thanks for the info.

Doesnt it make some sense to not have 2 or 3 poor dealers back to back? I know its subjective as to who is worse than others but dealers have to get evaluated by the shift bosses so they really should know who is poor.

They do more planning about which exact table number to open up when there is a list(does it matter if the next table to open is number 33 vs number 15 if they are the same limit game?), that they should at least consider the dealer rotation.

I avoided making any commentary when I answered earlier, but since you asked...

It might make some small improvement, I guess, but IMO not nearly enough of one to make it worthwhile to deal with the hassle of trying to manage such a thing. It would be subjective, bureaucratic, unwieldy, and would probably slow everything down.

I play a fast FLHE game where a slow dealer is most noticeable, and IMO most dealers are perfectly fine, speedwise. In fact, IMO the bigger issue is that some of the dealers are too fast for their own good, making stupid mistakes like not seeing raises and pulling in bets prematurely, because they are trying to be as fast as possible.

And in the NL game that makes up the majority of the room, I can't imagine dealer speed is even a blip on the radar compared to the slowness of the players themselves as they ponder their actions.

I also think the dealers like knowing that it's random, and that they're never going to get stuck in a bad string because the shift supervisor doesn't like them.

Finally, I think the casino should be working to improve the skills of slow dealers, not just trying to spread them out better. It's in their best interest too, since most of the games are rake based, and a faster dealer will pull in more rake, on average.

Again, just my opinion. I can certainly sympathize with the pain of having several bad dealers in a row, but I just haven't experienced it much (if ever, at Parx) myself, and I put it a lot of hours.

As an aside, I have never worked in casino, but from observations here are some reasons why the specific table being opened can be important:
* Different tables have different chips in the racks. The game I play in has no blue $2 chips at all, so we generally use the same 2-3 tables which are set up to accommodate us.
* The dealer strings have to be sensical (i.e. not bouncing all over the room from push to push) and yet still have breaks (and dead spreads) be evenly spread throughtout the shift.
* For games with a must-move, you generally want to push dealers in the opposite direction of players, so that moving players don't get "stuck" with the same dealers twice in a row, and so that (in non-rake games) players don't get to skip time by moving tables at the same time as the dealer pushes.

What exactly is OE? It appears as O/E on the bravo app. Is it simply Omaha 8 or better or is it a combination of two games?

Omaha 8 + Stud 8 mix. Game changes every half hour, at which point you pay a $4 time charge.

thanks for the detailed explanation.

I wasnt saying that the shift guys need to go as far as to set the rotation to a tee, but just make sure that the 2 95 yr old dealers arent back to back. I don't even mind seeing 3 slow dealer in an 8 hour shift but just do something so that they arent back to back.

I havent experienced it a great deal either, but when it does happen and the next 90 minutes is noticeably slower and you play 1/3 less hands, it tilts the crap out of me.


I heard from dealers parx was evaluating and monitoring the number of hands dealers dealt in an hour and they needed to reach a certain average or face discipline, so speed is an issue. If their reasons for doing this is just rake generation related thats ok with me, but as you say, they should take steps to improve the skill set by dealers. That would be the best win-win for us and parx.

When I was talking about different tables being opened, I meant at the same game level ie all the 1/2NL tables are near the bathrooms but some days they use the back of the room(like yesterday) and other days they use the tables right behind the check in desk, while other days they open a new table 5 tables away when the next table is not even in use, but still the same 1/2nl level. Thought obviously goes into this for the reasons you mentioned and more.

It probably was a stupid request by me in the first place, but I havent heard it mentioned before and I thought I'd see if they even think about things like that. Last thing they want to happen is to break games based off of the dealers competence and I've seen that happen twice in the last 10 days.

This isn't true. Parx east has slots open mon-thurs 12pm-8pm. Table games and slots open Friday through Sunday til 2am I think. Basically it is open on the weekends.

Ahh, thanks for the clarification. I was there Monday night and went down to eat at around 9:30pm and it was empty except for security. I think the Noodle Bar had one cook and one server working.

So Paul Pierce stopped by to play a little 10/10 with us last night. I guess that's not really a worthwhile discussion...
He left a winner, but it feels nice to have some Paul Pierce money in my pocket this morning.

Phelps came and no one talked about it. Weird that security was really anal about not having people crowd around the rail or take pictures of The Truth but they didn't care at all when Phelps was here.

Edit: Actually I think Phelps was playing with us when 2p2 was down. Also, Pierce left up a little over $1k.

I'm not sure if you played with Phelps, but I'm curious, how does playing with a celebrity affect the dynamics of the game? Are players thinking they bluff less or are they likely to bluff more to say you bluffed so and so.

I've played with Phelps a few times. He is actually not that bad but he tilts and was tilting the other week when he was at Parx. I don't think dynamics change that much. Duce Staley plays a Chester a bunch. He's a super nice guy.

I happened to be sitting catty corner to you guys. I didn't even recognize him right away. He blends in really well,even as a tall athletic guy. Absolutely no extra interest in the game, from a rail perspective.


I'd gather everyone wants to put a move on a celebrity.

He played 3 nights in a row, Tues. Wed. & Thurs. He won on Tues. but lost big on Wed. and lost bigger on Thurs.

I was at the table with him on Wednesday. While he may have lost a gigantic pot, much of it was winnings, and he only reloaded one time for $1500. He had a few hundred when he left, so his losses for the night were around 2k. I wouldn't consider that losing big in that game.

How are the 2/5 games on the weekends?

Left with almost 1K last night after a long session.
I've been playing as many weekends as possible at Sands, i've only tracked about 100 hours but raking 25+ an hour.

I'm thinking about mixing in some 2/5.

Will there be a WPT event this summer?

So it was my first time at Parx yesterday. Played some 1/2NL and 2/5NL. Was down like 2BIs at 1/2 before switching to 2/5 where I made almost all of it back. Didn't play too long at 2/5, about 2 hours because I was annoyed at the empty seats. Seems like 2-3 players were always absent.

I live in NYC and took I95 but there was traffic slowdowns, so about hour and half travel time. It's about total 85 miles. I was talking to another player and he says I should avoid I95. "Phantom" stoppage was what he called it. I'm looking at Google map and it looks like taking US-1 would actually be shorter (77 miles). Has anyone tried that route? Isn't there stoplights on that highway?

I'm also thinking of trying Sands in Bethlehem (84 miles) taking I78. How's do it compare to Parx? Number of tables seem to be similar. Do they charge for drinks like Parx?

If I can get the commute closer to an hour, I might go a couple of days a week.

Which part of the city do you live? I'm looking to hitch a ride to Parx on Sats. I don't mind splitting the gas/toll money.

Yes. WPT site is updated and Parx looks to be the opening event for season XI with dates for the main of August 10-15 confirming what Brandon told me a few weeks back. Looking forward to it.

Hadn't been to Parx in a while but played there in a bit in late April. I liked that they now have all the tables numbered with signs above the tables, and I wish more rooms would do that. Didn't like that several hundred comp dollars had disappeared out of my account due to the 60 day expiry thing they started in the fall. Next I'd like to see a soft drink fountain like Chester has, since waiting for soft drinks often takes forever.

The number of tables at Sands lately has been inflated due to a huge BBJ. Without it, they still run a lot of tables, but not quite as many as Parx consistently does. The Sands poker room is not a "room" but rather a roped-off area on the main casino floor. No charge for drinks. Check out the Sands thread for more info.

Thanks. I'm gonna check it out.

Read both threads. Seems the opinion is that Parx has more seedy players but larger room. Sands is noisier but will comp drinks. Both rooms don't offer a lot poker variety, at least not compared to AC/Foxwoods.

Btw, the 2-3 drink girls I saw weren't that hot. They were cute but from what I read, I was expecting gorgeous.

That'd be nice, but I doubt it'll ever happen. It took them forever just to get hand sanitizer in the room.

I find if you want a quick soft drink, just go to the bar. You have to brave the smoke to do it, but otherwise it's a coin flip on whether you will actually get your drink or get it under 30 minutes.

Guy I was sitting with, at the 2/5NL table keep ordering YuengLing. Took min 30 minutes each time. Better just to get up and get it yourself.

From the intersection of Route 1 and I-95/I-295 in Princeton to the Street road exit for Parx, Route 1 is about 5 minutes faster, but there is also a $1 toll. There is a single light between these two points.

Even if you're coming down I-95, I would suggest getting off at Route 1 (in PA) and going around the back way, this will avoid some of the slowdowns on I-95 and minimize your time on Street Road as well.

Coming from NYC to Princeton, Route 1 will be hellishly filled with lights and traffic. I would never ever suggest it.

I don't drive from NYC myself, so take this with a grain of salt, but my suggestion would be to take the NJ Turnpike to the PA Turnpike and get off at Route 1 right next to Street Road.

Failing that, take the NJ Turnpike to exit 8 or 8A (or 9 if it's not during the day or rush hour), then get to Route 1 from there and take it the rest of the way.