Not yet but there probably will be in the near future. Most players seem to want it and I think Parx will eventually give them what they want.

currently: no

My stance, and the stance I assume most regs have:

I do not want the BBJ.

I live a half hour from Parx.

I love the room and will not go anywhere else regardless.

Therefore whatever they choose will not affect what I do.

$5 bridge toll, $3 toll on expressway (twice) = $6, plus I believe a $1 toll around exit 5 (twice) gets you to $13 not counting gas.

If you are staying at a hotel, even a free one it costs like $13 correct?

At 30 miles per gallon, it's around 50 miles from the bridge to the boardwalk. 100 miles of driving divided by 30 = 3.33. I'll go with a low ball figure for gas at $3.50 per gallon for regular which gets you to 11.67.

Tolls = $13
Free room = $13
Gas = 11.67
Total = $37.67

So you need to win 38 full rake pots to just about break even.

If you want to do a true AC vs. Parx cost comparison, the following needs to be amended/added
- Taj and Revel are each $10/day, Borgata is $5/day (don’t know about Harrah’s or the rest of AC).
- Respective parking fees
(BTW, all of these transportation/lodging-related items can be split if you go with more than 1 person.)
- Borgata’s room (and maybe other AC rooms, don’t know), offer players free entry in casino drawings (not that you have a good chance of winning, but I know several poker-only players who have won). AFAIK Parx doesn’t offer this.
- Cost of food and drink. (leaving aside that AC offers a much wider range of choices)
- Parx caps its tables at 9-handed; while Revel does also, most non-Stud games at Borgata, Taj, and Harrah’s are 10-handed (OMFG I mentioned this, can’t wait for more name-calling from the haters LOL)


To be honest, except for food and drink, I don’t really believe any one of these is significant by itself. If Parx adopts the BBJ, it would be a net wash vs. AC and shouldn’t be factored in here.

However, what really matters a lot is the base rake at Parx is $5/hand vs. $4/hand at AC (AFAIK, all rooms).

I know that choosing Parx over AC makes sense for those who live west/south of Philly and perhaps central Jersey. It’s a much more thoughtful decision if you live in north NJ/NY or in places further beyond. Then it comes down to which place offers better “action”, and that’s a much more subjective thing.

I have done the Borgata/Parx comparison, as I stated above it cost me about $20 dollars to get to the Borgata. I don't take the AC expressway and don"t pay those tolls. I stay two nights and get three days play for that twenty dollars. The drive back and forth to Parx for three days is about the same distance for me as one trip to the Borgata, so gas and time on the road is about the same. The Borgata charges $5 for a comped room which I pay for with comp dollars so the room cost nothing. I get free parking. I pay a $5 bridge toll. I usually play 15 to 20 hours over three days at Borgata and earn about $40 comp dollars, twice what I would earn at Parx. If you factor in $1 less rake over 20 hours of play which has got to save at least $20 it is easy to see that if I stay two nights when I go to Borgata and play three sessions, which is what I do, it will actually be cheaper to drive the Borgata than play at Parx with a higher rake. Many other Parx regulars get free rooms at the Borgata on the weekends. I see them there every time I go.That is why the high limit section at Parx is slow on the weekends, so many players are at the Borgata. I'm sure Parx management is also well aware that Borgata is their main competition. Even Matt Glantz their poker ambassador plays at the Borgata. Anyway it doesn't matter. I think it is only a matter of time before the BBJ comes to Parx. I believe Ari is being pressured by upper management to start a BBJ. It's probably a smart business decision for the room, but you will never convince me that it's not -EV for the players.

The Parx vs. Borgata comparisons are ludicrous.

As long as both places spread the games you play, it is almost purely a function of where you live, which in turn determines transportation costs (both in $$ and time.)

You're right clorox. I just mentioned in an earlier post that if Parx adds a BBJ drop I will play there less often and play at Chester and Borgata more often. Yet some people who don't even know my situation insist on telling me that this will cost me money. I know I've clogged up this thread enough about a rumoured BBJ but I do get concerned when rooms I play in often are considering decisions that will cost me money. If the BBJ comes to Parx I hope I hit it first.

One time when I got to PARX I was fortunate to find a five dollar bill that was blowing down the parking lot area. In picking up this fortunate find I made a stunning realization. If PARX does enforce a BBJ the first five hands that I win playing poker will be at break even due to my stunning find. I am essentially freerolling five wins once the BBJ does come into action. Please add this figure into my cost basis once analysis takes place. Also factor in the possible speeding ticket cost on the AC expressway which is a probability of about 1 in 100 so add 1.65 to the trip cost choosing Borgata...

Anyone know what the minimum qualifying hands are for the BBJ to be paid out, if and when the BBJ will be in effect at Parx?

Make it 2/5/10, for this reason.

Additional benefits: closer to 10/10, entices more oop fishy action, Parx can still say they have a unique game, imagine the fun with straddling?

Not sure if a three blind game would fit with regulations for a bbj eligible game. Also, not a great idea.

Can anyone comment on the #'s for the $80 sunday bounty tournament, are they still getting 150+

Saturday $230 still getting around 100 ??

Thanks in advance

Saturday $230 got about 95 people yesterday. $5400 to first. Not sure about the other tourney.

5/10 would be more balanced and proportional than 2/5/10. Keep in mind that Parx is nine handed. All they would need is $5 chips in play. What is "oop fishy action" anyway?

A 3 blind game means fish will he more likely to see a flop from the blinds because 3 positions have posted money pre flop.

Parx said they aren't changing the 10/10 format anyways.

I think I have something to say. Parx is a well-ran room. However it just doesn't compared to Harrah's chester at all.

For me, Parx is 15 miles away (about a 30min drive). Harrah's is nearly 40 miles away and roughly 45 mins away.

If I had my choice, it's harrah's and it's not even close. First of all, all of you people complaining about the extra $1, just a complete LOL. You're always so worried about that $1 that you "lose" with each pot you win, but you have no idea what it gets you. One, it gets you the recreational players that will call $15-25 (at 1/2) with a bad beat / high hand just in the hopes of hitting it. Second, the comps are much better at Harrah's. You get a $10 food voucher for 4 hours played for every 24hrs (usually only good enough for a free sandwich but ffs, free food). You also get $1/hr comps at any harrah's location (same as parx but what can you really use it on besides food at parx). Also, Harrah's is running an hours played promotion that is really quite good (roughly equivalent to an extra $2.5-3 an hour for any serious regular). Third, the players are far far worse than they are at parx. I have played nearly everywhere in USA and parx is probably the toughest room I've ever played at. Having the poker room being in a separate building than the poker room is a terrible idea (for the players)

Honestly, parx would have to give me like $5/hr (in cash) to even consider coming back to play in the poker room. I will gladly spend an extra $150-200 a month in gas and an extra $200-300 in bbj drops if it means I earn an extra $1500 a month.

Edit: Oh yeah, I spend an extra $3 for the bridge each time going to harrah's instead of parx. So that's roughly $60-70 a month. Still choosing harrah's.

Most of the arguing about the BBJ has been related to the 10/10 game. Chester doesn't have a game bigger than 2/5. I do agree Chester is softer at 1/2 and 2/5.

Chopping a 10 chip to make bbjp change every hand sounds pretty horrible. Therefore, probably no bbjp in the 10/10?

What's the best way to get to Parx from NYC without a car? I keep seeing posts from 2010 but nothing recent (updated). Thanks!

They had 147 for yesterday's $80 bounty. Dealer said they had 220 the week before.

As I understand it there are no buses going to parx at this time. So you might be out of luck unless you can catch a ride with someone coming from an area nearby.

That's unfortunate, but thanks for the info.

Just a little note for the 10/10 players:

I played 2/5 today and had a guy who was a lot of fun to be at the table with. He was talking about the crazy heater he was on all week and was clearly a very animated person to begin with. He made it clear he had been playing 10/10 the past 3 days or whatever and within an hour of me sitting there about 3 people walked up to him and asked him if he was gonna play 10/10 again. Enough people came up to him that he finally said "no, I'm not playing it now, they're bothering me."

It was clear he knew he was a mark. And he knew they knew he was a mark and they wanted to make their money back. But because he was kinda poked he said no and they all lost that action. Meanwhile, everyone at my table had a good time with him and waited for the heater to cool off a little bit. Everyone who asked him to play 10/10 put the smile on and was friendly but he gets it that you don't want him there for his company but rather for his money. Just thought I'd give you the heads up that constantly asking that kind of guy for action is going to make him stubborn and not want to give it to you.

Also, I hope I'm not breaking any rules posting a description about a player. I was gonna write more about him but figured that would definitely be some kind of breach of privacy so left it to this. He was genuinely a really fun guy though and I enjoyed my time at the table today.

He has been referring to himself as a mark since the first day he came here. He is constantly asking everyone who is a pro etc. None of this is new. He has been poked for years. He was telling us that underground games in New York used to pay him 2 grand just to show up because he was such a big fish.

He is a successful businessman and isn't dumb. Maybe people were tapping the glass a little bit but the last few times I've came and there was no 10/10 he asked me personally to tell him once we had 6 people to start the 10/10 game. I've been exceedingly friendly with him in the games and I'm pretty sure we've all been entertained by him.

He also game selects. Last night he mentioned that there was only one player at the table worse than him. He got mad at a reg for getting that player kicked out.