Just asking what the pros think about my choice of Casinos. All of them are terrible to some degree.

The Poker related stuff here is obvious and easy to comment on. But I also factor in some miscellaneous factors like service.

Casino 1 Poker:

About a 1 1/2 hour drive to a small desolate town. 1/2 NL Poker 40min-200max. Tables are always full. Lots or regs and tight older players. Usually not a long wait except Weekend Nights. The rake is high, VERY HIGH - 10% to a max $10.00. By far and away the tightest players. One good thing is the manager is friendly with me since we both share a common interest of Fantasy Baseball. Got comped a few free concert tickets this year including Dane Cook and some Sinatra Impersonator (about a 60 dollar value).

Casino 2 Poker:

Only about 1 hour and change drive. But just 40 mins from where I work. 1/3 NL 100-300 Buy in. Players are super loose and aggressive. Rake is 10% to a max of $8. This Casino used to be Limit games only for many years which is probably why it is so lose. Biggest problem with this Casino is the wait times. On weekend nights it is often 2-3 hours or more. Have to get there early or on weekdays. Tables a little less aggressive on weekdays. Horrible service overall. No comps. No concerts here.

Casino 3 Poker:

Not raked, Session fee $6 every half hour ($12 per hour). Tables are pretty loose and aggressive - not as wild as Casino 2 but way more than Casino 1. never any wait times to play. Even long weekends, there's no more than 20 min wait. 1 1/2 hour drive. About an hour from where I work. I get slightly good comps. - Discounted Buffet, the occasional B-grade show.

I would avoid 1 because of the small size of the games and high rake.

2 seems good

What game are you playing at 3? If they spread 1/3 or 2/5 then I would go there. If they only have 1/2 then I would usually go with option 2

Seems like 3 to me, and it's not even close, other than a change of scenery every now and then to go to the other games....

+1

3

The answer is going to depend a lot on things you haven't mentioned.

1. Your expectations. Are you playing to make money? If so, non-monetary comps don't have much besides resell value.

2. Your skill. Can you beat all those games equally? Or do you struggle in laggy/nitty games?

3. Your schedule. You've listed thr distance from your work as if you intend to play every day after work? That's a ****load of driving on a day to day basis.

Rather than looking at your hourly winrate, you should be looking at your weekly winrate. If your goal is making money, you'd rather get in 40 hours/week of +$10/hr poker than 20 hours/week of +$15/hr poker. The longer of a session you play, the less the wait and drive times matter (like if you go on a 45-hour bender every weekend, an extra half hour driving and extra 1.5 hours waiting don't matter as much as if you want to play a 3-hour session every weekday).

At which one are you making the most money? THAT should answer the question...

Nothing seems horrible about casino 3, did I miss something? It seems better than the average room in the country, in fact, if they have the game you want to play.

3 sounds best overall. I would try to talk casino #2 into call ahead seating (sounds like a long shot) to help yourself out on the wait times

In casino 3 they have 1/3 and 2/5 no limit Holdem

2 during the week

3 on weekends

Ask the floor at 2 if they can open more tables on weekends and express your concern about wait times.. sometimes you need to do the floors job for them.

1.) I play to make money of course. I don't rely on the income from Poker. It's a hobby and a bonus. But as well know, some nights, things just don't click. If I am to lose, I'd rather do it in a Casino environment that is favorable, with a good meal and a few comps.

2) I guess the win/los rate speaks for itself. Lately I have been doing very at 3. My past 3 sessions, I have won $1100.00 in about 15 hours of play. At Casino 2, I have won about $400, net since the Casino introduced no limit in September. This is in around 40 hours of play. Casino 1 has been the worst. Can't really seem to win there I think I am down around $500 in the past 50 hours of play.

So the question arises, why play at 1 at all? with a sky high rake and losing track record. At Casinos 2 and 3, I play tight. Overall I am a tight player. I wait for things to come to me. I set traps and I overbet big hands. I know how these players play and it pays off.

At 1 I play a different style of poker, I have read enough books and on this site to know well enough to change up my game. I am far more loose/aggressive. I steal lot of blinds, check raise bluff. it's a rush to be the table bully, just sometimes. I feel like table 1 is a proving grounds where If I can hone my poker skills I could be a more complete player. and consistent winner.

3. I don't play every day after work. But I do play Fridays after work and sometimes Thursdays. You're right It is a long drive which is why I think overall, these casinos are horrible choices. (Lose around 2-3 hours of time on the round trip and 20 dollars worth of gas). I live in one of the biggest cities in North America and one of the worst for Poker.

You don't think 12 bucks an hour session fee is a bit excessive? I would describe my play as tight. So session fees don't really seem to favor me.

Aside from that it takes around 3 hours for the roundtrip, with associated lost income, gas, car depreciation just to get there.

Horrible compared to living in any major USA city.

$12 per hour sounds like one of the best rates in the country to me. Certainly better than the rake at the other places, which sound like the worst in the country. Don't you win more than one pot per hour?

If you're really tight it might not be quite as big a difference for you, but in your post immediately above, you describe your play as sometimes loose aggressive. I don't know why you would play LAG at some places and tight at others. But if anything, you should be playing tighter where the rake is higher. No wonder your results at casino 1 are poor.

The drive times don't seem significantly different between the three places.

At 12 per player per hour, they are taking $108-120 per hour, depending on 9 or 10-handed. At about 30 hands per hour, that's $3.60-4.00 per hand. That is a very reasonable rake, unless most pots are small.

None of these casinos sound like great value given the drive. I recommend caution playing after work, as fatigue can be a factor.

2 or 3 sound pretty similar value given the comps. 1 just sounds bad regardless.

I play looser in Casino 1 because the players are much tighter. I always believed it was good poker to adjust to table condtions and change accordingly. I steal blinds and steal pots with check raises. But truth be told, I don't like playing on a table full of rocks. yeah you steal more blinds. But when they do have something, rocks will often overbet and overbet with a check-raise, negating your implied odds and causing you to lose a lot of the money you acquired.

I doubt it's 30 hands per hour. Dealers are not that experienced. Players are loose, lots of action. But they do take time thinking things through. I am guessing it's more like 20 hands an hour. If you are card dead, the 12 per hour really stings. And of course you will get drawn out and sucked out on just like any other casino. I think my average playing session is 6 - 8 hours, which means 75-100 per session on pure rake. even if I am breaking even or losing from the cards. Seems like a lot to me.

Fatigue is usually ok. I start work at 10:30am to 6:30pm. I get to the casino around 7:30. So I can still play to around 1-1:30, get home around 2-30:0, sleep for 6-7 hours and I'm fine.

Forget what it seems like. Keep some records and see how much you are paying in rake in pot raked games. You'll be shocked.

First, I seriously doubt 20 hands per hour. That would be glacial. I've only once been to a casino where the average was under 25 in my (obviously limited) time at the tables, and even when I realized how slow it was and started counting it was at 23.

Secondly, how much it costs when you are card dead is not the point. That's frustrating, but its the average that matters.

Justt track it and see for yourself. Here is my estimate:

If you are a somewhat typical TAG (by live standards), you are probably winning about 9% of the pots at the table, or about 2.7/hr. This is a lower number than you would win by random distribution, just because you are playing significantly fewer hands than your Vs, though it comes back up because both aggression and a better range mean that you're winning more of the pots you do play. It also means that your average pot size will be bigger than the table average.

With a 10% rake, you're going to max out the rake in almost every pot you win except the ones where they fold to your flop c-bet, and even those are going to rake something like $5. So on average, you are paying at least $6/hand in rake for every pot you win at casinos 1 and 2, and likely much more.

Even with these very conservative estimates, you are paying at least $16/hr in rake on at the pot raked games on average, considerably more than the $12/hr at the time raked game.

Welcome to live poker. As others mentioned this rake is pretty low. Generally no idea why you would classify Casino 3 as horrible

After reading your post it’s obvious where you are as we suffer the same struggles when it comes to live poker

I have most experience at #2 but HATE the fact there is literally zero comps for anything etc. I play there due to convenience.

I’ve played a decent amount at #3 but admittedly have no experience since the reno’s so I don’t know what it’s like these days.

I’ve never played #1 and have heard mixed reviews.

And if I’ve guessed totally wrong where you are....it’s eerie how similar your area is to mine lol

Well let's summarize the clues.

1.) One of the largest cities in North America
2) No Casinos in the city.
3) Casino I speak of has 1/3 no limit with a session fee and recently underwent renovation.

Another Hint, it's darn cold tonight and my country will have legalized weed in 2 days.

Aside from the rake, the casino is far (1 1/2 hour drive ..sometimes longer with traffic). There is lousy service. Takes forever to get a drink. Players not the worst here. #2 has more calling stations.

So you're in Toronto? 3 not even close.