Is there any?

18 miles from the Mall of America to Canterbury

Don't go to Canterbury it sucks.*
Nitty dealers, nitty players, cramped seating, and they only spread LHE most of the time.

Go to Running Aces instead.
Friendly dealers, loose players, comfy chairs, huge tables.
They spread LHE and Spread LHE (2-10,4-20,2-60).
They also sometimes spread 4/8 Omaha-8, 2-60 H-O-E, and we now have a regular Sunday night 3-6 H-O game.

*please read the remainder of the thread for clarification - SG

LOL at a room offering spread limit being a reason to go to it over a room offering just LHE

Not only is spread limit a terrible game, he specifically asked about LHE.

level?

i guess we can add setofjacks to the list of canterbury haters...

1) minneapolis ace
2) setofjacks

um, thats about it.

Seriously, what is with the CP hate.

There is no spread limit. The physical accommodations are older and thus could be perceived as not as nice.

On every other dimension (softness, game selection, comps, staff quality, etc.) CP wins.

So certainly go to RA if its closer or whatever, but claiming that it is superior to CP as far as games, etc. is laughable.

-HF

staff quality is laughable, it's not hard to deal limit holdem. Yes go to CP if you want to play 1/2 limit, they will have more games to pick from. I guess I like having a smoke-free facility, a card room that is 20 mins away top.....oh and also the taste of fresh fish.

Actually he asked:
"Low-to-Medium HE near Mall of America? Is there Any?"
Yes spread limit is awful.

But Kill games are awesome, and so are mixed games.

@holmfries: I haven't been to CP on the weekend in some time, usually just during the week. The 3-6 table on a weeknight plays more nitty than online. It's usually 2-3 players to the flop. At least, that's been my last experience the last 3 or 4 times I've been there.
Compare this to the 6-8 players seeing the flop at RA and we have a clear winner.

Also the tables at CP are absolutely god awful.

Also, COMPS?
CP's 60 cents an hour redeemable for food/drink/tobacco is better than RA's $1/hour CASH?

for years people on this forum has said the best dealers found anywhere were at CP, why would this suddenly change? I find this hard to believe.

Um, table change or play 4/8. Its your own damn fault if you sit at a tight 3/6 table.

Havent been to RA but been to a lot of other places around the country. CP is great. No need to disparage one place to promote the other. Its not a zero sum game. To each his own.

Hahahahahahaha,

You have obviously not been to CP in quite some time.
1.) there are very few bad dealers, some but not many
2.) there is no 1/2 limit
3.) It is smoke free
4.) it is 20 minutes away from Mall of America
5.) Go to a real restaraunt if you want fresh fish
6.) Lighten up

They're professional, efficient, they make very few mistakes.
Unfortunately, a lot of them are unfriendly and are not at all lenient towards rule breakers.

Also, kill games are the nutz and canterbury does not spread them.

@danspartan: I've heard good things about 4/8+. Unfortunately I don't have enough $ to play those games right now. Next time I go to CP it will be to play 4/8 or higher. Something happened to 3/6 there. Something bad...

Not to be rude, but I doubt someone who cannot afford to play what is usually the lowest limit in many casinos is qualified to tell the 2+2 B&M community what makes a good room.

Year after year CP is perceived to be one of, if not the best run room in the USA on these forums, many well respected strategy posters on 2+2 who are now nosebleed stakes players have passed through those doors after grinding it up from the bottom such as Schneids & Bicycle Kick, they love that room and regularly praise the staff, I would tend to trust their opinions over someone who cannot afford to play 4/8 yet, I think they are more qualified to make a general assessment of the quality of a rooms staff.

Now if you want to say "I dont like CP" thats fine, its your opinion and your entitled to it, but since you have been trying to push your opinion on others then its time for me to point out the obvious - your opinion is instantly assumed by many people with world-wide card room experience to be unqualified as soon as you told us you cant afford to play 4/8 limit hold'em.

CP is on my list of places to go. It has potential to be a perfect location for me. Have the MRs. and some of her buddies drop me off and they can go to the Mall.

I will say that the dealers are less jovial with the current state of the economy and constant specter of layoffs. But they still run great games and most are really friendly.

Plus, many of the dealers/floors at RA actually came from CP, so to say that they have somehow become much better there is ridiculous.

-HF

I played Canterbury for years but now play primarily at Running Aces for several reasons;

1) It's closer to where I live in St. Paul which is probably the most important factor
2) The physical building is way nicer than Canterbury, I don't think this can be argued.
3) Definitely more loose, fishy players at RA compared to CP. Novice and new players will be drawn to the new, trendy place.
4) Definitely more variety at RA. You can play low and high fixed limit, spread limit and if you like no-limit you can play 2/60 spread which is very similar. They also have at least one Omaha 8 game and sometimes a regular Omaha or mixed game is spread.

Don't get me wrong CP is still a nice place and if you want to play straight middle limit holdem 6/12, 8/16, 15/30 it's still the place to go but they definitely had a monopoly for years and did what they wanted without question or concession to the players. I find RA management way more willing to work with players and give them the cash games and tourneys they want. They seem to be willing to spread any game that enough people ask for which is the way it should be.

lol because I haven't been a winning player?
Hmm if I didn't have student loans to pay off I could play 8/16, would that make me qualified?

I played at CP for 5 years.
Now I play at Running Aces.
The dealers make slightly fewer mistakes at CP, and they spread a few medium-range limits that RA doesn't regularly spread (4-8/6-12/8-16).
Those are the only advantages.


Also, have Schneids or Bicycle Kick given you a comprehensive review of both rooms?
Also, lol@Schneids grinding CP for years.
Didn't he win $1,000,000 online and jump straight into the 30?

Summarizing... don't play @ CP because the dealers are better all-around there and they have better mid-limit game selection.

I have never been to CP, but I am looking forward to getting there someday to see if it is as amazing as others on 2+2 have built it up to be. Even the haters, like the above poster, apparently can't deny that their dealers are some of the best in the country. The best dealers I've ever experienced are at the Commerce, so I wonder if CP dealers can hang with Commerce dealers.

I have not played at Canterbury since I moved to LA in September, but it was the best card room I had played it at that point. The dealers are fast, efficient and for the most part friendly and good natured.

It is closer to MOA than Running Aces.

CP dealers were a bit better than Commerce, I agree Commerce high limit dealers and the dealer training program is very good.

The dealers are good at RA too. They used to make a lot mistakes but have gotten a lot better (and of course there are several dealers at RA that used to work at CP and are very good).
I can't deny that the floor and dealers at CP are good at what they do. They are definitely good.
Also if you're looking for mid-limit games then CP is probably the place to go. RA has been spreading 6/12 and 8/16 occasionally as of late but there is no guarantee you'll find it there on any given day.

Floor decisions are correct and fair at both venues.
Dealers are good at both venues. Probably faster at CP, but friendlier at RA.
Running Aces has better accommodations. The tables are huge and the chairs are comfortable. Canterbury tables are very cramped.
Running Aces has better poker comp rates that are redeemable for cash.
Running Aces will spread any game that players show an interest for.
Canterbury has better beverage service.
Canterbury has better carnival game comp rates.
Canterbury always spreads 4/8-8/16 while RA spreads it only occasionally, when an interest list is filled.
Running Aces frequently has a kill game going. I don't think CP spreads this game regardless of interest.
Running Aces spreads spread limit if that's your thing. It's not my thing, but a lot of players like the 2/60.
Running Aces has a player appreciation tourney every saturday with a $10k prize pool for only a $20 entry fee (~110 players on average).
Running Aces spreads mixed games.
I almost forgot this one... Canterbury has a heated smoking area.
Running Aces has (usually bad) music playing, while CP has been dead silent the past few times I've been there. I'll take bad music over nothing.


Both places are quality venues. When I say "Canterbury sucks" I just mean in relation to how I feel about Running Aces.
I have spent a lot of time at both places and I feel a whole lot more comfortable at RA.
CP is 20 minutes from my house while RA is 45 minutes away, and I still make the drive several times a week.

So there, I made a long list of pros for both places so that no one can misunderstand my stance here anymore.

thats much better. You were forcing your opinion on others as fact when in reality its far from fact, sharing your opinion as you did above is the way to go. I respect your opinion, I dont have to agree, but I can certainly respect it.

The clear areas where CP is better than RA in my opinion.
1) Better mid-fixed limit hold em game selection
2) Better dealers
3) Better value food

The clear areas where RA is better than CP in my opinion.
1) Better more flexable management
2) More variety of game types and limits
3) Fishy and looser games
4) Better building and atmosphere
5) Better and more variety of tournaments
6) Better comps and promotions (aces cracked, splash pots)

Like I stated before, I played at CP for almost 5 years. And yes I haven't been back there in like 1 1/2 years because I'd rather travel to play other poker rooms and really soft NL and spread games. When I played at CP, I played no less than 8/16. CP is really stale to me, if they attempted to make some sort of upgrade/revamp of the place, I would maybe think about playing there. Right now I live 20 mins from RA so it's a "no contest" for me. I also agree with the person who said that the RA's staff is willing to listen to people about tournaments. Their PLO8 tourney a few weeks ago was a complete disaster and they received a lot of feedback for that and have made changes. I am a mixed game player, and their willingness to spread H.O.E and H.O.S.E, Omaha Hi, and O8 is great. Treasure Island will spread H.O.S.E games as well, Diamond Jo at the Iowa boarder will also spread PLO8, PLO, H.O.E, and H.O.S.E. Those are reasons enough for me to play at other casinos around the midwest.

Since RA opened, CP rarely spreads O8 or stud games anymore. If you're going to play hold 'em, there's really no contest as CP is clearly the LHE nutz. I wish I could bottle some of the CP 8/16 games so I could open them up when i need a buck.

Note to OP, if you're not familiar with LHE it can be much tougher to beat than you'd think. It's definately harder to beat than NL, imo.