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12-26-2019 , 12:57 AM
Quote:
Originally Posted by Hectathrill
Toronto might be the worst major city in North America to live in, if you are a live poker player.
Yes and no. If you’re willing to travel or play off hours, it’s not horrible. Play at Heron later at night when the list gets blown through. You’re also only 4 hours from Mt. Pleasant, MI; close to Verona, NY; plus Detroit, Niagara and the NY state Seneca joints.

But as far as leaving home and seated in 20 minutes, you’re right. Calgary is probably best for that in Canada.
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12-26-2019 , 01:19 AM
figured i would give some thoughts as i went recently to check it out.
Used to go frequently. since they removed poker only went once and that was 9 months ago. decent amount changed.
Some general casino notes then the poker game.
Recently renovated, looks much better and doesn't feel like your definition of a scummy casino like before (lets be honest their avg client wasn't a nice person).
Upgraded their food. one of my friends said the noodle bar is good. and does the trick. One of my friends tried to sit at their "buffet" but you had to choose the items from the Menu? and they had prices. But they did call it a buffet. Little odd.
Less table games then before. more slot machines in now. Dealers still competent here. Oddly enough they had enough random stragglers walking around they could have opened all tables. Stakes is a bit weird they haven't adjusted them. Friday at 11:15am lowest table game was 15 dollars. previous years you could find 10 and some 5's. 15's usually only came out 6pm+
Hotel mid construction. Tim hortons/gas station across the street. Lots of room to add in more.

went there last friday for noon.
We called in at 10:10am (me+3 others) put our names down for 1/2 and 2/5 respectively and we were 12-15 on both lists.
Knowing full well people were duplicated and others had not checked in in time. we got our seats as well without an issue.
Highly recommend you call them and get on the list.

a few odd things
1) they seat 1 game at a time. Omaha then No limit then Limit. (it could be different other days thats what they did with me). there was no discussion of trying to seat multiple tables at a time. they also took care of it incredibly slow. They waited to get a full table of the Omaha before moving to the NLH tables. Which yes if they had 8, they waited to get the 9th. By the time they got to me at 2/5. there was 6 of us sitting and we jsut agreed to start out of frustration (12:40 roughly).
I am not sure why they wouldnt start before noon to slowly get them seated.

2) you have to buy chips ahead of time and it has to be at the cage not at the table, Why? i dont know, they may want the game to start right away. but if thats the case why not start slowly loading the tables before noon and warning your first table to get their chips. Oh and they wouldnt let me sit down with some black chips. my buyin on the table had to be red and green.

3) Only 1 of the cages let you buy chips from them the other cage is just for cashing out. No idea why and no explanation. frustrating cause the cage for cashouts only had 1 person open at any time my group of 4 went. Easy to build a line.

4) it was a few weeks into it. the people at the front of the room running it really seemed overwhelmed and lack structuring or knowledge of how to actually run a poker room. I think the average client impacted that as well (if you remember the port perry poker room you remember the average client) with the players constantly bothering them.

5) The Dealers itself. some of them said they dealt the poker previously, I had to be honest that was one of the better bluffs i saw that day. I get it you don't deal poker for a while you got some rust to shake off. But it should not take more than 1 or 2 days tops. there was some clear rust and clear lack of training. The 1-2 dealers were apparently 10x worse.

6) they have table side food. If youre ok paying for overpriced "apps" you will be fine. Friend of mine got their "asian rolls" and he was happy. I tried their buffalo chicken bites. decent amount for the price i paid. both under 10 bucks and they do the trick to push you through a bit longer in the session and not have you feel like youre fatigued.

7) The players: 1/2 is fish infested with a decent amount wanting to jump into 5/10 and 1 or 2 occasional competent players. the 2/5 that day had 1 or 2 people at most that were terrible of the 12-14 that came through my table. the rest were nitregs or competent. No stellar/superstar quality.

8) the buyin. 200 and 500 max. bit odd as i got the feeling if i was under 500 of being short stacked.

9) some rules are different i recommend reading them on the website. One: "a raise must be done in a continuous motion. if a player says raise and puts out the call amount first and then the raise amount it will be considered string and a call only. It must be one motion". Read up one the rest of the unique rules

10) The charging ports are good to have. but when the hand is being dealt your phone has to be turned over? I mean i guess i can't complain the fact the allow them now is a miracle.

11) The way they maintained tables and monitored lists was terrible. by 1pm all tables were open (1/2 nl, 2/5 nl, 20/40 omaha half kill, 5/10 LHE and 10/20 LHE. They had a kill not sure if it was half or full kill). Someone mentioned the seat chip situation earlier which is 100% true.
On avg when a player left the table at mine and my friends it took 30+ mins to get someone. I found when they called people they seemed to wait until they actually showed up.
On top of that, The dealers didn't yell seat open enough which often delayed it further. it gets better, if they moved on to person #2 on the list they left the first person up there and continued to call them. One person stayed on the list for 2 hours before they removed them.
Could be an oversight but i couldnt believe it.

12) Smokers will be happy, smoking area exit right by the poker room.

13) lot of the issues seemed to stem from lack of staffing and training which if you believe what the managers and dealer say will be corrected within a month or 2. as well as opening 24/7 again

I plan on going back on saturday, Ill try the limit holdem games likely 10/20 if its open. probably try some other food as well. so ill post more about that shortly.
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12-26-2019 , 01:28 AM
Quote:
2) you have to buy chips ahead of time and it has to be at the cage not at the table, Why? i dont know
speeds the game up. first buying at the cage is standard, should have chip runners to handle rebuys.
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12-26-2019 , 01:47 AM
"Oh and they wouldnt let me sit down with some black chips. my buyin on the table had to be red and green."

This place is a real joke. High rake, small stakes games only aside from limit 20/40 Omaha game which btw is only medium stakes, and absurd rules, like not being able to take your entire stack with you when you make a table change to the same stake game. The manager of the room must be a real dreamer.
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12-26-2019 , 06:30 AM
What is the rake for 1/2 and 2/5 NL? Not being able to take your whole stack is BS btw. Especially since the max buy ins are so low.
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12-26-2019 , 07:03 AM
They said 6 or 1/2, 8 for 2/5, and 10 for 20/40 Omaha and 5/5 NL which never seems to run.
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12-26-2019 , 08:15 AM
Quote:
Originally Posted by Big Frank C.
They said 6 or 1/2, 8 for 2/5, and 10 for 20/40 Omaha and 5/5 NL which never seems to run.
That isn't horrible but it's still really bad if the max buy ins are so low especially if there's a jackpot rake. If they don't raise them it sounds like Casino Niagara might be the only option. Especially cause of the long wait times.
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12-26-2019 , 12:06 PM
What gets me is that minimum 1 dollar for the bad beat jackpot on every pot if you see a flop. So if it there’s a 10 dollar pot, it’s a 2 dollar or 20% rake.
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12-26-2019 , 12:09 PM
Responding to post 177.

The buffet is only open during certain times. I know the dinner starts at 4 pm. So if you eat earlier it’s by the menu. There’s no point not to wait for the buffet as the menu items come to the same price usually.
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12-26-2019 , 12:09 PM
Quote:
Originally Posted by thenewoldpro
What gets me is that minimum 1 dollar for the bad beat jackpot on every pot if you see a flop. So if it there’s a 10 dollar pot, it’s a 2 dollar or 20% rake.
Easy solution. Never open limp.

Sent from my SM-G975U1 using Tapatalk
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12-26-2019 , 12:14 PM
Quote:
Originally Posted by Beat Army
Yes and no. If you’re willing to travel or play off hours, it’s not horrible. Play at Heron later at night when the list gets blown through. You’re also only 4 hours from Mt. Pleasant, MI; close to Verona, NY; plus Detroit, Niagara and the NY state Seneca joints.

But as far as leaving home and seated in 20 minutes, you’re right. Calgary is probably best for that in Canada.
Montreal. At playground I have never waited for a table.

Travelling into the USA is a headache these days.

Yeah Toronto is frustrating as it is the only large Canadian city without a poker room. And yet there is a large casino now here with table games. I’m not sure if there’s any other city in the world with this setup.
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12-26-2019 , 02:45 PM
Quote:
Originally Posted by ZippyThePinhead
Easy solution. Never open limp.

Sent from my SM-G975U1 using Tapatalk
That's crazy talk. You're taking all the fun out of the game zippy! Let's just see some flops man.
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12-26-2019 , 04:42 PM
Current wait time ..7 hours
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12-26-2019 , 05:40 PM
Quote:
Originally Posted by thenewoldpro
Montreal. At playground I have never waited for a table.

Travelling into the USA is a headache these days.

Yeah Toronto is frustrating as it is the only large Canadian city without a poker room. And yet there is a large casino now here with table games. I’m not sure if there’s any other city in the world with this setup.
It really is. I drove across to play in Seneca and voluntarily went upstairs at Rainbow Bridge to talk to a border officer about what kind of documentation I needed to road trip in the US for a few months (cause poker sucks so bad in Ontario). When I got up there she had zero chill and made me feel like a criminal when I just wanted to ask a few questions.
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12-26-2019 , 06:03 PM
Quote:
Originally Posted by LordRiverRat
It really is. I drove across to play in Seneca and voluntarily went upstairs at Rainbow Bridge to talk to a border officer about what kind of documentation I needed to road trip in the US for a few months (cause poker sucks so bad in Ontario). When I got up there she had zero chill and made me feel like a criminal when I just wanted to ask a few questions.
I know several Canadian who travel to Miami to play for months at a time. One frustrated womyn shouldn't stop you from traveling the USA. However you might need to prove being financially able to do so if requested by an officer.
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12-26-2019 , 06:04 PM
That's not bad. Wait at casino Niagara is currently about 7 minutes.
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12-26-2019 , 06:49 PM
Quote:
Originally Posted by Big Frank C.
I know several Canadian who travel to Miami to play for months at a time. One frustrated womyn shouldn't stop you from traveling the USA. However you might need to prove being financially able to do so if requested by an officer.
I'm already in the US. But oh man crossing the border was scarier than any bluff I've ever done. Cause I've heard people being banned for five years for stupid reasons. And cause of that horrible experience I had with the Rainbow Bridge border officer. I decided to take the Queenston Bridge instead and to never ever use the Rainbow Bridge unless it's just to play poker for the night at Seneca. The guy at the bridge was actually super chill. He was drinking a monster and laughed about how I was drinking one too. He told me to pull over, asked me to show him my luggage. Then he said he's OK with me but he should still take me inside cause I'm gonna be in the country for several months. Guy inside was more serious. But after a few minutes and me showing him my bank statements, job offer letter and letter from HR confirming that I'll be returning to Canada to work, he said "good luck, don't screw up and don't lose all your money".

I imagine that if I was unemployed, living with my parents and just playing poker, crossing the border would've been a much different experience.

Quote:
Originally Posted by thenewoldpro
Current wait time ..7 hours
And it's that long cause some people are actually willing to wait hours. Disgusting.

Last edited by LordRiverRat; 12-26-2019 at 06:55 PM.
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12-26-2019 , 08:21 PM
Quote:
Originally Posted by LordRiverRat
I'm already in the US. But oh man crossing the border was scarier than any bluff I've ever done. Cause I've heard people being banned for five years for stupid reasons. And cause of that horrible experience I had with the Rainbow Bridge border officer. I decided to take the Queenston Bridge instead and to never ever use the Rainbow Bridge unless it's just to play poker for the night at Seneca. The guy at the bridge was actually super chill. He was drinking a monster and laughed about how I was drinking one too. He told me to pull over, asked me to show him my luggage. Then he said he's OK with me but he should still take me inside cause I'm gonna be in the country for several months. Guy inside was more serious. But after a few minutes and me showing him my bank statements, job offer letter and letter from HR confirming that I'll be returning to Canada to work, he said "good luck, don't screw up and don't lose all your money".

I imagine that if I was unemployed, living with my parents and just playing poker, crossing the border would've been a much different experience.



And it's that long cause some people are actually willing to wait hours. Disgusting.
True story but if you cross frequently you will get the equivalent of a road side stop with the guards ready to shoot.

If you are panicky person, or get caught with a fib you could get banned and when that happens you need to pay a fee for your application to get processed and even then it's not a lock for you to be accepted. I also think the fee is around 1k.

Also don't smoke weed or be honest about smoking weed as that can get you banned too(even though it's a legal product).

Last edited by lefty rosen; 12-26-2019 at 08:27 PM.
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12-26-2019 , 09:28 PM
Quote:
Originally Posted by lefty rosen
True story but if you cross frequently you will get the equivalent of a road side stop with the guards ready to shoot.

If you are panicky person, or get caught with a fib you could get banned and when that happens you need to pay a fee for your application to get processed and even then it's not a lock for you to be accepted. I also think the fee is around 1k.

Also don't smoke weed or be honest about smoking weed as that can get you banned too(even though it's a legal product).
I never had any issues entering the USA. If you're a serious person and can prove both income and or assets, you should be fine. Weed can be a real issue though. I have never used or tried even once in my life. You should say the same when crossing border. They are very serious when it comes to both licit and illicit drugs.
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12-26-2019 , 09:32 PM
Folks you've strayed way off topic for this thread. This thread is about GBH. How to get into the US, or to any other casino, has nothing to do with GBH casino. If you want to continue this discussion use one of the regional threads such as the Toronto or Ontario thread. Thanks.
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12-26-2019 , 09:40 PM
If I don't want to show my ID when buying more than 3k in chips at GBH, can you still give just a 1st name? In Niagara they only require ID for 10k or more in chips. Their sister property elements Brantford requires only a 1st name if you refuse ID for over 2500-3k but under 10k.

I like my privacy so I am actually considering using a woman's name, and possibly coming dressed like a woman, but changing in bathroom before I play poker. Kind of like the restaurant scene in Mrs. Doubtfire. Just not sure what bathroom to use.
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12-27-2019 , 12:27 AM
Quote:
Originally Posted by Big Frank C.
"Oh and they wouldnt let me sit down with some black chips. my buyin on the table had to be red and green."

This place is a real joke. High rake, small stakes games only aside from limit 20/40 Omaha game which btw is only medium stakes, and absurd rules, like not being able to take your entire stack with you when you make a table change to the same stake game. The manager of the room must be a real dreamer.
Not being able to take a full stack is truly dumb but the dumbest is having Lucky Lucky flop on the game and the winnings live money.

I wonder who the manager is now if it’s not Jeff P.
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12-27-2019 , 12:35 AM
It's a lady who also plays occasionally in Niagara. I cannot remember her name. You're 100% right. Lucky lucky was a way to permanently remove money from table, similar but even worse than the table transfer. Guy just wins 400-500 on lucky lucky. Check raises me all in on a 3 diamond flop for 700 into a 120 pot. I call with flopped queen hi flush. He had what I expected Ace of diamond only. River 4th diamond. He says sorry was just gambling, I replied nice hand. 5 minutes later he went from 1400 to 200 bucks, betting lucky lucky at 100 per flop. I was beyond disgusted.
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12-27-2019 , 12:39 AM
Quote:
Originally Posted by Beat Army
Not being able to take a full stack is truly dumb but the dumbest is having Lucky Lucky flop on the game and the winnings live money.



I wonder who the manager is now if it’s not Jeff P.
Manager's name is Jenn. They don't have lucky lucky anymore, just other ways to divert money from game.
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12-27-2019 , 12:43 AM
She has an account here and around a month ago tried posting info about the room, but since she wasn't an authorized room rep I had to delete her posts. She has since become one and has the undertitle, but hasn't logged back on since that happened. If she were to come back she'd now be free to address the issues raised ITT.
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