There was a thread over on B+M that I started, before there was a regional section. So, I guess if you are interested in the 2+2 history of the Tucson posters ... apparently we are pretty highly regarded, as a group ... which surprises me. Someone said, "Everyone in Tucson is solid." Well ... I beg to differ. I witness a lot of overly loose play every time I play ... and hopefully it's not me doing it. I only play at Casino Del Sol .... so you'll have to ask someone else about the Desert Diamond. I hear they do not have NL cash games there.

No more freeroll tournaments. Less trash. Free buffet every night besides Sunday and Tuesday. $50 splash pots most weekday afternoons and promo sports tickets. High hand promos til 2 PM most days.

Hopefully someone else can chime in on exact rake and bad beat tokes per hand ... I really should know that, but I don't. Last I saw the BBJ was about $12k. Seen it as high as $50k, about 4 months ago. It's Aces full of Jacks beaten by quads or better, both cards in both players hands must play. $1 comp per hour of play. Early bird bonuses for tourneys. Free Pepsi products, hot chocolate (if you ask) and coffee, of course. Starbucks in house, if you don't like the free coffee.

Anyway, it's a good room, and better since the remodel and I appreciate how well they treat me, and there are good promos, good restaurants as well as now a spa and resort. Mostly friendly players. I enjoy playing poker there more than anyplace else I've ever played. That includes casinos in Phoenix, Vegas, Atlantic City and Seattle.

I know of a few home games, but they are very small stakes ... I don't really grind those anymore.

ETA: Mods please feel free to merge this thread with the thread I started over in B+M.

OP, thanks for restarting this in the new place. Del Sol's rake is $2 for the jackpot and $3 for the house on any pot of $30 or more. There is a no flop, no drop rule. I'm not sure of the exact place at which it goes up from $1 and $1. They are pretty likely to drop it upon request in shorthanded games. The amount of the accommodation depends upon the floorman.

The Diamond used to be similar, but with $1 dropped from the small blind preflop, but I'm not sure whether it has gone up, since I haven't played there for a while.

For those visiting from out of town--Del Sol is nicer and really the only place for no-limit. It is technically spread limit because of the Arizona betting cap. The blinds are normally 1-2, but 2-5 is spread sometimes. The cap seldom has any effect, but did yesterday when there were routine $600 and occasional $1500 pots in a game that stayed into the early evening from overnight. The room also spreads 2-4 limit, and sometimes 3-6 or 4-8 Omaha 8. There is a consistent 4-8 mix game most evenings, with the mix being O8 and Stud 8. Sometimes they've been getting PLO high only on weekend evenings. Again it has the $500 betting cap. Some people on the forums from time to time argue that this is an illegal structure under the Arizona gaming regs, but they run it. There are 13 tournaments a week, but the only one that isn't super fast is the Thursday night "Deep Stack" with an $85 buy in.

There is a new hotel which was featured in an LVRJ article on 12-4-11.

Del Sol is way on the SW side of town, and is quite far for many people in Tucson. They have a significant location disadvantage. As a result they run better promotions, and are more outgoing in dealing with their patrons.

Desert Diamond runs regular 4-8 limit hold 'em, and O8. They used to have bigger limit games, but now the only one that is semi-regular is the Friday morning 15-30 hold 'em. That one usually starts around 10:00 a.m, but often dies out pretty quickly. The Diamond has regular tournaments at 9:30 a.m. on Mondays and Thursdays (incredibly fast, but with house money added) and Tuesday night with some house money added.

The Diamond also has a slightly older hotel, and is very close to the Tucson airport.

Most of the regular posters in the previous thread were Del Sol players, and we have a preference for that cardroom. It would be nice if some Diamond regulars chimed in.

I'd love to get a regular 2-5 game going at Casino del Sol. If we could get a regular night or two designated during the week when 5-6 players would show up for that game (who would be willing to start short handed if necessary) I think management would let us start a table, and my guess is it would fill up most nights.

Any interest out there?

I will only play with a good lineup. I'd play short under the right circumstances. I know you've tried to start this before, and I'd suggest trying either Thursday night after the Deep Stack, or Friday night during the high hand drawings. I'll probably be there this Friday.

I was going to Phoenix this weekend, but I'll come out Friday - at least two of us will be there.

This past Friday we had 5 on the list for a while, but it faded. There were a few younger guys who I'm pretty sure would play if we can just get it off.

I come in once every month or two but I'm always down for 2/5 if I know it's going to be running.

If you are there tonight there should be at least 3 of us And like I said earlier, I think if we start it, even short handed, we can fill it. And maybe figure out a regular schedule when "regulars" would plan to come out.

The game started last night at 5:30 p.m. It was full when it started and varied between full and seven (mostly full) until I left at 9:30.

We finally broke that game at at little before 2am - got down to three handed and one did not want to play that short. Maybe I'll start coming out a little earlier

[QUOTE=afwoods;30209521]There was a thread over on B+M that I started, before there was a regional section. So, I guess if you are interested in the 2+2 history of the Tucson posters ... apparently we are pretty highly regarded, as a group ... which surprises me. Someone said, "Everyone in Tucson is solid."

Incidentally, I'd guess the person who said "everyone is Tucson is solid" was being a little facetious, at least based on my experience.

Sorry was too lazy to jump into this thread...

I was in the 2/5 game last Friday as well. We started the game full with a handful on the board too. Most bought in full, including two Tucson-famous action players as well. One of my colleague came along too, who enjoyed higher games like 2/5 and up. It was a rather tight passive game and players aren't particularly short-stacked, so it was decent. Let's try to play again this Friday and hope the player base grows.

Coincidentally, the two action players and myself are also big fans, perhaps bigger fans of PLO8. Unfortunately we can only play one table at a time, so the two games (2/5 and 1/3 PLO8) are basically excluding each other.

I hope more young guns living in Tucson would see this thread and come down more! It's a nicely run room, and actions are pretty good. Come take a shot! Even though it might have been in the other thread, let me provide some info:

Casino Del Sol:
1/2 Buyin 40-200 multiple tables run all the time
2/5 Buyin 100-500
1/3 PLO8 Buyin 100-300 (all big bets games are actually spread limit up to 500, which, to be honest, hardly ever matters, even in 2/5)
2/4 limit
4/8 O8
4/8 mix (most commonly O8 and Stud8, less commonly plus holdem hilo 8b)
Friday night is a good night to come down as there are some cash drawings going on. Promotions = more players = more actions
Thursday and Saturday night aren't bad either, and on Thursday night 7pm is their $85 deep stack tournament, the deepest tournament in Tucson that holds regularly.

Ray,

As you know at least for one night a couple of months ago we talked the table into playing a mix, one set of 2-5blind NLH, then a set of 1-3 PLO8, rotating on each dealer change.

I'll be out there tonight - maybe we could try that again.

I'm going to be in Tucson for business in the middle of February staying at the Loew's Ventana Canyon, which appears to be pretty far from Casino Del Sol and Desert Diamond. (google map of hotel location) Do I have any chance of finding a decent room closer to the hotel? looking for 1/2 to 2/5 nlhe, 5/10 to 8/16 lhe, or maybe some plo.

See post 11 above for the Casino Del Sol poker offerings. I have not been to Desert Diamond in at least a year, but I've heard it is still all low stakes fixed limit games, with mid stakes (8-16 or 15-30) only rarely running.

Unfortunately the next closest Casinos are on the outskirts of Phoenix. I think the best room in the state is Casino Arizona in Scottsdale (Phoenix outskirts). It spreads a variety of middle fixed-limit HE and Omaha-8 along with 1-2, 2-3, 3-5 and 5-10 blind "nl" holdem games (all 500 max bet).

I live in the foothills a couple of miles from where you are staying - it takes me between 30 and 40 minutes to get to Casino del Sol, and about 1.5 hours to get to Casino Arizona.

Del Sol and Desert Diamond are your only options in Tucson. Del Sol for 1/2, maybe 2/5 (see above) and DD for LHE (full kill). DD has plenty of 4-8 and an 8-16 that runs pretty often. Poker in February is pretty good in Tucson thanks to the gem show, and some of the worst LHE players in the world play at Desert Diamond anyway, so I would suggest going there rather than driving an extra 15-20 minutes to get to Del Sol. 15-30 usually runs on Friday, but I can't speak as to the quality of play in that game.

edit - poster above must have a private helicopter, Ventana Canyon to CAZ cannot be done in less than 2 hours.

I live above Sunrise, closer to Swan than Craycroft, so it probably would be 15 minutes more from Ventana.

I take Sunrise/INA to I-10, and routinely can do CAZ in 1.5 hours if no major accidents on the freeway. Don't drive particularly fast. It is more like 2 hours coming home because it's typically late and I'm tired.

Wish I did have a helicopter - I knew a guy in DC who had one that he would take up to AC.

Another friday night 2/5 game at Del Sol. One of the action player showed up and we decided to take a shot and start the game short-handed, it filled up! There were lots of big pots with several >$1k. (I know, nothing special for a 2/5 game, but pretty good by Tucson standard). The game broke at 3am.

They've changed the add-on policy for the league tournaments. You get a yellow chip at the beginning of the tournament and can do the add-on at any time before the first break, including when you sit down. You must buy the add-on before you leave the table for the break, or you can't do it.

This is for the league tournaments. I know that it is in use for the weekday morning series and the Tuesday-Sunday night league. I suspect they are also using it for Saturday-Monday.

This isn't an unusual rule, but it is new for Del Sol.

I will be in town March 4th. Looking to play limit HE or mix (any games), any limits, any opponents, any number of opponents, including HU. Minimum limits to get me out of bed 15-30.

Cat--you can try the Diamond, but it is unlikely that they will have a game that high, except on Friday. Probably 4-8 LHE or O8 will be the highest with a chance of 8-16. You can call them and see if they have a list. Del Sol won't have any limit games at your minimum level.

Just routine update to the thread...

1. I ran into some Friday 15/30 players at diamond, and they were talking about moving the game to del sol.

2. In related news, diamond is still not getting any business. An Omaha player told me on a Friday night, they had exactly one 3/6 going and 12 names for Omaha, and they wouldn't start the game bcos they don't to break the other game?!!

3. Thanks to gem show and rodeo in town, the 2/5 game has been going in the last couple of weekends. Good times.

4. Last sunday Brad Garrett (of everybody loves Raymond fame) played head up with the winner of the head tournament from earlier the day. All in all cool guy, happy to take pictures and was joking around having a good time. Is also very tall and has a very hot girlfriend.

Ha! I knew he was doing a show there and I thought I remembered him having something to do with TV poker at some point and figured he might stop in the room.

First celebrity in the new room?

ETA: I mentioned you in a thread in News, Views and Gossip (not by name, said a guy I know getting his PHD in econ, and as far as I know, you never won the WSOP main event).

Sub topic .... who's the best player at Del Sol?

Nobody there scares me as much as Tony ... he's capable of raising preflop with 7,2 off ... Bruce .... haven't seen him in awhile. I haven't been around much either. Some newish guys on the scene are pretty good. Mark ... where did that guy come from? I can't read him at all, and he's too smart to get trapped. But ... right now, after hitting the BBJ ... gotta say Eddie. Been grinding that room for years. I'd say he's the best player there.

He looks/sounds like Freddie Deeb, but not bald. You know?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ARcSJ_ApFEo

ETA: I have heard players say they saw Barry Greenstein at Del Sol ... and I finally saw the lookalike guy .... never played with him ... it's not Barry. He does look a lot like him though.

And I'm not Larry the Cable Guy, or Dennis Philips, either.

Get R' Dun!

Just got back from del sol, played 2/5 from 11 to 5am when the game broke. We were playing short (3-4 players) for the most part, so it was pretty entertaining game.

And I miss playing some PLO8 (or PLO), any young guns in Tucson want to take a shot? I'll be there today.