Quote:
Originally Posted by DalTXColtsFan
I'll be travelling to the bay area for business in a couple weeks and decided to check Bravo, and was surprised to see so few of the bay-area casinos not listed - parkwest, livermore, california grand, bay 101, palace - none of them are on there.
Anyone happen to know the reason for that?
A few years ago I had a conversation with the GM of the Oaks about this. He told me he didn't want a player to check Bravo only to find that the game he wanted to play wasn't running, and then not come; he wanted that player to show up and play one of the games that
was running.
He also told me that he and the GMs of the other Bay Area card rooms had communicated about this and were in agreement. The implication was that if one of them got on Bravo, they'd all have to follow suit to stay competitive.
The only card room within 50 miles of San Francisco that's on the Bravo app is Graton Casino, which is in Sonoma County. Technically, that's within the nine-county Bay Area, but it's a long way from the major cities and airports (San Francisco, Oakland, and San Jose).
Quote:
Originally Posted by DalTXColtsFan
Is there a way to check the action in the rooms before getting there without bravo (other than calling them all one at a time)?
No, not really. You mostly play low-stakes LHE and Omaha, right? Here are some options to consider*:
Bay 101 in San Jose has $4/$8 and $8/$16 LHE and $8/$16 Omaha. Both those $8/$16 games are played with a half kill.
Artichoke Joe's in San Bruno (very close to SFO) has $3/$6 and $6/$12 LHE but hasn't spread an Omaha game in at least 5 years.
Lucky Chances in Colma (just south of San Francisco) has $3/$6 LHE and $4/$8 Omaha with a half kill. The action isn't great, in my view (passive play, small pots), but there are a ton of promotions: jackpots, aces cracked, rack attacks, and high hand bonuses for quads, straight flushes, and Aces full of Kings during specified hours.
The Oaks in Emeryville has $3/$6 and $6/$12 LHE and $6/$12 Omaha with a one-third kill. The action is outstanding in the $6/$12 games—that's my preferred place to play.
The California Grand in Pacheco has the same games as the Oaks, but they will never open more than one Omaha table, not even with 40 names on the waiting list. The last time I went there, I waited 5-1/2 hours to get into an Omaha game.
Casino Graton has $4/$8 LHE and either $4/$8 Omaha with a half kill or $6/$12 Big O with a two-thirds kill (the latter usually runs Friday and Saturday).
I would say choose where you want to go based on proximity (to your hotel and/or workplace) and the games offered, then read the dedicated thread(s) on the venue(s) that most interest you for further info. You will find plenty of action every day and night of the week at all of the above rooms.
I also recommend a thread called "Is the Oaks 6-12 beatable?" for further info on the Oaks in particular and Bay Area LHE in general:
https://forumserver.twoplustwo.com/1...able-1702984/?
Hope this helps. Have fun and good luck to you!
*All of the rooms I've listed have NLHE games; some of them have LHE games at higher stakes like $20/$40. I've tried to focus on (a) your wheelhouse and (b) those rooms I've actually played in.
Last edited by agamblerthen; 07-31-2019 at 05:31 AM.