1) Tampa/St Pete/Clearwater have less than 3mm in their MSA. The three main rooms in the area are 35-45 minutes away from one another. There are players who will never travel that far when they're closer to other rooms.

2) There is a portion of the poker-playing population that will NEVER play at THR due to general mis-management over the years.

3) I'm looking at Bravo right now (1 PM on Thursday) and there are 14 tables going, including three $2/5 games. This has been typical throughout the summer. How do you define "peak hours"?

I think part of the lack of traffic is people going broke after the buy-in limits went up. But to say the traffic is as far off as you assume is misguided.

Saw the Hard Rock is doing the Cash Wheel for poker players who play more than 5 hours I think Monday-Thur 12:01am til Noon in December... Anyone see the denominations yet? Or if someone sees it and could just take a pic, that would be lovely too....

Thanks!

32 spots I believe. 1 Wammy,1 1k,2 $500,3 $250, 4 $100 1 re-spin.All the rest are $25 i believe. There may be something between $25 &$100.$1k & Wammy are next to each other.

What? No bags of swag!!!

i'd rather win a swag bag than $25

I will take the cash.

Those Swag Bags are Legendary.People will still be talking about them a decade from now.

pardon my skepticism here... but any of you guys going for the promo, can you report how many times you notice people landing on non $25 spots? i might switch up my hours a few nights a week if i have an ev of $117

The first 10 spins from today had 8 x$25,1 x$250 &1 x$1000.

Was there any uptick on players playing because of the promotion?

Also, is the 1k the same size as the other 31 spots?

Yes.

Yes. 3 2/5 games Tuesday night made it to 5 a.m. 9 Total tables Tuesday at 5 a.m./12 Wednesday at 5 a.m.

Do they make you fill out the dumb form if you win $25?

Yes.

Are there no promos at all on Fri-Sun this month? I didnt see anything on the website. Having a promo-based game, that would really cut into my winrate.

i was told by a dealer the other day that the off-hours promo would be the only one and they expect the room full every weekend just because its december.

You have a 3 week Tournament series starting 12/3 that should have a positive impact on the cash games. It should be a good month.

Can anyone link me to a page with more info about this Cash Wheel thing? I clicked a banner on the page and it just directed me to all the other tourneys and promotions. Couldn't find a thing about it. Thanks.

edit: Okay finally found a little bit. Says "play a minimum of 5 hours from 12:01 am to noon" to have a "chance" to spin the wheel. I assume each 5 hours has to occur in the same day?

Yes.

A friend of mine (you may have seen him around the poker room, he wears an R2D2 hat all the time) says the games at the rock are very soft at 1/2, ive never played live poker, but ive been breakeven, possibly a small winner at 25NL, any tips for my first real session live?

Wear an R2D2 hat.

But seriously...

Rake at the live games is much higher than at online play, and therefore much harder to beat. The one major and supreme tool at your disposal when you play live vs. online is reading tells. If you haven't studied and learned them, then spend your time at that first before you start playing live. There are plenty of free videos on the topic on youtube to start with, and several good books to read (try abebooks.com to pick up cheap used copies).

players suck live especially at 1/2
lol @ rake making the games harder.

Players def suck at 1/2 but at the same time when you're used to online where you get raked $1.00 a hand, vs the usual of $7.00 per hand at 1/2, and half the table buys in for $100 and you have about $150 coming off the table in rake, he makes a decent point.....

There's a ton that can be written on this topic, but the first 3 things I think of are

1: Table selection is everything. At 1/2 most players range from bad to awful anyway, so it's not a matter of bum-hunting, it's a matter of stack-hunting. Find a table with some stacks. At THR you'll have plenty of games to choose from.

2: Value bet on the large side, and in some situations on the enormous side. You'll be amazed at what calls you, especially on a draw.

3: As in any game, don't bluff the stations. And realize the majority of 1/2 players fall into the category of "stations". Not saying you can't ever successfully bluff, because good spots do arise. But the good spots are generally fewer and farther between at 1/2.

Have fun and may the force be with you.