I don’t know (I’m not in the business), but I’d wager a bet that Oaks might be worth a gander as they may need dealers now that restrictions are dropping and (I’m guessing) a lot of their dealers are on the unemployment dole (which doesn’t end until September)

It's not the Bay Area, but Harvey's on the Nevada side of South Lake Tahoe is hungry for dealers. It's tough to find a place to live in Tahoe, but downhill in Carson City apartments are cheap, and it's an easy commute.

Tons of players in SJ right now. Tonight (Saturday) at 10pm for the 2-3-5, Bay 101 board was 20 deep, 6 tables (est. 2 hours by the floor), M8trix was 25 deep with I think 5 tables running.

I called into M8trix @ 8:30pm, showed up at 9:30, desk said expect 2 hours so I left - finally got the ‘seat ready’ text at 12:30am — a 4 hour wait. Completely crazy demand, but no idea really how much actual action there is.

Does anyone know if Bay 101 has a site or app where we can see what games are being spread in real time (along with wait lists)?

Can't find any indication on Bravo, Poker Atlas or their website. Thank you.

They do not have such a site or app. They do not want you to look at the app, decide that the waits are too long, and go elsewhere.

Evening waits are crazy-long everywhere in the Bay Area because so few tables are being spread. Things will likely change this week, when the state opens up wide.

I spoke to the weekday afternoon shift manager at the Oaks, currently running at 25% capacity, about what he thought things would look like after Tuesday, 6/15, when California is largely dropping its covid restrictions.

He said that he thought a few more tables would be open, but they really didn't know what they would be able to do, and wouldn't until Thursday, when, supposedly, Cal-OSHA is releasing employee safety guidelines.

Thanks a bunch for the response. I'm a FLH player who travels to California from Canada a few times per year to play in LA. I heard Bay 101 had some games as well - would you happen to know what limits are normally spread at Bay 101? (I'm interested in 20-40 to 60-120...)

Appreciate any insight anyone may have.

Before Covid there was a PLO surge at lucky chances, with 2/3 going 2x a week, 5/10 going 2x a week, and 20/40 going 1x a week. It’s very confusing but those games are often mandatory straddle so 2/3 is always 2/3/5 and the other two are often 5/10/20 and 20/40/80. The big game was the biggest game in the bay before covid with 100k stacks as night went on.

No clue if they’re coming back though. As expected there’s general some usual regs who get the game started and they can get momentum of running every week but can lose momentum and stop.

In the Before Times, bay 101 was def the place to play limited hold them, those stakes being spread regularly. At the moment, they’re running only 4-8 kill & 6-12, the rest being nlhe. I don’t see any reason they wouldn’t start more FLH back up once they can open more tables.

Fwiw you can always call and talk to the desk.

I’ve always wondered this… what’s the point of the forced straddle - why not increase the stakes?

And what is up with the 3 blind poker in SJ where there aren’t any jackpots? I used to play at Capital Casino in sac once upon a time, they had 3 blinds too but at least they had jackpots.

20/40 and 40/80 haven't run since reopen AFAIK. 80/160 has been relatively strong running weekdays and likely weekends now. They've just moved poker from the outside tent back indoors. The # of poker tables are capped at ~16. The situation is pretty fluid though as California is 'reopening' this week so unsure if that means more tables or not.

I also find it a little gimmicky, but 3 blinds is better than 2. Overall I think most of the player base prefers that. It does seem to encourage action and rarely have I seen someone not do the straddle.

I believe San Jose prohibits cardrooms from offering any jackpots or gambling incentives. Really no frills gambling down there.

The pot starts out bigger in a 10-20-40 game than it does in just a 20-40 game. Sklansky tells us, "Poker begins as a struggle for the [blinds and] antes," and a bigger pot at the beginning makes for a fiercer struggle and a looser game.


It's the way we have played poker games for something on the order of a hundred and twenty years, since long before the legalization of hold'em. Jackpots have nothing to do with it.

But why complain about it? It makes for a looser, better game (see above about struggling for antes). Two-blind NLHE is a terrible structure encouraging nitty play. Three blinds is better, and two or three blinds plus an ante is better still.

I believe there are two reason for this structure.

In California's poker clubs, it is illegal to charge a variable rake dependent on pot size. The clubs can charge a fixed amount per hand and is called a drop.
So in a 1/2 game with the button and blinds calling at the Commerce for example then the dealer takes all $5 dollars in the pot and drop it. So when the button bets $2 to win the pot on the flop, the button still looses $2 for the hand. Fun times.

As for the mandatory straddle and low buy ins in California, the card room operators wanting to protect their table drop design rules that benefit the poor players over the good players. Since a mandatory straddle, or double the blind bring ins in the bay area reduces how deep the game plays, and gives the poor players an advantage. Add to the absurdly low buyins in So Cal you get my point.

Great, thanks for the info!!! Hopefully this means Omaha and tournaments can return soon! *Fingers crossed! Thanks again!!!

Any word on plexiglass/masks at M8trix/bay101? LA looks to be not requiring either

Thanks a bunch Skadet and dadjoey.

Not when I was there. Bay101 has LHE (4/8, 8/16, and 80/160 from what I remember). I also didn’t play there pre-COVID so I’m not sure if Omaha even ran pre-COVID

Ah, gotcha. Thank you.

Matrix definitely had it (back in the good old days).

Three blinds are to reduce or eliminate chopping pre. People on the button don't want to chop and lose a dollar after waiting 8 hands to get the button.

It also inflates the pot a little to camoflage the size of the drop. The dealers also complained about tips when the pots were very small because players don't want to tip on a $6 pot when they put in $3 of it.

It is better to be silent and be thought a fool than to speak and remove all doubt.

Not much has changed as yet at the Oaks. Seven tables are in use for poker (and some tables on the Asian side as well) Poker play is eight-handed, with plexiglass partitions between players. Players must be masked while inside, and undergo a non-contact body temperature check on entry. There is no food or beverage service; the hofbrau and bar remain closed.

The staff seems to have expanded, though: I saw some familiar faces yesterdy whom I hadn't seen since before covid.

Game play remains as it has been recently: long waits for seats during peak hours, and games that seem off the hook. 1-2-3 and 2-3-5 NL, and 3-6 and 6-12 limit holdem. No Omaha as yet, and no big 30-60 limit game.

Hmm, maybe they’re just taking a while to figure it out. Thank you for the update.

5/5 PLO running every tuesdays at Napa's Ace and Vine Casino. Check them out on poker atlas. Game usually runs from 1PM till closing at 2am.

Bump. Can anyone guess the wait time @Graton?