Can I have a working phone number please

That jackpot drop is insane. Screw that.

In a vacuum I would agree. But given that every other room down here is $5 + $2, I don't understand why $4 + $3 would be considered insane. In fact, I like the fact that $3 of the $7 is going back to the players as opposed to every other room that only gives back $2 of $7.

Now, what I don't understand yet is exactly how that $3 is going to be returned; especially given the previous post that stated that AAAKK was the minimum for high hands. Other rooms manage to give away up to $1,000+/hr. at least a couple of days a week for any full house high hand while only taking $2 jackpot drops. Where's Dania's money going? If it's all for a BBJ for example, then that is insane. I'd like to see a list of their promos before deciding whether their jackpot drop is insane or not.

If you want to be totally honest. .taking $7 on a $35 is pot robbery. The other rooms wait until $46 but that isnt right either. This is poker..we the players want to have a real chance to win . Imagine what the average grinder would save if the max drop is just house rake and nothing else. Why cant we just get back to basic poker.

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I've studied rake as a grinder (DISCLAIMER: this is all my own opinion), and I think that Dania is doing $3 jackpot so that they can BUILD a fund to give to the players.

In the poker rooms there is a fund that is used for the promotions, to give away $1k per hour they need that money already in their funds. For example, when the Tropicana closed its poker room they had ~$80k (maybe more or less I don't remember) that they, by law, HAD to give away back to the players before they closed their doors. They gave like $100 every 10 minutes to random seats and $1k to each table every hour or something the last day until it was all gone! Needless to say the waitlist was 100s of people long.

So Dania is likely just trying to trick players with a LOWER RAKE, and taking an extra dollar in jackpot drop to build a fund.

If anyone would like to rideshare to and from Hollywood HR (usually Fri and Sat) and Isle sometimes (usually Sun, Mon and some weekdays), please PM me.

I think it would be a very good thing for a young grinder to carpool to and from the card room at least some of the time to save on gas and expenses. Also, it could be a good way to stay motivated and play set hours.

Hit me up if this sounds good to ya, I'm 28 yrs old and live in Sunrise, so I drive along the 595 and then go N or S depending on which room I'm heading. I would also be willing to go to any of the other rooms as I haven't tried them yet and heard there is good action sometimes!

Lol wat
Weird idea

The players the $2 draws to the game are the ones you want to play with, not ur average grinder

Yes, but theoretically, shouldn't the "average" grinder get back the "average" jackpot payout over a period of time? (Assuming the drop is paid back by way of high hand, aces cracked and other similar promos and not a BBJ.) IOW, shouldn't the jackpot drop be a completely neutral event to someone who plays a consistent period of time in a given casino? It would be the person/tourist who only plays occasionally who would experience extreme variance in the amount of jackpot money returned to him.

Very good point. I certainly am not a tourist that plays occasionally . What I am getting at is most card rooms rely on customer loyalty rather than over raking pots in order to fund designated bonus times.

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Good points but:
1) Much of the jackpot drop does go into a BBJ, which then usually leaves the poker economy. Even much of the high hand payouts leaves the poker economy: I see most people putting the chips in their pocket, not on the table.
2) All rake reduces your edge/earn rate. Imagine the extreme case, where the entire pot was raked then returned in promotions: your expected earn would be 0.

Also, note that the promotions fund is generally a transfer from bigger games like 2/5, that pay the most into it, to smaller games like limit or 1/2 NL that win more of the promotions (a subsidization of one game by the other).
Also, note the short/long-term conflict. Lower rake should make players lose slower and therefore be longer-term customers. Higher rake for promotions may be a sacrifice of the long term for the short term. It may be reduce the profitability of a room, while room management thinks it is doing the opposite. They should probably be measuring long-term growth rate/market share, not the turnout on a day when they have big promotions.

They must have listened to their customers,(on high hands anyhow) as this is what their BRAVO page now lists:

Poker Room High Hands! Feb 23-Mar 16 HIGH HANDS Monday-Tuesday $100 every 15 minutes Wednesday-Thursday $250 every 30 minutes Friday-Saturday $250 every 15 minutes Sunday $100 every 30 minutes Qualifications start at 9:00 AM. Any full house using 1 card qualifies! All High hands are from 10AM-Midnight!

Just got back from an 8-hr session at Dania and this is exactly how it ran today. Any FH and only one card required.

On a related note, this was my first ever visit to Dania, and I had a great time. When I arrived a little after 1pm, there was only one 2/4 game running and an interest list for 1/2NL with 3 names on it. With me, there was 4 and we started the game with a 1+1 rake. The table filled up within 30 minutes, including an apparent casino reg called Wild Bill who would open for an average of $35-$40 and play most hands blind through the flop. He kept busting out and rebuying for $200 every 15 minutes or so. After a couple of hours he was down $1800 and wanted to buy in for more that the $200 max. Initially, the poker room manager said no and Wild Bill said he was going to leave. Obviously, every one at the table wanted him to stay and we pleaded with the manager to let Bill buy back in for whatever he wanted. Finally, the manager relented and said that if everyone agreed we could change the game to 2/5 and Bill could buy in for $1,000. That is exactly what happened. Now, his opens would be larger and I even saw him throw in 5 $100 chips on a flop without ever looking at his hole cards. (His opponent folded anyway.)

Many people tripled up or quadrupled their starting stack, would rack up, and then be replaced with a player on the waiting list who likewise would soon be swimming in chips courtesy of Wild Bill. However, there was one unfortunate person who lost a $1,600 pot when Bill woke up with a real hand and they ended up all in on a KKx flop with each of them holding a K, but with Wild Bill having the better kicker.

There were also a few unlucky souls who would get their money in good, but get felted themselves when Bill would river a miracle card. I, myself, lost my first hand with him for about $300 when I ended up all in with AQ on an A2xQ board against J2 and another 2 fell on the river. Fortunately, I fared much better against him the rest of the day (although I did lose another $300 to him in another heads up pot) and walked away with a little over $1,100. When I left, Bill was down over $3k, but still going strong. He had taken a rubberbanded wad of bills out of his pocket that he claimed was $10k and said that the money was unimportant to him.

But enough BBV. My general impressions of the room and staff is that the dealers are friendly and competent for the most part, but they need more experience. One dealer in particular was exasperatingly slow. There were several misdeals, and other occasions where the floor had to be called over to straighten out errors or other problems at the table. The tables don't have automatic shufflers, so that slows the game down as well. But I don't want to harp on the negatives; all-in-all, it appears to be a well-run room and given time and experience, I believe that things will only get better.

Finally, while not in place yet, I was told that comps will be $1.50/hr., which is definitely on the high end for SoFla. Although I had planned for this visit to be a one-off, I will definitely be going back to Dania Jai-alai. And when I do, I hope to run into Wild Bill once again.

Hey everybody, first time long time. First of all, just wanted to thank everyone for the great information on this thread. I'm moving from the San Francisco area to South Florida at the end of the week, and just looking for some general advice on accommodations and the area in general.

A little background on my situation. I'm a 32-year-old Canadian guy who's been living in the U.S. for 10 years. No wife, no kids, no strings, and a regular 2-2-3, 2-3-5 NLH player who enters the occasional tournament, but looking to increase my action once I get to Florida. The priority list is pretty simple: Poker, golf, and SPF 50.

Figured I would line up a place to live once I get to town next week. Right now I'm thinking about finding either a studio or room somewhere between the Isle and SHR, limiting my expenses after spending years paying at least $1,000 a month for a shoebox in the Bay Area. Fort Lauderdale seems like the best place to be for a central location, just looking for any feedback.

-I know there are a lot of places within driving distance, but what's the ideal spot to be within close range of poker, golf and the beach?
-Any specific areas to avoid?
-Don't party like I used to, but a good dive bar for a cold beer and place to watch the game is always appreciated. Any recommendations?

Also, I have a pretty tight group of poker regulars out here in SF to talk strategy/analyze sessions with, and they helped me learn a lot more than I could have simply reading books or learning the ropes on my own. If there's a similar group out there, or you're interested in just talking poker, let me know.

The Isle is in Pompano Beach...not exactly the fun place to be. Lots of retirees. The Hardrock is in Hollywood. Hollywood Beach is nice, but the area around the place is not the best or most secure. Ft. Lauderdale is kind of in the middle, but unless you are on the beach...not good neighborhoods. Best bet is to checkout Zillow for rentals in the area. Also, consider Hollywood Beach Area. Would give you close proximity to Mardi Gras and Gulfstream as well. Golf is everywhere, so that shouldn't be an issue. Good Luck!

I am going to be in South Florida Wednesday for a Thursday meeting. Wondering which casino to hit up for a NLHE tourney? Palm Beach Kennel Club has a $30/$20 rebuy-add-on at 12:15 p.m. and again at 6:30 p.m., and Hard Rock Seminole in Hollywood has an $80 buy-in, $5K guaranteed tourney that evening beginning at 6 p.m. Which should I go for? Which tourney has a bigger field, which would have better competition, which casino is just a better experience, etc.? Any insight would be helpful, and am I missing any other options in the area? Just found another option: Isle Casino & Racing has a $75 buy-in, $5K gtd on Wednesdays at 7 p.m. Please add it into the mix as well when you answer the questions.

Here are some others to consider:

Gulfstream...PLO tournament on Wed @ 6:30..Details are here http://www.gulfstreampark.com/casino...er-tournaments

Gulfstream usually has between 20-40 players in the nightly tourneys


Mardi Gras...Free Roll details are here...http://www.mardigrascasinofl.com/poker/tournaments.php

Never played a nightly tourney @ Mardi Gras


As for which to play...it all depends on what you prefer....The Isle should have a big field...the cash games on the side are limp fests with people just wanting to see flop due to the generous high hand promotions. The water and coffee are free and the tables and chairs are comfortable. The Casino is probably the nicest on the inside in South Florida. Also Myron's is a good deli (if you like that type of food). The Hard Rock is a different place. The Poker Room is in a converted restaurant. The action is good. The crowd is much younger than the Isle. There are a ton on restaurants in the main casino and on the Hard Rock property (Sushi, Italian, and a great steakhouse called Council Oak, just to name a few) Plus, there are bars and clubs on the property if you want to experience night life without having to drive somewhere else after the tournament.

Enjoy your trip.

Thanks. Which is closer to Miami, PBKC or Isle?

The Isle is closer to Miami. It is located in Pompano Beach, whereas the PBKC is located one county to the north.

If you're staying in Miami or anywhere near the Miami Airport, you're looking at a 45 minute drive to the Isle in the middle of the night when there's zero traffic. If you're thinking of getting to the Isle for one of their regular tourneys which begin at 6 PM, you'd be driving through rush hour traffic to get there, which could easily double your commute time to 90 minutes.

Seminole Hard Rock is 15 or 20 minutes closer to Miami. PBKC is another 20 or 30 minutes past the Isle.

Gulfstream and Mardi Gras are roughly in the same area as the Hard Rock in relation to Miami.

I don't have any info regarding the PBKC's tourneys, but if you're at the Isle or Hard Rock, the final table can easily last until 2 or 3 in the morning. I was recently at the Isle when they spread a $65 tourney with a $10K guarantee on a week night. It began at 6 PM and they ended up with close to 350 entries and re-entries. Around 2 AM, the 4 remaining players agreed on a chop and the tourney ended. At that point, the blinds were $20,000 and $40,000 and the short stack still had over $500,000 in front of him, so it's conceivable that the tournament could have lasted another hour or more had they decided to play on.

I've never seen this happen, but I've been told that if the players don't come to a chop agreement at closing time (the Isle closes each week night) then the players will be required to come back the next day to complete the tournament. On the other hand, the Hard Rock is open 24/7.

If you're staying in Miami, my advice to you would be to play cash games at Hialeah or Magic City. And if you're absolutely committed to playing a tournament, check out Hialeah's schedule. Their fields are usually in the 30 to 60 person range and the final table will break considerably earlier than the tourneys you can find at Hard Rock or Isle.

Hey everyone,

I'll be in S Florida at the end of next month. Normally I play NL from 2/5 deep and up to 10/20. From looking at the Bravo app the most legit places appear to be The SHR, The Big Easy and the Gulfstream park.
Here's my question:
Is there a major poker spot that has no presence on Bravo app but spreads the games that I'm interested in?

Thanks in advance.

Magic city in Miami doesn't have bravo but doesn't really run 5/10s too much. The only consistent 5/10 action is isle and hard rock. 2/5s run at multiple rooms but again those two will give you the best selection. I'm leaving out Palm beach kennel club I'm pretty sure they have some larger games and aren't on bravo.

I'm sorry, I should've been more specific:

I will be staying in north Miami Beach, so I probably won't make the drive to the Isle on a casual night.

So if I wanted to play higher than 2/5 this only leaves the hard rock, correct?

If I was staying in Hollywood instead of MB, does the drive to the Isle become worth it or should I just play at the hard rock?

I also saw that some poker rooms spread a deep 2/5 game.

If you've played in it, how does that game usually play? Like a very serious 2/5 or a short-stacked and gambly 5/10?

Looking forward to checking out South Florida poker.

Since you wrote north Miami Beach with a lower-case n, I assume you mean the North Beach section of Miami Beach rather than the city of North Miami Beach. I live in North Beach and just want to point out that there really isn't a great deal of difference between driving to the Isle as opposed to SHR. SHR is 20 miles from me and Isle is just under 30. Moreover, the distance is mainly highway driving so it's only about 10 minutes farther away. (SHR is about ~30 min for me and Isle is ~40.)

FYI..Gulfstream offers both regular 2/5 NL and Deepstack 2/5 NL, as well as 5/10.