm not doubting that quite a few are just fine playing the way they do .. it's just not my cup of tea dynamic (and certainly my PLO preference influences that). I'm also influenced by the Players in my Pool that play there more often and come back with the same details.

Have you been to FKeepers? While that game can be a bit sticky at times as well there's usually 2-3 Players at the table that are willing to mix it up and chips get pushed around quite a bit.

TBH (again) there can be way better games at 1/2-1/3 on the west side of the state because the Players who would/could play 2/5 (if running) are sitting at those tables willing to move chips.

I don't like putting it this way .. But I'd rather win $150 five-six times an hour than win 480 once.

I'm glad that you've had success .. keep it up. GL

I've only dumped a few hundred hours into 2/5 at MGM. Most my volume is at 1/2 (now 1/3). Outside of peak weekend hours, it's the same cast of 4-6 solid regs spread across 2-3 tables. Like Answer stated, you're probably just an absolute crusher

Don't forget your favorite Tournament spot to the west .. Firekeepers is loaded up as always.

1) This Saturday .. $450 Black Chip Bounty . Noon . 30k chips . 30 min levels. If/when you bust you can enter the Pineapple Tournament at 2pm

2) March 31st is a 5th Sunday .. $500 tournament as usual

3) MSPT May event is really not too far off .. Satty information should be released soon ..

Check Bravo for more scoop, including a new $200 'early bird' Hot Seat Promo Fri, Sat and Sun 930-1130 GL

Greektown will always Greektown. I can't remember what day it was but I was shocked to see Greektown had a 2-5 game going and Motor City had none. Greektown is a strong cockroach and I believe it will outlast Motor City.

Anybody see the fist fight at mgm around 3 this morning? Was a proper fight.

Looks like Soaring Eagle is getting back into tournament poker again.

Hey all:

I was at Motorcity the other night.

The "smoking lounge" is now open in the old poker room space. There are indeed slot machines in there, but not nearly as many as they could fit in if they really wanted to. Kind of odd. If they want slot machines, they should pack them in!

In all my years of playing poker, a first happened! A drunk woman was hurling expletives and obscenities at my table was ejected. Security was actually called in. I was kind of upset with the floor, as they should have ejected her AFTER she loses her chips. Her personality was even worse than her exterior appearance! A truly miserable person.

Food, to a degree, is back in the room. There are frequently Better Made chips put out. Sometimes there are even "sandwiches" put out...but they are 2" in length, MUCH smaller & not as high quality as what used to be put out. Strangely, cans of soda & bottles of water are also available for players.

Perhaps worst of all, the number of players has gone down. Those that are there are usually regulars and nits. The few fresh faces that come in are severely short stacked more often than not. 6-7 new players came to my table through the night, and they each had well less than $100 bankrolls.

I was there on a SAT. night, which I would presume is frequently the busiest of the week.

The rake is $6+2, which is simply brutal at short stacked 1-2 games.

It appears that the vast majority of the players have now migrated over to MGM.

When I was at MCC they were only raking 5+2 (except for one dealer taking $6+2).

The 2" sandwiches are basic but you could pop 3 or 4 if hungry and avoid having to leave your table. I won't look a gift horse in the mouth

Didn't seem as action packed as MGM but there are plenty of loose calls seeing the flop

Not a bad alternative for when the wait times at MGM are ridic

Not sure why, but MGM was packed yesterday .. looked like a weekend night. They were running two 'games of the day', being a NL Limit and 15/30 Mixed, but there were plenty of 2/5 tables and 3 PLO tables with deep lists. I didn't really see anything on Bravo that would push Players to the room on a Tuesday, but that was basically a full house. GL