Let's see if the hype continues
Is this a new era for poker in Sonoma County?

Let's talk about it(well most of it)here. How much of the player pool know about 2+2?

Place is a mad house tonight.

What poker games have you guys seen running?

3/6 limit he
4/8 limit he w/ full kill
6/12 limit he w/full kill
4/8 omaha h/l
1/3 nl
2/5 nl
5/10 nl
5/10 nl mixed he/omaha hi/lo
2/5 PLO
5/5 PLO

I may have missed something and they say they'll spread anything there's enough players for.

In the bigger games cash on the table plays and players can run the cards twice

Definitely a new era for poker in Sonoma County.

The mixed game that shows up as 5/10 Mix is usually 5/10 NL and 2/5 PLO, game changes every half hour on dealer change.

Two new big additions:

5/10 is uncapped
$100 bills play

On bravo

So I rolled into Graton 9ish this morning to play a short session and see how the Casino looked am after opening week/holiday weekend. It was all quiet and calm. As far as poker there was a 5/10 game that had been going all night. My 2/5 started at 9:30, and there were two 3/6 and one 4/8 in progress. The first 1/3started at 11:30.
Here at 3pm this is what's going on:



Current Live Games:

5-10 MIXED 1
1-3 NL HOLDEM 2
4-8 HOLDEM KILL 3
2-5 NL HOLDEM 3
3-6 HOLDEM 2


Current Waiting List:

1-3 NL HOLDEM 21
2-5 NL HOLDEM 9
2-5 PL OMAHA 12
3-6 HOLDEM 12
4-8 OMAHA H/L 8
4-8 HOLDEM KILL 6
5-10 NL HOLDEM 11
5-10 MIXED 12
6-12 HOLDEM 10
6-12 HOLDEM KILL 3
8-16 HOLDEM 4
10-20 NL HOLDEM 1
15-30 HOLDEM 3

Still only one week in, but these developments are quite interesting. Very curious to see if Sonoma and surrounding counties will sustain so much interest in so many different games.

Why aren't they starting the games with decent lists?

It's a Northern CA tradition.

Anyone there for the blackout last night? I ended up leaving the casino with my chips. Had just begun a session at the no-limit game planning to grind it out and then the power goes. It was very interesting. Surprised nothing crazy went down.

Never could have imagined a poker room in these parts where I would see during daytime hours NL all the way up to 10/20.

Me either, day or night. At 7:15 all 18 tables are full with the following games going...

3-6 HOLDEM 3
4-8 OMAHA H/L 1
4-8 HOLDEM KILL 3
1-3 NL HOLDEM 3
2-5 NL HOLDEM 5
5-10 NL HOLDEM 1
10-20 NL HOLDEM 2

The question still remains. Will it last?

Glad to see they've got lower and higher limits than 101 did. It always seemed like at the 101 half the players wanted to play smaller than 2/5 and half wanted to play bigger than 2/5 or 5/10.

And thank god no must move table. Man did I hate that.

The desk staff seemed a little bewildered and the Bravo system had a couple kinks, but it was a pretty good room. The only negative is that you can't get food at your table, but I actually think that's a positive.

The only real negative for me is the unrelenting noise from the slots. Toward the back of the room it's not a problem but within the first three tables or so it's terrible.

True, but at least it's not as bad as Aria was. The drink service is terrible though.

Watch out for the coffee. The other day there were drops of thick clear oil floating on top of every cup delivered to the tables.

It's early Saturday morning after a Friday night. It shouldn't be a shock that people are playing poker.

Does anyone know what 2-5 holdem is? They had 2-5 NL and 2-5 holdem on the board. It's not 2-5 limit is it? Then they have 2-5,3-6, and 4-8? Maybe 2-5 spread limit?

That was 7:15 pm on friday. If you were a regular in Sonoma County you would know this is unprecedented. Far, far more poker than has ever been played here. I'd say 15% of the people playing at Graton are locals.

So two weeks in and numbers are still good. What is a reasonable length of time to discern the idea that there is a new era in Sonoma County?

And 95% of them have little idea of what they are doing it seems.

I might be one of the few who actually enjoys playing while all the sights and sounds of an actual casino are going on around me - and that is when I notice any of it while at the table. I just must be immune to it. Was does bother me is the constant noise of the "roll calls" and extolling players to get to the table to start a new game. That PA noise is loud and seems to be interminable.

I just left the casino about 5pm, all 18 tables are full, and I doubt that even 5% of the people playing are regular, local poker players. And, there's dozens of people standing in line waiting for seats. If anything, I think the player pool is increasing. They're coming from all over the bay area and all over northern california. I make no predictions about the future, this is just unbelievable.

As for the noise, it's worse than ever because they're now piping in the music that plays all over the casino into the poker room.

How quickly do players tend to cycle through the games? For instance, right now there's a 30-person waiting list for the 3-6 limit game. With the room being full, is that a 1-2 hour wait? Longer?

My impression is that seats come open frequently, but it's brand new so who knows. You could give them a call and ask, the poker room number is on bravo. You can also call in to be put on the board.

And by the way, the 4/8 game is much more beatable than the 3/6. The $5 drop is the same but there's at least twice the chips on the table and in the pots.