Just wondering, do you really feel safe enough walking to and from (especially if carrying a good amount of cash)?

I usually walk in, lose about 3 racks in 4 hours and then I don't have that problem.

Why is the lighting so bad in this joint? My eyes hurt...

The Oaks has a player's bank system.

What is a players bank? Also besides all the things I keep hearing about oaks being shady and unsafe, how often do you guys hear of crime in the area. Does it just look shady or is it that bad?

My plan is to play like a maniac and refuse to play 4/8.

You can set up an account with them, and deposit/withdraw cash.

The crime level is relative. It is definitely not as dangerous as the worst parts of Oakland, but it is more dangerous than Walnut Creek for sure.

Here's a crime map to put it in perspective. The club is actually in Emeryville, so just off the edge of the map, but you can see what the neighborhood is like generally.

I live around here too, and I find it tolerable.

Does anyone know what props are paid by the hour at this joint or in general? I imagine posting it publicly is no bueno. Please PM me as I am considering it for a temporary job.

Yes, I feel safe walking in my neighborhood. (And I use the player's bank.)

The way they rip people off is to follow you out of the parking lot in a car and rob you at gunpoint wherever you stop.

Always watch for that!

http://www.alamedasun.com/index.php?...2605&Itemid=10

I'm told that it depends what limits they play -- the higher the limit, the better the pay. They also get benefits (health care, retirement). Oaks is said to be a decent employer, compared to most card clubs.

To the extent that follow-home robberies are a problem, it is not a function of the niceness or badness of the neighborhood surrounding the card club in question.

Someone's a sheltered suburban kid. Get street smart and you'll reduce your risks. Don't count your winnings right outside the club. Be aware of your surroundings at all time. If you suspect someone is tailing you, double back, randomly make turns in a known residential area to confirm, and/or drive straight to the police station. These tips apply when leaving any place not your own house, not exclusive to the Oaks.

It's ok to be overly cautious and paranoid, but that's no reason to not leave the house.

^That

You've got to differentiate different types of crime. Atherton has crime; East Oakland has crime too. Property crimes are equally rampant in the entire Bay Area; non-gang-related shootings are equally sparse. If you're not borrowing money from the mob to play poker or otherwise wearing a big red target on your back, everyday precautions should suffice. Oakland crime is high because of high population density and burglary, not because there are roving mobs of muggers.

I hear about crime in the Emeryville area all the time - a lot of break-ins, and last year there was a group of yoots who were hanging out on the Powell Street pedestrian overpass mugging people. By that measure, I'm safer eating at the Oaks than walking to the Public Market for lunch.

PM jesse8888 for more info about propping in general. This is not a decision to be made lightly.

For starters, shifts are assigned by seniority. You start on graveyard.

Worse, you start on "fill in for the sick or on-vacation prop," with no set schedule. Graveyard yesterday, swing shift today, day shift tomorrow.

Only if you bring your own food.

You will also get put into games that other people don't want to play, by design. Short-handed games, tough games, action-free games, etc.

Not 100% sure but I think props can quit a game 4-handed or less. And even if they can't quit, they can lobby while the game is 5- or 6-handed (which is super annoying if anyone from Oaks management is reading).

On the flip side props don't have to give up their seats for players when the game has a list, unless someone on the list complains.

Really? I thought they didn't have to give up their seat at all unless the floor decides to move them. I've complained about it before while on the list, and got no relief. I've even been in a game that broke with a prop in it, and they gave the prop one of the open seats in the other game instead of me because he out-drew me.

The rule on the books is that they have to give up their seat, at least for 15/30+. It was never enforced, but a few months ago someone complained and they started enforcing it, at least sometimes.

I'm guessing your example is 6/12- because if 15/30+ games break, one would never draw for seats. Small props may play by different rules.

Ah, yeah you're probably right. They do treat 15/30 players very differently than 6/12.

It's not as dangerous as it's rep.

Just conduct yourself like you should in any urban location;
Always be aware of your surroundings
Move quickly and purposefully
Project confident body language
Be discreet with money, jewelry, etc...

I'm a woman and usually arrive late at night, so I try to get a close parking spot as well.

I really want to play here but this scares the * out of me.

"This is the eighth robbery that has occurred in Alameda in the past 10 months and the 11th over the past two years where the victim appears to have just left the Oaks Card Club in Emeryville, or the San Pablo Casino."
http://www.alamedasun.com/index.php?...2605&Itemid=10

That's an average of 1 every two months. And some are surely not reported. Looks like there are gangs doing this consistently. Also, if you look on Yelp the latest review is of a guy who was threatened with being shot in the parking lot after he won a pot against a... well... shall we say a peculiar individual. Had to call the cops just to get out of there because security wouldn't help. Earlier on Yelp, there's someone saying their uncle was followed home, robbed and shot in the leg.

There are reports of suspicious people hanging outside and inside just to rob people.

So I find the word "Friendliest" in the title of this thread somewhat ironic.

On the other hand, it seems there are people here basically saying "don't be paranoid u silly suburban sheltered white boy, just don't be stupid, watch your back and your risks are minimal". And they may be right.

I'm still trying to make up my mind but so far by preponderance of evidence the "this place is f* dangerous" version is winning in my mind.