The 50/100 was raked up to 500HKD

I was at Lisboa over the weekend. Quality of the players is improving it seems but there are still fish on each table.

I chatted with a few people and the general consensus is that Grand Waldo is much better because the room is nicer and the rake is alot less, BUT the lack of players is really hurting them because they are empty alot of the time. Throughout Fri-Sat, Lisboa had no fewer than 4 tables running at any time. I asked regulars if I should goto Waldo on Sat during the day and they told me it's likely they wouldn't have any running games until the evening (or late afternoon).

I'd say the problems with Grand Waldo is the separate room actually decreases traffic as curious blackjack/baccarat players don't walk by and get the urge to sit in and try, or watch from the rail to learn. Another problem the Grand Waldo is one of the older hotel/casinos and just doesn't get much traffic as the newer grander casinos. I wish Pokerstars all the luck to succeed but I think they are going to have a hard time until the game really picks up in popularity and people are willing to goto Waldo purely for the sake of playing poker. Unfortunately when that time comes, the newer larger casinos like Wynn, MGM, Venetian may offer the game.

BTW, there's this young (early 20's if even) chinese guy with glasses that is somewhat of a local hero to the regulars there. The kid shortstacks the 20/40 game with like $400 and has been making decent money. The kid's range is so obvious QQ+, AQ+, call with pp to set mine. He'll raise to like 120 and go all in the flop if he hits. It's rediculous to see how no one seems to be able to fold to his all in, doubling him up. Once he doubles up, he leaves the table immediately. With several tables available, he just moves to another table and starts over with his 10bb. The employees all know what he's doing and they do have a rule that he can't sit back at the same table for an hour but it pisses me off that he is allowed to sit in on another table without having to buyin for what he took off the previous table. The most ******ed thing of all of this is the regulars know what he's doing and yet they think it's funny and actually commend him on his play. I even overheard a couple guys who say they want to do it but doubt they can mimic his discipline. They actually think he's a good player. I told them that he's not that good, that they who give him action without a hand are just stupid. I dread to think that this guy is going to influence others and make shortstacking the norm for the games there.

What are other casino's rules regarding moving tables? I am pretty sure Fallsview Niagara forces you to move your entire stack over. If this is the norm, I'm seriously considering complaining to Lisboa mgmt to change the rules regarding this.

LOL I was there last night and I saw the kid for the first time. They call him Mr. All In.
The lowest cards he plays that I have seen is AJs.
But he is not the first person to use this strat. Theres another young guy who is even tighter than this kid except he buys in for full amount. He ONLY plays QQ+. Not even AK. Folds on the small blind even to a limp except when he has PP and thus looking for a set. He only plays sets and big PP. Of-course he may get 2 pairs if he limps from the BB but he will only check it down.
BTW I always see him with 200-300 BBs infront of him before he quits the table...I guess it works around here.

So the biggest problem, out of all the things you could have highlighted, is shortstackers?

it's funny you mention this because my preference is to keep my stack when moving tables. but I can't because that's the rule. the thing visitors don't realize is that Macau gaming is very regulated. it's not easy or fast to change things. I'm not used to this rule myself but if it's standard for everyone then there's no advantage for anyone.

essentially you could hop from poker room to poker room in Vegas too...it's just more leg work.

with all the action in Macau I think this is a minor detail.

ya, I noticed that the guys who play bigger games (HKD 50-100 or 100-200) just all agreed to go to Grand Waldo to save on rake. they figured out the math and said the $30 taxi probably saved the table close to $40,000 that session.

I don't recall ever saying it was the "biggest problem". I just thought it was worth mentioning.

Are you implying there are alot of other things I could have highlighted but didn't? You're free to add if you feel that way.

The biggest problem is that there's no cash desk so the games are often held up by players cashing in or out. If there's a few cash in/outs in a row, the game seems to grind to a halt. Even worse is when chipfills arrive (which seems to happen at every table every time i play) and everything stops for 10minutes.

I've seen the All-In kid in action. The funny thing is just how many players can't resist calling his all-ins with weak hands and paying him off. One win and he's off to the cashiers to cash out. A minor annoyance. I'm not sure if I like playing with him or not; on one hand he's very predictable but on the other hand, he gives very little action and is very rocklike.

whats the closet casino that offers poker from the venecian?

The Grand Waldo http://www.grandwaldohotel.com , but their games are not 24/7, I advise you to stay and play at the Grand Lisboa instead.

I popped into GL tonight for a game and there were *30* people on the list for 10/20!
Not sure why so many people were there, but it looks like the market is growing steadily. It could be something to do with the rooms in HK perhaps.
Anyway, all the action seems to be at GL for the moment but it looks like the pie is growing.

Hey guys...

I will visit HK for a week soon ... and thought about dropping by in Macau for a day. My first thought was... to come to Macau like at noon ... look a little bit around... and then play for a while lol ... But I figured... since my hotel is in HK, that it might be better to come later... stay / play the night... and just go back in the morning?

How are the playing hours at GL / Waldo? Do you guys start in the late evening and play like until 5~6 am? =) You help is much appreciated ...

i got back from macau a few weeks ago and played at grand lisboa everyday.

who ever said that the games are getting tougher made me laugh

I played with that Mr. Allin kid and hes not making money... he was shoving with all sorts of crap pre and calling off light. I saw him drop alot of money over 2 weeks.

started my sessions in late evening cause thats when all the drunk baccarat crowd gets into poker. the 25/50 game is by far the most profitable if a certain few regs sit down.

Since i left i heard alot of 10/20 crowd has moved to the waldo but not 100% sure. When i was there the waldo didnt have many low limit games so gand lisboa was the place to be.

also if your catching a taxi to grand lisboa and dont want to be taken to the old lisboa brothel just say "Sun Po King" which means grand lisboa.

are there any limit holdem games or are they all NL ?

All are NL.

are the weekday games at all decent / on the evenings etc?

i know macau fills up more on fri/sat etc

i wanna swing by but i'm not a high stakes player..

Games run 24 hours a day at the Grand Lisboa with at least two tables, more in the evenings. At the moment though most action is at the Grand Waldo due to the APPT.

Whats the rake at the Grand Waldo?

I might find myself in Hong Kong later this year, and I was thinking of taking a few days off to play poker in Macau while I'm there. Would a small white girl be safe there, or should I save my casino adventures for Vegas?

Grand Waldo will spread Limit or Pot-Limit Hold'em on request. We've had a regular high-stakes head's up game running in the evenings for the past few days. Just ask for it.

Don't go places where you will be alone, and don't go wandering low-density areas late at night. Of course, I would say that for any major city, Macau included.

I would check with some travel agencies or more reputable sources as well.

There's a WIDE range of MTT events running during the APPT (that lasts until next Tuesday), with buy-ins ranging from $500 HKD up to $150,000 HKD. We also have about 12 cash game tables running every night, with spreads from 10/20 up to 500/1000.

Of particular note (all $ in HKD):

Friday

• 1:30PM - APPT Macau Main Event Day 3
• 3:30PM - Mega-Satellite to APPT Seoul - $3,500 buy-in
• 5PM - $1,000 Event
• 8PM - $10,000 Event (2 days if required)

Saturday

• 1PM - Lee Nelson Lecture & Book Signing (free)
• 1:30PM - Filming of the Final Table of APPT Macau Main Event starts (all are welcome to come and watch)
• 3:30PM - Deep Stack Event - $1,000 buy-in
• 6PM - Mega Satellite to APPT High Roller Event - $15,500 buy-in
• 8PM - 200K Guaranteed, w/ 1 Rebuy - $2,500 buy-in

Sunday

• 1:30PM - APPT Macau High Roller Event - $150,000 buy-in
• 3:30PM - $500 Event
• 5PM - Mega-Satellite to APPT Seoul - $3,500 buy-in

Monday

• 1:30PM - APPT Macau High Roller Event Day 2
• 3:30PM - $1,000 Event
• 8PM - $4,000 Event

Tuesday

• 1:30PM - Filming of the Final Table of APPT Macau High Roller Event starts (all are welcome to come and watch)
• 3:30PM - $1,000 Event

My Asia travel experience is somewhat dated and I never made Macau, but generally would consider it quite safe for someone like yourself to travel there alone. If you're comfortable going to Hong Kong alone Macau won't be much different. I'm not sure that a Vegas trip would be safer than a Macau trip. Being that you're white while traveling in China probably makes you more safe than if you were (ethnically) Chinese.

Macau is an extremely safe city, even late at night. Crime against tourists is all but unheard of and it is so dense with people that you will not find yourself in a situation where you will be isolated. Police are highly visible also.
All in all, much safer than anywhere in the USA.

Are there poker rooms in Hong Kong now?