What does he look like?

Not going to describe the person, think it was table 22

^ All of this, please

Hi all, with the upcoming WSOP can anyone please give some guidance as to the PLO as well as Holdem games that will be played?

What are some the higher stakes and what are the normal stakes?

Thanks!

bump

1/3, 1/2/5 and 5/5 PLO then very big games decided by players at time - I've seen up to 200/400 (70k max)

2/3 and 2/5/10 HE

There will likely be a bigger Holdem game running at times also during the series...5/10 or 10/20 maybe

thanks for this! looking forward to the series

5/10/20 plo get going daily still?

Anyone know if music will be allowed up until the money?

Yes it's allowed. Not on an iPhone though

Hi everyone,

I've just come back from a short trip to Sydney, (approximately 40 hours of game play) and talked to enough people to have fairly good view of the games there. Happy to share a few comments from take on it all.

- Star Poker room is generally a more strict because of local government regulation, not Poker room rules, e.g. no phones etc.

- PLO is generally the preferred game and there were solid sessions of 25/50, 50/50/100 and saw a 100/100/200 game running one night.

- Games that run are 2/3, 2/5/10 (generally unspoken mandatory straddle) 5/10/20 (gets up only a few nights a week)

Happy to answer any questions, anyone might have.

Thanks for the info.

Are the 2/3 2/5/10 and 5/10/20 games all plo? Whats the rake for these games?

How many out of town grinders are there? at a 5/10/20plo game, how many(on average) regs are from outside of aus/nz?

2/3 and 2/5/10 are NLHE.

There are several Melb grinders in Sydney for PLO and HE and we have some touring tourney guys in tow right now from other places inc Asia

PLO for all those stakes as well. rake is 10% up to 10 dollars

Not quite. PLO is 1/3, 1/2/5 and 5/5 before the bigger games start

Do they still have the crazy rule about no hats and no headphones too? That was definitely up there as some of the dumbest I have ever seen

This is Bull**** sprouted by management to gloss over their complete stupidity when it come to running a poker room.

I have personally spoken to a number of current and former senior execs. of the place who tried to tell me among other things that: dealing out of a shoe is the absolute best practice and most common way to deal poker; phones and headphones are "bad" for the games as players would text each other DURING a hand and collude, that the rake (which takes more than $250 an hour off the table in the smallest games) is so small it couldn't possibly hurt the games long term and that their dealers and floor are excellent and knowledgeable about all things poker.

Add all of that to their stupid string betting rules, lack of knowledge of player intention when interpreting the rules and complete lack of knowledge of poker fundamentals and you get some understanding of how a large number of private raked and unraked games as well as terrible pub poker continue to thrive across Sydney.

Hands down one of the the worst poker rooms anywhere in the world and a classic example of what a lack of competition and a closed market lead to.

My understanding on a lot of those rules are that it is a state law rather than the actual poker room. Definitely seemed a lot more strict.

Apologies for the incorrect stakes on PLO but more or less those smaller stakes.

Out of curiosity, did anyone here play there in the last week and here about the massive unethical scandal? It was literally the craziest thing I have ever seen in any poker room.

It might be a 'state law' but it's the only casino in the state and they buy the license every x years. So it may be true but it's all negotiable

Which scandal? I heard about the guy on 2/5/10 chopping up during a hand

Would love to know what else it was - PM if sensitive?

But...it's a casino so there's always plenty of scumbags around.

We're not allowed to have phones to ward off collusion and yet there are several mid and high stakes regs sharing bankrolls or being staked by other friends in the same game and we allow several husband and wife 'teams' to sit next to each other at the same table

Melbourne 5/5 regs were proven to be texting each other during a hand, so there's that

What are the string betting rules you mention? Of all my many problems with Star, I've never had a problem with them

I also do believe the room has become a lot better run in the past 6 months. I've been playing there for a v long time and think it's the best it's been and I think for eg, the marketing of the last two tourney series have been very good and the cash game structures have been improved significantly

I still have major issues - awful dealers, some really arrogant floor staff, ridiculously long lists, poor interpretations on rulings etc.

It may not be brilliant now but the current room is world class compared to how it was run a few years back. There was a time when a couple of the floor were quite competent and seemed to genuinely have an interest in the game whilst the majority appeared to have never actually played a single hand and were more interested in enforcing obscure house rules than ruling in the best interest of the game.

Players texting each other while in the middle of a hand? How can that possibly not be detected?!? I'm hoping it was insta life ban from the room but I'm half expecting to be told otherwise.

Their floor guys aren't exactly the sharpest tools in the shed, so not surprised they'd think something idiotic like the players texting possibility. The string bet rule I don't remember. I do recall them instituting the dumb if you call the wrong bet you can't just fold, you have to match the actual one, even if it's like 300$ more. No doubt in my mind that was done just to ensure max rake in a hand that otherwise may not get there

That rule ended but they did bring in the one chip isn't a call rule when facing Post flop bets