yo ... i'm currently advising a bigger room on how to handle certain areas around this topic, here's a short list, love to get some feedback:

1. in the room it's standard practice to allow regs to "block" a seat for a whale that's supposed to come in and make the game good.
- should this be allowed at all?
- if so, for how long?
- how do i balance who is allowed to do that? like, everybody, or only certain people, based on approval by the floor (aka, who tips enough probably)?
2. we experimented with this rule: you have to play for at least 2 more hours if you are in profit, can't leave the game before that.
- of course people who don't wanna continue and leave can find ways to circumvent that (extended bathroom breaks, walking around, whatever)
- players in general don't like the "hit and run approach", which is why this is done, i personally think that i rather have a guy who won and nits it up afterwards just leave to make room for a new player ... instead of either forcing him to sit or not play at all anymore anyways
3. small clocks that get placed in front of a player as soon as he leaves his seat, after 15 min the chips are being racked up and the seat is open (if you didn't announce a break for food, then it's longer)
- or better: third man walking rule, after that you can leave the game, but your blinds are being taken as if you were there
4. there used to be a super VIP status, if one of those guys shows up, the last person who entered the game has to make room (doesn't matter if you were winning or loosing). of course the whole table loves it, beside for that one guy who just got screwed.
- in a discussion around this topic a player suggested a "reverse auction" idea which i really liked: you start with a certain small amount (lets say 10 Euro) that everyone pays to the guy who is willing to leave the game. if nobody takes it, you go to 20 etc.: since it's times 8 or 9, it's 80, 160, 240 etc. ... depending on the stakes you play you can of course start with a bigger amount or raise in bigger steps. fun and fair idea imo

thoughts, feedback, other ideas?
thx

Saving seats for whales? Preventing winners from cashing out?

It sounds like a glorified home game for misregs. Just do whatever pleases the majority of the scumbags.

Is this for real?

It doesn't even sound like you've ever played in a "bigger room" or have a clue about the game, but you're "advising them" of all this? Not allowing a player to leave for two hours if he's winning, seriously?

All of your suggestions are laughable. That's my feedback ; )

a) yes, this is for real
b) no, these are not my (!) suggestions, but mostly the current situation as it is
c) the room is comparable in size to the top rooms in vegas like aria or wynn
d) they are very successful in their area and have adapted to the needs and wishes of the local player pool, but are trying to attract even more players, and now thinking about how this can be improved further without jeopardizing the existing clientele

no idea why you are criticizing me, but i thank you for your feedback anyways.

It's constructive criticism though.

How is it even possible to make someone play an additional two "more" hours just because he's winning? I don't even think this would be legal if this is a legit room. Just wanted to tell it to you like it is before you bring this up to them and they look at you sideways.

buddy, am i not speaking English or what???

how is it "constructive criticism" when you ask if i've ever played in a bigger room or have any clue at all about the game? :-)))

THESE ARE NOT MY IDEAS, THIS IS HOW THEY DO IT THERE, HAVE BEEN DOING IT FOR A WHILE NOW.

And it works for them, the room is packed, with crazy action, plo 25-50 2-3 tables going on a regular basis.

I've never heard of a room that makes a player continue to play for an additional two hours just because he's winning. I can't even fathom the logistics of enforcing this, or even the legality of it. But GL with the room!

ok, i give up :-)))
i lied, it never happened, all made up, you are right.

also:
America is the only place on earth where they play poker, and the sun circles around the earth.

peace and out.

Pretty much all these things should fall apart in any sort of area with legit gaming regulations/enforcement.

1) The questions you ask about this serve to show why it's not good practice. It's overly biased & preferential to certain patrons, and effectively creates private games/home game type things

2) Same kind of thing. If this were a TX-style club with memberships/hourly charge, it could perhaps be implemented in part by charging a minimum number of hours for the day when a player first takes their seat. But this just doesn't have nuance to it/any reasonable endpoint. How up is up enough, on a game to game basis? How long have they been playing, likely down money most of that time before they got into profit? How biased will this be to "preferred" regs/patrons and against the rest?

3) Rooms typically have standard procedures for walking and/or 3rd man walking players. The clock is interesting because it removes some biased elements & having floors go back into surveillance to see how long a player has been away. But I gotta say this idea sounds like an absolute ton of make-work and hassle for the floor staff.

4) Basically number 1 but on steroids. I know there are plenty of VIP systems that allow hopping to the top of the list, but never have I heard of this.

Just do whatever the cock fight organizers do when they are using the space.

If I'm down lifetime, can I leave whenever I want?

well, first of all: thx for taking the time and give me a serious response with some thought put into it.

a) this place is in eastern europe. gaming regulation are basically non existent, or what the hotel/resort wants (biggest employer in that area)
b) there are some hardcore whales/gamblers around, the VIP system (as crazy as it sounds for a normal room like in Vegas for example) has provided tons of value and cash in-flow to the community there for years
c) the only reasons why they are even considering changing this is due to the fact that they have more international customers now also, and wanna get somewhat closer to a more regulated environment ... but without going to far away from what they are used to, otherwise they'd risk losing their core base.

no idea, what do they usually do?

you my friend get a massage and a refund on top of that

.

thats how it works there, if you don't like it, nobody forces you to play

At some MGM properties when a whale shows up they force the main game to add an extra seat, eg go from 8 handed to 9 handed, and insert the whale there.

Note that this is the house doing this though, to make their pit whale happy. Not the players doing it to get a poker whale happy. But theoretically it could be similar.

No one (other than the whale) loves it, but it is accepted.

in macau for the highest level games there was always a reserved seat for the whales and when the whale wasn't present the pros would just check/fold around for hours until one finally made an appearance

so the practice is not as unusual as some here tried to make me believe

for your stakes, yes, it is wildly unusual

your delivery also makes you very unlikable, which is certainly a factor


i also strongly believe a lot of the backlash was more based on the other far more insane stuff you posted

i put a 0% chance you actually consult for a card room or that one like this actually exists - you're probably the 7th alt account of some troll here who is trying new avenues of attack

a fan ... how nice ;-)
you got it right like 99% ... but i'm the 8th alt account.

Coming from a mostly underground private game ecosystem. This is what every question the OP has stated sounds like. If this is in a cardroom and casino that does not have any gaming enforcement, these types of measures will quickly take hold.

The "give a 1 or 2 hr heads up before cashing out" is more common in the underground than most people expect.

If the action is good, and the rake is reasonable, in my mind, anyone complaining about these things are likely not "good" for the game, doesn't mean that the ideas and suggestions are good either.

To be honest, this room sounds somewhat small. I'd find it hard to believe that any local poker environment would have 8-9 whales that you would need to cater to. In addition, a big room doesn't need to force people to stay several hours if they are ahead.

If it is a big room, then you can have more "international standard" rules for all but the biggest game. If someone isn't playing in the biggest game, they aren't a whale. If someone complains they aren't getting the special treatment that got in the past, just let them know they are going to have play bigger. Having the table buy out someone to make room makes sense. That person would get first seating at the next level down and is first on the seating list for the big game if a seat opens..

If it is a small room with 1 table or maybe two, I'd leave 1 spot for the whale open. It could be an eight player table that expands to 9 if the whale appears.

a) the room has 25 cash game tables, there's a ballroom close by for larger tournaments - wouldn't consider that small.
b) the whales are not only from the local area, but drive/fly in from surrounding countries.
c) i agree, you don't need to force people to stay, but they choose to do it, bc especially the fun players complained when winners left the game too early (classic hit and run). now they/ve been doing it ever since, and it's hard to change stuff once it's established
d) it's actually not the whales complaining (ok, they get what they want), but more like the other regs or better players. i've seen some of these guys burn through 100K in like an hour without getting mad, just call the floor over to reload ... of course everybody wants these people in their games.

Odd that OP is “advising” at a 25 table poker room with whales who drop 6 figures like it’s nothing and is asking randoms on the internet for suggestions.