For those of us new to the thread can someone explain the deal with this podium line? Is that just to get on a waitlist? The WLs seem small according to bravo...

Are they doing something more than putting names on lists at the podium? That doesn't seem like it'd take that long, so I'm confused as to why it's a multiple hour wait. Was thinking about heading up in an hour but don't want to spend half the afternoon standing around...would just go to Charlestown instead

My understanding is that due to fire code restrictions (I heard this heard, so no 1st hand knowledge. It could just be a policy.), only so many people can be within the poker room itself. Effectively that means when the room is fully up and running already, only a small (at least it appeared last night) amount of non-playing people (~20ish) will be let into the room to be placed on a list. The rest must remain outside the room in a line until those people are seated. Otherwise you'd end up with too many people physically in the room. So while the Bravo waitlist may not look long, there can be a long line of people waiting outside the poker room you can't see. Just check here to get a sense.

Wife and I are heading to the mall this afternoon. She usually shops while I degen away my money. Bravo waitlist looks reasonable right now, what about around 4pm? Any ideas the plausibility of getting seated at a 1/2 table within an hour and actually having some time to play?

This makes sense. It also explains why the wait line doesn't seem to move at all. It, however, can be easily resolved to the benefits of the casino.

1. Ask the non-playing people who are waiting to wait outside. You have the wait list screen outside the poker room anyway so you can always come back to check on it. This way, you can keep moving the next 20 people in the wait line in to sign up.

OR

2. Send someone out with pen/paper and start signing people up. You only need their names/initials and what games they want to sign up for anyway so you can go through 100 people in no time.

In both cases, the casino is more likely to profit anyway since people may be tempted to play slot or other table games rather than just standing around doing nothing.

I went by last night around 11PM with a buddy (after noticing the Bravo WL being only 30+). It turned out the wait line just to sign up was 100+. We just gave up and played blackjack for a few and left.

Mike,

I would like to play in the Sunday tournament, but I see you've mentioned capping it. Will you still have 20K guaranteed? I think you need 7 tables minimum to avoid an overlay if you do. I've been playing late (3-4am), but if the Sunday tournament is going to run w/20K I'd like to cut out around midnight tonite, so I can be back and rested by 10-11am tomorrow. Completely understand if you don't offer the guarantee this weekend. Any advance notice would be greatly appreciated, so I can better plan.

Thanks!

They have caught up with putting folks on the list, it seems, 100 are in line on bravo for 1/2 and 2/5 Best wait for a shorter line. ( or they did not take folks off the list. ) Since there are 45 games going, and enough players to fill five games at higher limits, I bet that 100 number is real.

They have a captive audience, in AC, you would just go to the next casino.

Anyone know the average wait time for 1/2 or 2/2 PLO when the waitlist is like 50+. It just doesn't seem worth it to make the trip to wait hour or two to get a seat.

Players who played already at the live response would be appreciated !

So I've been playing the 2-2 PLO game 3 days straight (with breaks lol).

It is a good game. Actually, any table where I have been sitting the atmosphere has been extremely fun. Cracking jokes, making side comments, messing with the dealers. We've sort of been doing everything to make the game all about social poker, without remembering "oh by the way, we're trying to win each other's money". This basically created a great atmosphere where there's gamble and fun. The result was that a lot of money was moving around in the 2-2 game, even though we had nitty players such as myself. Last night, we had 1 guy who would raise every time preflop and another player who was also fairly consistent action. This definitely drove the game. One pot last night was $602 dollars, 6 way before the flop. Ended up 3-way all in on the flop because everyone caught a piece of it.

So the action is good, and the game is fun. Please keep it that way.

VERY IMPORTANT
Our game wasn't being filled almost at all. We had to play 6-7 handed consistently, with over 50 people on the waiting list. Basically we just started telling players to grab a seat to bypass the line because MDLive staff wasn't doing a good job filling our table. Apologies to anyone who was on the list but came to a full table, but we were consistently short-handed for 30-40+ minutes at a time with a full list of waiting players. This is something that needs to be seriously addressed.

It's hard to give specific wait times down to the second but I will share my experience when I went on Wednesday night. I got in line about 8:50 pm and there were about 100 people in front of me. About 1 hour later I was inside the room and got my name on the list for a few games (4/8 O8, 1/2, 2/5, 2/2) and within 5 minutes I was called for the 4/8 game. About 20 mins after that I was getting called for 1/2 and 2/5. A few after that I was getting called for 2/2.

I think the biggest hurdle is the line to get your name on the list. Once your name is on the list, you will be called shortly. You have to remember the are keeping track of the number of people leaving and entering so once they let the next 10 to 20 people on to get on a list, you can safely assume they have the seats for them in short order. It would be good to be flexible in your game selection so that you can get seated sooner rather than later.

Thanks CashEddie. Only interested in 1/2 NL & 2/2 PLO. I was thinking make it out there on a late run 12am ~ but it seems like it's not gonna change anything. Appreciate your response ! Any better after midnight hours?

Yesterday, I arrived at noon. There wasn't a line out in the main casino, but there was a lot of people waiting around in the poker room. I was 51st on the wait list for 1/2. I was seated 30-40 minutes later.

By 4pm, it was very busy with a big line once again out in the main casino. There were a lot of people who got into the room and on the waitlist, but then just sat at a table. There were lots of open seats at 1/2 tables, despite the long waitlist. At one point, there was an announcement over the PA asking dealers to make sure the correct player was sitting and coming from the waitlist.

It's a self compounding issue. When a player is deep in the list, but just sits anyway, he stays on the list and a seat is held for him at another table, at least for a while. Then other players deep in the list see a lot of open seats.... I think MDlive staff is doing a pretty good job all things considered.

I'm about to head there, and when I arrive will try to post an update on lines/waits, etc.

hm.. what happened to players sitting must match the players card given at the podium?

I didn't see the dealers having that kind of ability on weds.

They need a way to get people on the Bravo waiting list quickly while not going into the poker room. Being held up just to put their names on the lists is a disaster.

They should just set up temporary registration tables/bravo kiosk outside the poker room. Just do all the sign up outside and encourage players to use other chip cages or even use additional chip runners outside the room. This would help with fire code issues and would remove the "line to get on the list". Also setup some PA speakers outside the room so players can wait and listen from outside the room.

Is their a way to check your Live Rewards status online?

Thanks ColdClay - Yea your input when you arrive will be greatly appreciated. I'm not a local for MD Live so I rather wait a week or two if I have to. But 45min-1hr hours isn't too bad i guess !

I heard Phil Ivey was suppose to be there at noon yesterday, anybody know if he came through or not?

When I was there last night the person running the sign up list at the podium was very slow and took at least 1-3 minutes per player. Besides that, all players who were already playing and wanted to move to a different game (i.e. move from 1/2 to 2/5 etc) had to wait in the same line which held people up further. Other than some minor issues this room is great. Hopefully the list/open seat management will improve as the staff gets experience

Appears that 1/2 and 2/5 are the most popular games out there with so many tables setup for those two games, action must be really good between the two for them to have as many tables running both games! Has anybody seen Michael Phelps out there, the supposedly Poker Ambassador to this new poker room out there?

He was playing the 10-25nl on Thursday.

Nice! I've played 5/10 with him up at Delpark last year, really cool guy, had fun chopping it up with him there!

To become a platinum member, I understand that we need 417 hours (250,000 points @ 600 points/hr). Do we have to accumulate the points within a 90 day period? i.e., for those of us that started playing this week, we have until end of November to get platinum status?

http://www.marylandlivecasino.com/as...egulations.pdf

TRIP REPORT/REVIEW OF MARYLAND LIVE! POKER ROOM:
Have gone to Live twice, playing 1-2 NL Hold'Em both times, first arriving Thursday at 4:20 p.m., and today (Saturday) at 8:15 a.m. Parking is fine, and the walk to the poker room from the garage is reasonably short. No wait either time, but in the short term you will need to time it right to avoid a wait.
Cashiers were slow, need to speed it up.
The room is beautiful, shiny and new, and in good taste. The TV's were low, but I saw no problem with their height. Channel selection seems to be an issue, however.
The tables are beautiful, and the cards slide well when you fold.
Chairs are great.
Chips are great, but I agree that the $2 chips and the $25 chips look too much alike. I was very careful when I got $25 chips, putting them aside so I wouldn't make any mistakes. Be careful!
Dealers were for the most part, above average. Some were well above average, most were above average, and some were average.
Chip runners system worked well.
Cocktail waitresses were circulating frequently, and were fast getting drinks. Whoever hired them should get a promotion--they are very attractive.
I ordered Shrimp Kimchi Fried Rice and it came fairly soon and tasted great (Kimchi was slightly spicy). There is an extensive food menu in the sense of what can be brought to you in your seat.
Maryland Live has done a good job with the little things. The plastic drink cups are slightly larger and are sturdy. The coffee cups are Chinet and good quality. The plastic silverware and napkins that came with my food were high quality. These minor things enhance the experience, as they show you that Live is trying to do everything right.
The Bravo system seemed to work when I was there, and seats were filled quickly.
Poker:
On Thursday, I caught a lot of hands, and got paid on the turn and river EVERY time. I threw in value bet after value bet, had it every time, and was called EVERY time. Obviously, my table mates were never folding, so I waited for hands, got more than my fair share of them, and took my table mates to value-town time after time. Easy peazy. On several occasions, people would make nonsensical river bets and I picked off bluffs about 5 times. Thursday night was great for poker.
On Saturday, I was able to steadily chip up, got in a big three way all-in and caught my flush, for a gigantic pot. Players were better than on Thursday night.
All in all, some tables are great, some are above average. Get there while it's hot.
Conclusion:
Maryland Live has done a phenomenal job so far. I am thrilled with the home room we have. The staff is friendly, the games are great, the facility is gorgeous, there's a great food menu, and there's a real positive buzz in the room.
See you on the felt!

quite a logistical nightmare going on there.

i got there at 10 this morning, and waited 30 minutes to get my name on the list.

by 10:30, the line had tripled.

but looking around, you see open seats, because they are so focused on getting people onto the list they are having a rough time actually seating people.

both ladies working the list are working hard, so i believe it would be helpful if dealers were instructed to shout out "seat open on table X". playing 1/2, i played 7 handed and 8 handed way too much today for a list that was infinity people long.

Do you need to have a card to either get on the list or cash in/out?

I misplaced my wallet and ID. Easy to bring cash, but won't be able to get a card until next week at earliest...please advise, as I would love to play tonight and tomorrow, but, dont want to suffer the drive and waiting times and then not be able to play.

For perspective, I am in my fourties and no-one mistakes me for the <21 crowd that get carded to make sure they are old enough to play...