1. Filling open seats has seemed to have got considerably worse over the last 3-4 weeks. Prior to then, it was pretty efficient, even during peak weekend hours. Now, it's back to almost as bad as it was in the beginning. Clearly, some re-training is required. Self-service seating is not how it's supposed to work.

2. The only problem that still consistently plagues the bathrooms is the non-working towel dispensers. Between the two of them, at least one is empty and/or non-functional. The last time I was there, both of them were dead.

I agree... It's not that hard to buy a few hundred more in black chips when buying your initial buy in and putting it in your pocket. Just bc you bought the black chips doesn't mean you are going to use them necessarily... It's just simply being realistic and prepared. Who knows if the very next hand you 3x up in a multi-way cooler pot (only applies to nl). It's not that far fetched.

Auto flush toilet heads would be a godsend. Sensor sink heads would be nice, but not nearly as essential as the heads. This would help soooo much.

At least for the urinals. Sorry, but I never touch the handles - ever.

In the stalls, you can use your foot to flush.

I hate sensor head sinks - they never work properly.

Few questions about the 2/5 .....

Rolled to make the move to 2/5.... I know it's been asked be4 but I am curious to hear from some of the 2/5 regs on how much differently the game plays from 1/2... I imagine there being some subtle differences, but maybe there are some things that I wouldn't expect.

- What are people buying in for on average, would like to hear some feedback on what the majority of people are sitting down with ( I buy in full for 1/2 but thinking about sitting @ a 2/5 with 5-600 the first couple times)

- Is the level of play that much better ?

- Avg open raise ? (cant be any worse than 1/2, with some people raising it to 8 and others making it 15 to go pre) I'm thinking 2/5 open would be 15-25?

Any insight that could be provided would be appreciated. I would assume the game plays with reds and greens, but still has those annoying blues at the table.

1. It's not something non-regulars are accustomed to.
2. Poker players love to bitch and complain.

Had the chicken alfredo again from the noodle bar... even better the second time!

Some major differences:

1. They value bet thin on a wide range of hands.

2. The scare card is really not a scare card. You will see players make moves when one of their bluff outs hit.

3. Players are more willing to gamble in a 60/40 situation where the 40 percent is the aggressor.

4. More squeeze plays

5. Less annoying table talk ("I had the 94os for the boat but I folded to his raise!") but still exists

6. Standard buy ins vary a lot in this limit bc this is the limit where u will see a lot of full timers as well as recreational players. On a weekend u can see players buy in anywhere from 200-1000. The rec players usually buy in for less than 500.

7. Variance is higher than of the 1/2 game obv. Although the game is still soft, it's not unusual to be up or down 1-2k in a session. Be prepared for those swings bc that is a lot of buy ins for a 1/2 game. 1k = one 2/5nl buy in = over three 1/2nl buy in.

The players at this limit generally have a better feel for the game. The game pace is also faster with less "Hollywood-ing" and less tanking for minor decisions.

These are just some I can think of quickly off the top of my head. Hope it helped somewhat.

kirby I was actually at that table and there was 1 person who made the claim he was better than Ivey and the rest of the table bashed him. Also, while this was an innane conversation i have heard much dumber things at the poker table, including listening to a guy who got felted twice (a superstar 5-10 player he claims) and both times starts cursing how he cant play with bad players. This happened durring the "I am better than Ivey conversation. For what it is worth IMO he was out played one time and the other time he got rivered when the other player had a pair and nut flush draw (his call on the turn was a close call or fold). My guess is that he is the same guy who will say that J8 suited is his favorate hand.

Probably the same guy who told me you don't want (named the 3 biggest donators at PARX) in the game at the same time because "they make it to crazy"

how are u ordering this?

They added some "american" options to their new menu. They have chicken alfredo, spaghetti and meatballs, chicken fingers, shrimp fra diavlo, cheeseburgers and hot dogs. One of the shift managers told me they had this stuff the other day

Is the spaghetti and meatballs and shrimp fra diavolo listed on the "italian" side of the menu?

Nice bluff.

whatever dude it's just like Ripley's.............believe it or not!

No bluff

Must be a secret menu. I ate there Friday night and there was no "italian" menu. Unless you're confusing the noodle bar with the snack bar.

There is an american style menu, please ask the waiter when seated.

Most common buy in is 500. but as mentioned, you will see the full range.

Avg opening raise is 30-35, still very little 3 bets on anything other than AK or better.

The level of play is not really that much better, there are still bad players, they just think they are good. Of course there are some good players in the game, more than in 1/2, so job 1 when sitting down is to figure out who they are.

This level is also where you start to see more casual players with enough money that 1/2 is not enough, and they are usually loose passive, some are loose aggresive.

Overall, there are still enough predictable players for the slightly above average player to be profitable.

I'd say, prepare for bigger swings than 2.5 times what you saw in 1/2. During the first few sessions, while getting used to it, tight is right. Try to spend more time observing than playing hands.

Last note, learn to identify the predictable players and get in with them with suited one/two gappers. They will almost always pay off the straight or flush with top two. Also learn to fold top top into significant action. Some people would disagree with me, but until you get a feel for the game, it will save you a lot to not pay people off with these hands.

Good luck!

haha what? so your strategy is to make a flush vs top two pair? haha. good advice

avg buy in is 350-600...some people will buyin for 200 repeatedly and try to build it up..some like to have the max...same as 1/2

avg open raise is 20 or 25...won't be 30 or 35 unless there are a few limpers and if someone was opening to 35 every time u should 3 bet the hell out of him and follow up on it.

u said u have the roll so don't nit it up..it's still poker and there's still people who suck...there's also people who think they are good but suck. if u lose too much just drop back down.

agree with a lot of what SolidFish said..that's why I didn't post before

EDIT: some friendly advice:

1) don't show ur cards...don't show them to create an image...don't show them to be friendly...don't show them when u got bad beat. if u 1% of the time u show ur cards someone is good enough to know what to do with that info, it's not worth it.

2) if you are somewhat worried about money still, buy in for like 200$ but play correct short stack strategy (dunno how much u know). don't call raises (unless u are trapping with AA), shove over a loose opener, etc...not gonna go into strategy. but after 3 orbits, and u get a feel for the table, top up to whoever you want to cover. if there is a good player to your left with $1,000, don't buy in for $1,000...if there's a fish to your right with $650, top up to $650, etc

Oh cool, i'll check it out next time I go then.

The question was what is different. The answer is that there are more people who will pick apart a straight forward player. The example of suited connectors against people married to big hands and not getting married to top top is solid advice meant to break from a typical 1/2 style.

Maybe an overpair works as a better example, but it was an example, not a whole strategy.

Bottom line is, these are the biggest pots, so be on right side of them and get away if ur not.

And 35 is very common in an action 2/5 game.

ok well i disagree with basically everything u said

if u wanna prop bet pick any amount of money and find an excrow...we'll go stand behind a 2/5 table for an hour and see what they open to with no limpers...it's not 35

and if he's gonna nit it up, he might as well not move up...he said he has the roll so he should play poker - assuming he won that money...he should be doing what he did to win it.

also calling preflop with suited stuff solely to draw for flushes and hoping the other guy has top two isn't a great way to make money

The avg pf raise in that game is definitely not $30-35 without 2-3 limpers. I'd say the standard pf raise is $20-25. Although I do see the rare occasion of "that guy" constantly making it $35 to go pf without accounting limpers. But usually these types of players are easier to outplay post flop IMHO. I played 1-2nl early this morn after my table broke and I forgot how different the caliber of players are. They certainly are two very different games as far as "feel" and pace goes.

way to kill my action

My bad. Your side was obv a lock. I dont think he's willing to give you action though. Lol.

Ok, I see the first problem. My typo, meant to type 20-35. You can get into technicalities about number of limpers, but that is very fair range.

You are really stuck on this flush/straight vs top two aren't you? Like I said, example. How about middle two vs overpair, etc.

As for playing tight, why not play tight until you get a feel for the game? A lot of people step up to 2/5 and think there is a lot more bluffing and end up paying off hands they shouldn't.