I'm starting this thread to discuss the poker clubs in Kahnawake -
Snakes,
Four Aces, and
Playground Poker.
Most of this discussion in the past has happened in the Casino de Montreal thread, but as I learned today, that's not really appropriate. I also have a sense that this coming winter there will be quite a bit of competition between these three rooms, which are located very close to one another, so this could be a space to discuss that and the health of the three locations.
Anyhow - here's my trip report for Playground.
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Went to Playground Poker Club for the first time tonight for the $150 NLHE tourney - a deep stack, turbo format. The trip reports already posted cover the most important points...
--Lots of tables - not sure exactly how many, but it looked about 50% larger than Snakes or Four Aces.
--The tables are really badly organized and over-packed. I had to move to let people by every 4-5 minutes at one table I was at.
--Everything was shiny and new, and it looks like they plan to keep it shiny and new.
--Some of the tourney dealers were pretty new, and one in particular kept screwing up. There's definitely a contingent of newbie dealers. I also noticed a few dealers I've seen before, and with the supervision of a good floor manager everything was OK. They're really trying hard as well, and training during breaks, taking notes to help new dealers to improve.
--I checked out the menu - it was pretty extensive and the sandwich I ordered was very good (though it would be tough to screw up grilled cheese, right?).
--The cash tables were packed and for a while they had a 10-25 game going. Apparently there's a "big game" room as well, but it was closed tonight.
The tourney had about 60 runners to start - I busted out in 16th place or so and I think 6 or 7 places paid. So I wasn't that close, but still did reasonably well before a crippling hand when the blinds had risen to 1.5/3K.
The players that I saw in the tournament were pretty strong - it's a young crowd for the most part, and at one point 7/10 players at my table were quite good players.