How is the Big O at the lodge please ?
Or Austin ?

nonexistent except for a Monday night Big O tournament at The Lodge. Aside from that, you pretty much need to travel to San Antonio or Dallas for Big O cash games in the rooms (or I guess there are some private Big O games in the Austin area someone mentioned in a another thread)

Just a headsup if anyone pre-buys time at The Lodge you cannot cash it out, transfer/sell it or use it for tournament entries.

So now I've been told they talked more about it and if I can find someone to buy my prepaid time I can sell it to them and they'll transfer it. Not sure if I'm being given special consideration or if this will be applicable to others as well, but double check before you prepay I guess

Are you leaving town or something?

Just haven't been playing there much lately. My vlog content that I'm putting out now is from last Nov/Dec when the games were better. But the PLO lineups have been awful for months now. I hadn't played in awhile, went last night and there were three tables running and they were all awful reg-infested tight/tough lineups.

So I've been playing at other properties as I can, but we may wind up relocating to another market before years end.

Interesting. Why do you think that happened?

i'll be in this area in a few weeks for a couple of days. Obviously I don't want to buy time I don't end up using. Can I just pay as I go or do I have to buy it in chunks?

The problem with The Lodge is that they are too focused on the high stakes market and catering to high stakes players, to the detriment of their overall bottom line AND the poker economy.

At the end of the day, these businesses make money by putting butts in seats and KEEPING them in seats.

A 100/200 player pays the same fee to the house as a 1/2 player, BUT they are significantly higher maintenance, they want hosts, free food, etc.

They're a smaller pool of players and harder to attract and keep.

Plus, the games are designed to cater to those deep pocketed players.

So the entry-level 1/2/5 PLO game allows unlimited restraddles (I've seen it get to $320) plus match the stack.

I've seen dudes sitting 20-30k deep in those games. So the guy who just got off work and has 400-600 in his pocket comes in, sees he has no ****ing chance against someone with that much money and turns around and leaves.

So the deep-pocketed players scare off the recreationals, they make the games play too big for entry level stakes and people go broke.

Now the room suffers because there's less butts in the seats because players were ran off or busted, and the overall poker economy suffers for it too.

They need to protect those entry level games by not letting them get out of hand, stop catering to the vocal minority of deep-pocketed players who are destroying the games and your business.

Likewise they need promotions that will draw people in and keep their butts in the seats paying time fees.

Another issue is that they heavily advertise their once a month series, OUTSIDE the local market.

All that does is attract all the traveling grinders who come into town, chew up the locals and leave with all the $$$.

They need to focus on advertising LOCAL and build a strong core of returning players while protecting the entry level games from playing too big AND the higher games and degenerates from themselves so they don't go broke.

That's my perspective from the outside looking-in. I'm not privy to their internal decisions or operations, this is just my observations from the player side.

In addition, when we first moved out here 9-10 months ago the dealers I met at The Lodge were the happiest I've ever seen, and they sang the rooms praises and said they had never worked in a room that treated dealers so well.

Well that culture appears to have changed significantly, with massive amounts of people getting time cut or let go outright. It's pretty crazy for the 180 degree change to have occurred in such a short time-span.

You can pay daily membership fees and hourly time fees, you don't have to prepurchase a big block of time. I had just done it because it saved me time and constant trips to the front to pay my share on the way out, plus at the time I prepaid they had a deal going where you could lock in at the $10/hr rate before it went to $11

People laughed at me on 2p2 a few years back for explaining that a games I was playing in TX (buying in with $500 bullets), had people stuck 10-30k with these blinds.

Its hard for me in retrospect to believe that its truly just that much gamble and ego amongst the whales that inflates those games, I just think house/floors can make more in a short amount of time (tips/action/rake) thats not guaranteed to last anyway, and THEY encourage this in spite of the "butts in seats" issues which is better for the people at the very top long term. American middle management is about getting it quickly as possible regardless of having to cater to their market.

I most def stopped playing those games and rarely saw a 1/3 or 2/5 PLO that doesn't operate this way. 1/3 PLO with a max $500 rebuy is like a rarity nowadays.

The guys with the deep pockets can make the entry level games play like an 80/160 game with super shallow stacks. And they can afford to flip for stacks all day or take the 30% equity spots against you for eternity because they can just reload and match your stack until they bust you.

What they need to do is make the entry level games protected from **** like this, and keep those crazy straddles and match the stack for 5/10 stakes or higher. It's not only better for the poker economy, it's better for the bottom lines of their rooms and keeping as many butts in those seats paying time as possible.

But the squeaky wheels tend to get the grease and the guys with deep pockets are the ones who will say "this is what the players want, they want straddles and crazy action, who would argue against it?"

And then players go bust or just turn around and go home because they know their $600 buyin won't get them far against stacks of 8K and above.

And they give the grease...

We agree everywhere else.

Without match the stack it's hard for even the deep pockets to avoid plo variance playing a bunch of all ins back to back to back. However I have seen that as well in the early days of $100 max buy-in during my travels in the south.

Have you asked them to start a list for a game with a max buy in and no straddles? If it's really the problem you think it is the list should fill up no problem.

Why would it fill up no problem? There's still the issues of:

1. A lot of players who wanted to play there saw the insanity of the entry-level games and decided it was too rich for their blood and left.

2. The Lodge seems to focus its efforts on advertising outside the market to traveling grinders, rather than promoting themselves to the local market of 2 million people (the room is located inside a crummy shopping plaza with no road signage advertising their existence and many people in the Austin area don't even know poker is available to them because nobody is marketing to them)


So the current crowd of grinders aren't going to flock to the capped game with no straddles, and the room isn't doing anything but trying to bring in big players for their stream as far as I've seen.

In the past they offered a weird 2/2 PLO game with buyins of 200-700 but it still allowed straddles, although they didn't get crazy. But it's awkward to have a 1/2 with a $5 bring-in and then a 2/2 at the same time, as they cannibalize one another.

The control has to come from the top down, the room needs to set the entry level games without permitting the match the stack and unlimited straddles that scare off newcomers or lower buyin players and result in some of the degenerates going busto. And then set the higher buyin games to permit the insanity.

If the deep pocketed guys want to play 80/160, let them start an 80/160 game, not make us play 5-10bb poker at 1/2/5 stakes where they can flip for stacks all day against everyone, forcing people to hit and run (bad for the room because games break and seats are left empty, and bad for the general quality of the games) or stay long enough to go busto against the guys with deep pockets in the lower stakes games.

Selfishly I like to be able to buy in deep vs bad players- both profit wise and from a having fun standpoint. But overall it's bad for the game. I've seen games at both NL and PLO get worse when the cap is raised. Some bad players tighten up a lot deeper and others don't and just get absolutely wrecked faster vs pros.

While I haven't played in Texas I can definitely understand where you're coming from if you want to play PLO with a 500 dollar ish buy in and the 2/2 game just becomes you have 10-20 blinds with that 500.

The guys who get off work with 400-600 in their pockets aren't walking out because the PLO game has too many straddles. They sit down at 1/2 NL or 1/3 NL.

If there's not enough demand to fill a buyin capped, no straddle game, then obviously the market has spoken and you're the only one who wants it that way.

I vlog PLO out here and have had people approach me and say they want to play the PLO game but the 1/2/5 entry level game is out of control with match the stack and unlimited straddles and they can't afford it or are intimidated because they see people sitting with 8k, 20k, etc.

So they just turn around and never come back. And since the Lodge is hyper-focused on advertising outside the Austin market to traveling grinders, they aren't reaching the local recreationals who could be filling games all month, but instead reaching professionals who will come for one week each month during a series, chew up all the locals, take the money and **** right off out of the area with it.

PLO can kill a Player pool/bankroll in a hurry for sure. Didn't they just put a cap on some NL games? That doesn't help with the straddle situation and/or if a guy has been there for 6 hours running it up.

I'd say move to the I-94 'Poker Alley' but vlogging is not allowed at any venues that I know of. PLO from Rivers in Chicago all the way to MGM in Detroit is still thriving .. albeit the pool is still under Pre-CV numbers.

I assume you've had conversations with Sup/Floor about this to no avail? GL

We're still in our house lease for another 4 months. There is something in the works that could keep us in the Austin area. But if that doesn't happen then we look at:

Dallas - the area has been hostile towards rooms and thus probably not an ideal place to setup shop given the uncertainty of rooms being able to remain open

San Antonio - was the hotbed of Big O games in Texas but I've been hearing rumblings that those games are drying up and not as profitable as they once had been

Houston - the hotbed of PLO action in the state, but there's concerns with shootings and safety, collusion, etc.


That's IF we remain in Texas.

bummed to hear about PLO drying up at the lodge. when i was there last year the 1/2/5 did play pretty huge but was amazing. now, i say that as someone who usually plays bigger and wanted the action, but there were definitely plenty of shorter stacks in addition to the whales and maniacs.

Yeah when we first moved here 9-10 months ago the games were great, but for months now they've been subpar in my experience.

But I don't think they really care, they're just hyper-focused on their livestream and high stakes hold em games.

Appreciate the posts TampaKn1sh but that isn't true about the Lodge, our main goals are to have thriving low stakes NL/PLO and small stakes tournaments.

PLO has been super active here lately, multiple 1/2/5 running daily. 5/10 PLO and 2/2 both going as well. The great game is alive and well.

I have also played a chunk of low stakes games lately and can confirm they are still great! The 1/3 is much tougher than the 1/2 but that will always happen in public games.

It's been over 4 months by far (so did he move?) .. seen posts in Austin and Houston Threads so must still be in TX somewhere.

If you want proof of life .. check out @GMoneyPoker on YTube .. it's a 'new' PLO Vlog and he typically plays at the Lodge. Some of the sessions are all you need to want to stop in a play at The Lodge. I believe he plays during the day a lot as well, so IMO if there are tables running during the day then the game can't be all that bad as far as 'opportunity'.

I know Players in the Midwest are still talking about TX as a poker destination .. right there with Vegas and FL .. so it can't be all that bad. CA isn't even on the radar much at all. GL

i know this is a long shot, but......

i'm looking for 1 or more players who may be driving to/from WSOP 2024 from texas and wanting to stay around 2 weeks or so. i am driving out there due to fear of flying & medical issues, and need another person(s) to drive with. i (42m) will be staying with a buddy of mine (25m), at horseshoe. we are chill, no partying on the strip, no slots/pits, just focus on poker during trip like real poker junkies. we have gone for a few years now and really enjoy the series, look forward to it every year. we are mostly cash players, with some tournaments mixed in. my friend is flying in. if you want to room with us, that would make it cheaper for everyone (if not, that's cool).

i have made the drive for many years now. it is a 2-day drive, solo, ~10 hours per day. but maybe can make it a super long 1-day drive with myself and one or two more people to split driving. obviously we would need to meet as a group beforehand, make sure we get along, can stand each other for long drive. also, will be using my vehicle (roomy, nice 4-door truck). i will eat most gas expenses, since this would primarily be accommodating me.

right now, looking at May 29-June 12 timeframe. but i can be flexible to adjust to everyone's schedule.

PM me if interested. looking to get booked soon.