I'll be in the area in March. Based on recent posts itt, it looks like any poker room time that would be dedicated to NLHE might be better spent at a blackjack or pai gow table. But is there regular PLO action on weekends and, if so, are those games decent action?

There is regular PLO action with the exception of Monday's, where sometimes the game doesn't go because all the regs meet at another room for that one night a week. But during the winter there can be enough snowbirds playing that it goes Monday as well. The base game is 5/5 PLO with 5/10 usually going on weekends and sometimes 10/25. Sometimes, but not often a 2/2 PLO with a 5 bring-in goes. I think the action is good.

I wouldn't be scared off by the nit alerts ITT. While some tables are like that, on a weekend you usually have between 5-8 2/5 tables going, and around 15-20 1/2 tables. there are plenty of players looking to get it in.

Thanks!

The higher stakes games and PLO are good and 1/2 probably still is as theres always a ton of tables...it's mostly the 2/5 NL that sucks. Not unusual for every 2/5 table to be two thirds nit regs. Sometimes you get a good table but the games are much worse on average than they were a year ago IMO.

On the plus side there is more PLO action than there used to be and 5/T+ still good.

You guys' definition of a nit must be different than mine. I played 3 hours on 2 different tables and saw so much more action than we have at the Isle that it blew my mind. I was sitting the entire time thinking WTF are those 2+2 guys talking about.

KT got stacked for 100BBs by 33 on a K35 flop...all in on the flop
KQ bet the river on a AhQhTsJhX board...he got raised...he shoved like $450 and obviously lost to a flush.
A9 got all in on 988 flop and lost to QQ
Dude limp/called $65 with K3s....called a flop bet on 654 flop...then open jammed the 6 turn and lost to AA.

I had a $50 raise called by 96o.
Probably 1/3 of all hands were straddled.....ect

I could go on and on but I sure didnt see many nits.

3 hour sample size obviously more significant than that of people who've played there for years.

That kind of action is not typical but sure you can see some crazy stuff now and then. Some people do call pretty light preflop especially during HH hours though 96o is unusual.

Even the younger regs who knew each other seemed to be very "un nitty".

There was a hand where a young guy in EP opened $25, 2 calls in MP. SB 3 bets to $125 with 99. EP calls. MP1 folds. MP2 shoves $400. SB and EP both call.

SB won with 99.

Another hand there was a $350 all in JJ vs 76s.
One reg walked by and told his buddy he was stuck $6500.


Another hand...button straddle...2 limps. A guy raises $50 and gets called by a limper who had 6c2c. They get all in on the flop when the caller flops his a flush draw. He hits the flush but the guy who raised $50 had 7c3c and flush over flushes him.

There was more craziness in 3 hours than I see hardly ever at the Isle. Ill be back tonight. Maybe Friday night is nittier than Thur? LOL

You were playing during peak HH hours but still sounds like fantasy land to me.

The young regs are mostly not nits because they're pros.

This +++.
Came down from up north last week with 3 friends for first time in Tampa. Everything i read in this thread was "nitty/nitty/bla bla".

Overall place had best action any of us had ever seen. Of course haven't been everywhere but way better than Vegas, Milwaukee, Jacksonville, Beau Rivage, Chicago area, Southern Indiana....

One or two are trolling (sorry for outing you boys), and the others are just wrong, in my opinion. The game varies, as it does anywhere, but by and large I feel like the games are great. Can you walk in at anytime 24/7 and guarantee theres a good game running? No, but can you show me a place that does? The times I find myself sitting there thinking "every game in the house is trash" occur infrequently.

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You must have caught it on a bad day because Milwaulkee is a good game. I think in general saying how good or bad a room is based on a sample of a only a couple of days is questionable.

LOL Just got the email for this months promotions.

Play 50 hours, win $500! I was like that's nice.. then looked at the fine print (Between the hours of 2am and 9:59am Monday though Friday only)

Seriously Hard Rock... lol That's some crazy degenerate stuff to even attempt right there. Way to have a promotion that appeals to, well, no one.

New Poker Director, please and thank you!

well promo's are met to increase player traffic. I'd imagine during these hours/days would tend to be on the slower side so from that perspective I understand the targeted timeframes. that being said, generally those playing during those hours on those days are playing regardless of promo's so I don't see anyone getting out of bed to take advantage.

There are lots of elderly insomniacs living in the Tampa Bay area.

+++This
In late January the dealers were saying the Feb promo was 50hrs/$500. It sounded great until the details were released:
ONLY Monday thru Friday and 2AM to 10AM!!!!!
WTF!

I've had some late night/early morning sessions, but that's usually weekends or holidays (like the Xmas week). I try to play Tuesday/Thurs nights and weekends. So getting many promo hours isn't going to happen for me.

I guess if you don't have a 9-5 job, or family, or life, then its probably ok.
Otherwise, I went from being excited about it, to forget about it!

as if the night games weren't bad enough, i'm sure this degen promo will make it nice and grindy... "play or chop?"

Heading down in April for a long weekend getaway. Mostly 1/2 player. Any tips? Looking forward to checking out a class poker room.

I dont know that Id call it a class poker room. I found it less than great.

1) The lighting is absolutely terrible.
2) They wont let you play without an ID. Ive never heard of such a thing. I had to walk back to the parking garage to get my ID which took a good 20 mins to get there and back.
3) They wouldnt even let me put my name on the list while walking back to get my ID.
4) At one point, I lost a decent sized hand and asked to rebuy more chips. Someone came by, took my money and gave me lammers to indicate how much money I gave them....but the money still wasnt in play even though I had the lammers. The money is not in play until the chips are actually sitting in front of you. Ive never played anywhere where that was the case.
5) I asked for a table transfer and they took my name down. I heard 3 names called for 2/5 before went back tp the podium to ask why I hadnt gotten my transfer if new players were getting called. They had no explanation other than "oops, you'll be next".

I was less than impressed with the place.

Agree. Every 7/8 seat should require a flashlight.

Get a player's card and it won't be an issue, but yea that's ridiculous.

lol THR gon' THR.

That was the case a while ago when the room took away dealer wells, but now you can play as long as you have lammers. Still can't buy a stack from someone at the table so if you don't have lammers you can't play a hand. Pretty stupid and I'm sure they have some back-assward reason why.

Their floor is run about as poorly as you can get for a big room.

And the action sucks!

I had lammers and the dealer still wouldnt let that money play.

The action was great when I was there.

Except for a short period of time over a year ago when the new regulations about cash playing went into effect, once you get the lammers the money plays. That's the standard procedure and it happens hundreds of times a day. If you played there recently and your lammers didnt play you must have gotten a brand new clueless dealer or something. There's no question that lammers play. That's what pisses everyone off--having to wait to get lammers.

As for the ID, there are actually signs at all the entrances to the casino stating you must have ID to play any games in the casino. The poker room really started getting strict on that after some banned players came in without ID and got on tables.

The transfer list procedure has never been run right. Too many hands in the cookie jar with brushes on the floor working deals with regs or the brushes up front just forgetting.

I've played in the new room since it opened and never had a problem with the lighting or heard anyone complain about it. That's a new one for me.

The whole cash doesnt play thing appears to be related to new finance regs about money laundering and visibility of currency transactions. That's also why players cant sell chips to other players. Here's an old article about the changes when they hit Vegas. It's not a unique Hard Rock thing.

https://www.onlinepokerreport.com/16...-poker-tables/

Does anyone have a target date for when the new hotel tower is supposed to open?

I think I wasn't clear. I was thinking about a scenario where a player busts and has cash for the chip runner. In other rooms I've played in, I can slide the busted player a stack of reds and the player gives me a $100 bill. This way the player can get right back in the game. When the chip runner returns they give me one stack of red, the rest to the other player.

Not sure why something like this couldn't be implemented.

I made kind of a big deal out of it, because I called a raise and THEN the dealer said "just so you know, that extra money isnt in play yet until the chips arrive". I told the dealer that was a ridiculous rule and Ive never heard of it before. Its not even that way at Hollywood Hard Rock. Several players chimed in and said that the rule sucks but that's the rule there. The dealer asked if I wanted the floor and I said forget it. Apparently some of the regs do think the dealer was correct.