why can't it be both? I'm saying there are tons of fish at 2/5, just like 1/2. But there are hardly any good players at 1/2, where there are probably ~10 pretty good 2/5 players and another ~10 decent ones.

If you mean that there are just as many fish in the player pool. That makes sense. But at the same time one is unlikely to find a table full of fish at 2-5. That would be more relevant.

My experiece at Winstar is the 1-2 is softer for sure. But there is more profit a 2-5 because of the bigger stakes. Winstar 2-5 tables alomost always have at least 2 or 3 spots or more of players who are longterm winners and a few more who are close to break even. There is not near as many fish as there used to be.
My problem with Winstar is the rake. Normaly a 5+1 is not that bad. But at winstar a lot of the +1 actullay ends up being rake and the games are 9 handed and there is frequently people walking or at dinner so it is actully 8 handed or less. Add to that that 1$ is taken every hand before the cards are even dealt and the preflop rake policy and u have yourself a nice little dent in your hourly rate. Sure when the game is juicy and there is a lot of dead money flying around then it's no problem. But when there are a lot of regs ans nits and every third pot is a chop or an open and every one folds then you are getting raked to death. just my .02.

Forgot to mention the no rake reduction till you get to five handed. And then it is a 3$ and all the same rules above apply. This is not really a discount 3$ a hand 5 handed is more exspensive then 5$ a hand 9 handed. This doesnt even make sense. Winstar actully charges you more to play shorthanded and a keep a table open. WTF.

yeah, i meant in the player pool/on average

And it would def be awesome if we could somehow convince winstar to do "no flop, no drop"

Good luck with that. Winstar has a great geographical location and could be an amazing poker room. But it just is not that player friendly. At least compared to the majority of other rooms I have played in. They are, however, very profitable, amazingly profitable. Maybe one day they will actullay have competion that gets it and forces them to lower there rates. Untill then I am playing elsewhere.

Thanks for the info guys. Based on this info it sounds like 1/2 is the easy money.

PK, you used to be a dealer at Winstar?

Would you guy's say that Saturday and Sunday from noon-midnight is the best times to play 1/2?

I'd say Fri night - Sun morning (5am) Who's up for a a 48 hr work day!??

Q: A: Though the room has been a little bit slower than what it was leading up to the river, these times are going to be consistent, unless they are running crazy splash pot promos, etc-

The are usually 4 2/5 tables to every 10 1/3 tables. The player pool for both is consistently inconsistent. It is pretty much the same pool. A ton of losing and breakeven regs, a bunch of fish, and a few long term winners. A few more of the 'winning regs' will be in the 2/5 games, but they are normally playing the next bigger game running.

What I mean is you are going to have to find a good table whether it is 1/2 or 2/5, the more regs & nits, the harder it is to eek out a profit, the more droolers = more variance.

What you are looking for is a semi soft table, with a live 'donater'. (Someone playing for fun, rebuying and rebuying). Or the closest thing you can find to it, maybe a couple of small 'live ones' will make the table profitable.

Your biggest edge at Winstar is going to be your ability to size up the table and ask for a change until you find the sweet spot. The floor is usually pretty accommodating about this except when they are overwhelmed.


It just comes down to your game, the size of your edge, and your honesty with yourself.

Quoted for the MF truth. If you can't beat 1/2nl consistently at the Winstar, then you need to work on your game. (Same could probably be said for any 1/2 game.)

Today's daily turny has brought quite a few people into the room. Also, they have the new computer systems up and running. Evrything looks pretty smooth from what I can tell.

I dealt there for 5 years. Quit over a year ago and played there about 7 months. But after thinking criticaly about of the cost of playing there I decided I could do better at many other locations with better a rake structure. I think the rake structure at Winstar knocked somewhere from 5-7$ an hour off my hourly rate.

Overall all I like the staff at Winstar and there is money to be made there at
1-2 and 2-5. I just really hated the structure.

Where you playing at now that is better?

To be honest with you, I really have no idea what I am capable of because I do not put in enough volume to be able to correctly judge if I am a winner or loser over the long term.

I do know that the few times I have played at Winstar, when I lost it was because I beat myself. I have yet to see a good player sitting at the same table with me. They all seem like donks who just love to give money away and it is very painful to watch them stack off with A high to another fish with 77 and here I am sitting here card dead wishing I could get into the action.

Wow. So basically 7 days a week starting around 3PM-2AM?

Nice........................

Borgata and Delware park. Borgata has 5$ time drop and more games to chose from and delware park rakes the standered 5+1 but no flop no drop and they start rake reductions at 8 handed. The rake reductions are automatic. You don't have to call a floor and get permission. Both casino allow a 200 bb buy in as well.
For some reason the action on the east coast just seems better. Perhaps it's the cheaper rake. When you factor in a few extra dollars coming off every table every hour that is a lot of money taken out of the game. Money that never returns.

Also if you are looking for an action packed game near in the TX area the 1-3 at the shu in Shreveport is amazing. The stacks compare to the stakcs at Winstar 2-5. Also the 2-5 at Riverwind is only a 4$ rake. They do take a dollar before the hand starts and i think that they are supposed to rake preflop but the few times I played there none of the dealers did.

So you are traveling the US playing poker full time now?

That is interesting. I made the super long drive over there one weekend (3.5 hours). I guess its been 2 years since then now.

I got there on Saturday afternoon and started playing around 5PM. It was a tiny poker room - and only 3 tables going at 1/3. I had to play for like 4 hours before they opened up a bigger table and the table was a round of 5/10 NL and a round of 2/5 PLO. (I am not a PLO player). I played the table but man it was full of locals - of which one guy was just a complete loud mouthed a-hole. Never went back. Too long of a drive for such small options..

Maybe it is better now.

Has 5-10 NL been running a lot lately? If I go tonight (Friday) is it pretty much a lock it will be running? Was trying to decide if I should go to Winstar or Choctaw. Figured there would be more cash action than usual this weekend at Choctaw cause of the TJ tourney.

Yeah there's always 5/10 on fri and sat nights

Ummmmm...hello?

I keep thinking I should make the hour plus drive to Winstar and play. And then I remember how boring live poker is.

Where else are you playing?