On a side note how would this work if while in the blinds you pulled your chips back and said deal me out every time the button straddled and just bought the button when it got to yiu

You can post your missed blinds once the button passes.

Hi,

I'm looking for some low stakes NL card room recommendations. I work in North County and live around Kearny Mesa. O11 is pretty close to me for an after work trip, but it sounds like the 2/3 Games are lowest that are worth buying into, as the 1/1 and 2/2 games are 40BB and 50BB max and the drops are brutal at those levels, correct? The 2/3 is a bit above where I want to play right now, so I think O11 is off the table for me.

Viejas, Sycaun and Barona would be my choice for places that are closer to my house, as I don't want to be driving more than 30-40 minutes one way, but I don't know anything about their low stakes NL games. Any suggestions?

Also, as a complete live cash game newb, how exactly do the drops work?

O11 has a reputation as being the toughest room in SoCal. They run a 2/3 300 max buy-in game. The lower games are even worse as you stated.

Viejas has almost no action these days from what I've heard and isn't worth discussing.

Sycuan has 1/2 200 max I think? There seems to be tables running most of the time.

Barona gets kind of a bad rap on this site and I don't actually know why! If it weren't such a terrible drive for me I would be there all the time. I haven't really ever sat in a bad game there. It is pretty much the only place in California that has a 1/3 level game with a 500 max BI. They also run a 1/2 100 max, but I would just recommend playing the 1/3.

Standard drop in California is $5 post-flop regardless of pot size. Some places drop $6 and some drop $1 pre. Most places (everywhere?) have a jackpot drop that is included in the $5-6 drop.

Good luck at the tables.

Thanks for the info!
I think I'll check out Sycuan, as that sounds about like what I'm looking for, BI wise. I'm assuming the drop is taken out of the pot at the end of the hand? I saw something on wikipedia about dead drops on the button, which would get pretty ugly, lol!

I also recommend sycuan. Seems to be the only place that understands the concept of the button straddle. I disagree with the statement above about the barona. The 1-2 sucks with the 50 bb max bi. You get 1$ a hour comp points compared to 2 at sycuan. However the 1-3 there is decent

Two other choices in North County are:

(1) 1/2 at Pala ($40-$200 buy in). Check bravopokerlive.com and make sure there is more than a couple tables running before you go. Play is generally soft, but the room is comfortable and the dealers/management friendly. The downside is that the majority of players buy in for 50BBs or less, so you are always having to deal with short stacks. Pala allows UTG and BTN straddles.
(2) 1/3 ($40-$300) at Harrah's Rincon. Once again, check bravopokerlive.com to make sure something is running. I hardly ever go to Harrahs because it's 20 - 30 minutes past Pala and the action is almost non-existant.

Both rooms have a "no flop no drop" policy (unlike Pechanga and the L.A. casinos).

About the drop - it's typically taken after the flop. So, at Pala for example, if you are in the BB, there is one limper, and the SB folds, if you just check, the dealer will put out a flop, and then take the drop ($4 drop + $1 for the BBJ) leaving a pot of zero.

Cool, thanks for the info guys!

Pala/Rincon are a bit too North County for me, as it would be an hour+ to get home afterwards. O11 is only 10-15 minutes from my work in Carlsbad and is a straight shot home on the I5, so it would be ideal for after work on Fridays, but I think I'll be staying away from there until I get a decent BR put together.

It sounds like Sycuan hits the sweet spot for me, so I'll start there

Thanks again!

I wish they understood its a terrible concept and be done with it !!

Sycuan is the best room for 1/2nl in San Diego right now IMO

If I was the Viejas or barona, I would spread a 1/1 $200 max $50 min. No button straddle. Everyone would be in there.

Viejas 1/2 is currently 20 min. So I guess if they spread 1/1 it would be 10 min..

Does anyone know how many players show up for the Viejas morning deepstacks? Especially mon/tues but any numbers would be good thanks.

I play many Fridays, Saturdays, Sundays.

Typically 4-6 tables.

I never played Mon or Tue, tho..

just my opinion, but if you are close to O11 the 2/2 100max game is a decent game. if you cant beat the sucky structure and drop, you prob should find a new hobby. plus the room is nicer than the indian casino rooms. cheap/decent food, too.

i like the better structure in barona 1/3, but the 2/2 at Oceans is a decent game.

i would suggest putting in a few sessions each place and see what you like better.

Thanks Stu

I played in this game a couple of times, It might be beatable (borderline IMO) but not for much !! most of the time its filled with straddlers lol. max buy is 25bb for the most part. Give this game a wide berth !

I used to play at viejas in 2008 when I used to live in San Diego. It was my favorite room since it's had good beer on tap and easy to play V. (karl strauss) Does Sycuan have good beer on tap?

Out of the Indian casinos: Sycuan, Viejas, and Barona, do any of them have decent action during the week for the 1/2 and 1/3 NL games or is it pretty dead until the weekends?

I'm not sure about the Viejas but probably not. The sycuan has 2-3 tables of 1-2 running during the week and the barona at least 1. Games are still soft at the sycuan IMO.

This game was running yesterday. They said it should be running daily now. $50-$500 buyin, $1/$2 with $1 ante, $5 drop post flop, and no chopping.

During the week, Viejas will typically have (1) 3/6 Limit with a Kill game and (1) 1/2 NL (20-200 buy in) going. That's pretty much it.

I know I've said this in other threads, but $20 min buy-in is just lame..it really should be at least $40..

Lol yesterday I was playing 5-10 and I heard some fish complaining that there was too much action in this game, then they moved to the regular 2-3NL.

I actually don't think this game is gonna last, because the players who would want to play in a game with antes dont play 1-2. They need to make it a 5-5NL or 5-5PLO with antes or something.

There is a $200+30 $50k guaranteed, $50 bounty, NL Hold em "special" tournament on Saturday at Pechanga out here in Southern California. I don't place much out here (moved from CT for law school = no time), so I have no idea how the game is. Looking at their website, their daily tournaments seem to have really small buy-ins and I imagine not a ton of action in general (because of Commerce). I'm looking for any information regarding expected player field, what they charge for the add-on, quality of player, and anything else you might think would be good to know. I'm used to the blind structures and buy-in structures of Foxwoods cash games back home, so the one time I played out here at Commerce I was all messed up. I was a 2/5 NL cash player at Foxwoods, but the buy-in at Commerce makes you a short stack, so I played 5/10. I did well, but I have no idea what to expect at an unusually large tournament at a casino I've never been to. Thanks all.

Overall the players are pretty weak in this tourney. I'm a 2/5 reg there so I prefer to make my money in the cash game. But, if you get a little run good and get past the donks flipping, you can make a few grand. The levels are 25 minutes iirc, and there are $50 bounties on each player.

Really though, the 2/5 is pretty soft and easily beatable IMO.

Good luck!

Yeah, the tournies are a bit fast but the fields are really soft. I've only met like 2 or 3 competent players in 2/5 games there, who are you?

Early 30s with a beard. You?