Welcome to the Brick and Mortar Forum (“B&M”) at 2+2. The forum is divided into three areas:

I. the main forum, where discussions of the rules and etiquette of live poker (and sometimes hype threads for soon-to-open venues) take place;
II. the Poker Venues subforum, where discussions about the venues of legal live poker occur; and
III. the Regional Communities subforum, which is a minimally-moderated playground / water cooler / meeting place for regulars of live poker "neighborhoods."

We take a liberal view on acceptable topics in B&M as long as the topic is related to brick and mortar card rooms and the discussion remains socially acceptable. Generally, the standard we use re social acceptance is the same as a well-managed poker room: you cannot post something that wouldn't be tolerated at a poker table in a card room.

Additionally, the following specific guidelines apply:

(1) No-content posting. No-content posting is not permitted. Please make sure that your posts contribute positively.

(2) Profanity filter. 2+2 has a profanity filter built into its software. Please do not self-censor or otherwise attempt to dodge that filter; simply type expletives as you would normally and let the filter do its work.

(3) Unlawful activities. Posts about breaking the law are not permitted. (E.g., underage gambling, underground card rooms, etc.)

(4) Trolling. Trolling is not permitted. For a definition of trolling, visit http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet_troll.

(5) New threads. Before making a new thread, use the search function. It is preferable to bump an old on-topic thread than start a new thread if your subject is not original. Also, before making a new thread, be certain that there is no forum that is more appropriate for your subject. If you need guidance on this issue, please send a private message to a moderator. Finally, please make the title of your thread substantive and descriptive.

(6) Card room employees. Card room employees must become authorized representatives before posting information on their place of employment. Please contact Two Plus Two Advertising for more information.

(7) Privacy of non-famous players and card room employees. Respect other players' and card room employees' privacy; do not use personally identifying information on the forum unless they have given permission to do so either explicitly on the forums or implicitly by becoming an authorized representative.

(8) Containment. Discussion of the following topics are limited to the linked containment threads:

Tipping
Human-dealt tables v. e-tables
Chicago-area "charity" poker rooms
Discussion of the Moderation of the B&M Forum

The previous B&M Forum FAQ, which remains an excellent resource for guidelines on posting, tips on how to use the search function, and frequently asked questions, can be found here: http://forumserver.twoplustwo.com/27...topics-201389/.

If you have any questions about the above guidelines or wish to discuss moderation action, please either: (a) in the case of a specific incident, send a private message to the moderator taking the action; or (b) in the case of a general suggestion/discussion, send a private message to any moderator -or- post in the Moderation Discussion Thread, which can be found here: http://forumserver.twoplustwo.com/27...hread-1015451/.

Out of respect for the regular posters in this fourm and to encourage discussion of unique topics, please review the following FAQ to see if your question can be answered without starting a new thread whose subject matter has been covered multiple times previously. Please feel free to post in any of the below threads if you have a specific question that hasn't been answered previously.

Where can I find the best/loosest 1/2 NLHE game in Las Vegas/Atlantic City/Los Angeles?

The current most popular poker game in the world is played at just about every poker room in the world. For specifics on quality of games at particular locations, please use the search function or see the following threads:

Best 1/2 NLHE in LA (Cali.)?

Best 1/2 NLHE in Las Vegas?

Best Place in AC to play poker

Where can I find the best poker tournaments in Las Vegas/Atlantic City?

Best Vegas Strip MTT Structures

What is the best low buy in tournament in Vegas?

Best place in AC for MTT's?

What's there to do other than gambling while in Las Vegas?

Check out the Las Vegas Lifestyle Forum.

What's there to do other than gambling while in Atlantic City?

Check out the Atlantic City thread in Regional Communities here: http://forumserver.twoplustwo.com/20...ssion-1087675/.

Where can you play B&M poker legally in the United States if you're between the ages of 18 and 21?

Casinos that are 18+

What is a standard tip?

Although tipping (like just about anything involving money) is a highly contentious issue and therefore we've created a tipping containment thread, here's links to some older tipping threads so that newer players can have some idea of other players' standard tipping procedure / etiquette to use as a guide to formulate their own personal procedure / etiquette.

tipping etiquette in live games

cash game tipping the dealer

Tipping after winning a MTT

Tipping Ettiquite on BBJ

Tipping the brush/floor/other cardroom employees?

I'm new to B&M poker. What can I expect and what customs should I observe?

A Newbie Guide to B&M Small Stakes No Limit Cash Games

The B&M Card Room Newbie Guide v. 4

First time in a casino - What the hell do I do?

What is proper etiquette with respect to IWTSTH?

Someone Explain the IWTSTH Controversy please!

What is the history and modern-day value of the IWTSTH rule?

Terminating IWTSTH

Regional Information Request, RE: IWTSTH

Common shorthand terminology frequently used in the B&M Forum.

IWTSTH - "I want to see that hand," a reference to Robert's Rules of Poker Ch. 3 Showdown § 5.
OPTAH - one person to a hand.
SOSA - show one, show all.

Per Mat Sklansky's suggestion, for the foreseeable future B&M will be moderated under a modified Sporting Events (SE)-type system.

There will be no warnings or infractions given in B&M. Instead, posts that the moderators believe to be minor or accidental violations of the guidelines will be deleted without notice to the posters who made them. (The moderator may choose to notify the poster, but has no obligation to do so.)

Posts that are egregious violations or that show a willful disregard for the forum guidelines, i.e., the moderators think you're breaking the rules on purpose or that your posts show a pattern of undesirable behavior, will be handled first with an official warning via PM and then with escalating tempbans based on the number of total guidelines violations the poster has made that are egregious or willful.

Ex. 1: Poster X makes a post like "lol." Poster X will not receive a warning or an infraction. The post will be deleted and Poster X will not be notified of the deletion.

Ex. 2: Poster Y, who has no history of problems in the past, goes on an incredibly vicious, expletive-laden rant against another poster. Poster Y will receive a PM from a moderator giving an official warning that his next guidelines violation could result in a tempban.

Ex. 3: Poster Z, who has a history of making personal attacks against other posters, is back at it. This is his third time flying off the handle, so he receives a two-day tempban.

One things that has not been decided and is open for discussion in the Mod Discussion Thread is how many tempbans a poster should receive before being banned permanently.

I personally am looking forward to taking a more hands-off approach, spending less time tracking warnings/infractions, and reserving punishment for serious offenses. I think that 95% of B&M posters are incredibly well-behaved members of the community and therefore I think B&M is one of the most civil forums on 2+2, so I have faith that there won't be major disruptive issues as a result of this change.

As always, if you have comments on this change, please send us a PM or post in the Moderation Discussion Thread.

UPDATE: The moderators of B&M have agreed to make the list of offenders public. As expected, everyone has been pretty well-behaved under the new moderation system. Hopefully that will continue going forward. This list will be updated accordingly.

B&M Tempban List

First offense (warning) -- warnings are not made public.

Second offense (24-hr tempban)

100%VPIP -- Identifying non-famous players. [Rapini]
33 Big Blinds -- 24-hr ban for trolling, low-/no-content posting, and identifying cardroom staff. [Rapini]
3BetBroke -- Low-/no-content posting. [Rapini]
99killed -- repeated no-content posting. [Rapini]
AA Suited -- 24-hr ban for violating the privacy of cardroom staff. [Rapini]
AceCroupier -- Trolling. [Rapini]
bacats32 -- incessant no-content and off-topic posting in the Absurd "Thinking" thread in B&M. [Rapini]
bigjimt -- Low-/no-content posting & discussing moderation action in a substantive thread. [Rapini]
BIRDY dealer -- advertising for Revel. [Rapini]
borgota semireg -- trolling. [Lattimer]
cf410 -- abusing the Report Post function. [Rapini]
chefs101 -- trolling / personal attack. [Lattimer]
colt45ss -- discussing illegal activites. [Rapini]
CommanderNChief -- 24-hr ban for off-topic posting: advertising for Harrah's Chester in the PARX thread. [Rapini]
DCJ001 -- 24-hr ban for discussion of moderation action in a substantive thread. [Rapini]
Dealer-Guy -- Rigtarding + posting about a containment issue outside the containment thread. [Rapini]
DesertCat -- Discussing moderation action in a substantive thread. [Rapini]
dipce -- Potential copyright violation: copying and pasting an entire news article into a post. [Rapini]
dohnutts -- Trolling. [Lattimer]
donkitall -- Personal attack/trolling. [Rapini]
donniccolo -- Discussing moderation action in a substantive thread and discussing cardroom employees. [Rapini]
Don’t Tase Me Bro -- trolling / personal attack. [Rapini]
DrChesspain -- pictarding in B&M. [Rapini]
FreakShow -- Low-/no-content posting in the B&M Forum. [Rapini]
frommagio -- Derailing. [Rapini]
jamest -- googletarding / not using the search function. [Rapini]
Jediburke -- Using a gimmick account to troll the Harrah's Cherokee thread. [Rapini]
KENNYTRANPLUSEV -- trolling. [Rapini]
LiveActionPro -- trolling. [Rapini]
LivingOffZSun -- low-/no-content posting. [Rapini]
LuvTheBeefCurtains -- Trolling the Colorado RC thread. [Rapini]
LVPILET -- Trolling; discussing moderation action in a substantive thread. [Rapini]
machi5 -- Discussing moderation action in a substantive thread. [Rapini]
Mark275 -- discussing moderation action in a substantive thread. [Rapini]
metsandfinsfan -- 24-hr ban for no-content posting. This ban was extended to 48 hrs due to circumvention by gimmick account. [Rapini]
Midnight Cowboy -- 24-hr ban for low-/no-content posting in the B&M Forum. [Rapini]
NDfan -- Low-/no-content posting. [Rapini]
NIN -- Consistently trolling the Borgata PV thread. [Rapini]
Omar Comin -- 24-hr ban for no-content posting and discussing moderation action in a substantive thread. [Rapini]
PASANDSMAN -- Trolling the Parx thread. [Rapini]
Pauky -- Off-topic posting: poker legislation issues in the CT Poker Venues thread. [Rapini]
Paul Valente -- 24-hr tempban for no-/low-content posting & trolling. [Rapini]
pfapfap -- 24-hr ban for low-/no-content posting / trolling. [Rapini]
PhosphoricAcid -- violating the privacy of non-famous players and cardroom staff. [Rapini]
pokergod350 -- trolling. [Lattimer]
Pokerprotrav -- promoting place of employment. [Rapini]
Randal_Graves -- 24-hr ban for no-content posting. [Rapini]
ReidLockhart -- no-content posting. [Rapini]
RobFarha -- no-content posting. [Rapini]
Roll_up -- identifying a cardroom employee. [Rapini]
Schadenfred -- trolling. [Rapini]
SirRawrsALot -- low-/no-content posting. [Rapini]
starrazz -- trolling and politarding. [Rapini]
that_pope -- Low-/no-content posting in the B&M Forum. [Rapini]
Suit -- 24-hr ban for trolling the tipping containment thread. [Rapini]
thekid345 -- trolling and discussing moderation action in a substantive thread. [Rapini]
wil318466 -- low-/no-content posting and trolling. [Rapini]
WildDuces234 -- Identifying cardroom staff by name. [Rapini]
wtfikillu -- making multiple staking threads in B&M. [Rapini]
z4reio -- 24-hr ban for low-/no-content posting. [Rapini]
zoltan -- 24-hr ban for no-content/trolling posting. [Rapini]

Third offense (48-hr tempban)

bigjimt -- Trolling. [Rapini]
cf410 -- discussing moderation action in a substantive thread. [Rapini]
dohnutts -- Discussing moderation action in a substantive thread. [Lattimer]
Don’t Tase Me Bro -- trolling / personal attack; also sent multiple PMs harassing other B&M forum participants referencing a B&M thread. [Lattimer]
DrChesspain -- low-/no-content posting. [Rapini]
floppinnothing -- low-/no-content posting. [Rapini]
LiveActionPro -- trolling. [Rapini]
LVPILET -- Discussing moderation action in a substantive thread. [Rapini]
MSchu18 -- Trolling, low-/no-content posts. [Rapini]
PASANDSMAN -- 48-hr ban for continuing to shill for Bethlehem Sands in other casinos' threads. [Rapini]
Pauky -- Discussing moderation action in a substantive thread. [Rapini]
Paul Valente -- 48-hr ban for low-/no-content posting. [Rapini]
PhosphoricAcid -- discussing moderation action in a substantive thread. [Rapini]
Redsoxnets5 -- violating the privacy of non-famous players or cardroom staff. [Rapini]
starrazz -- Trolling. [Rapini]
WildDuces234 -- Low-/no-content posting. [Rapini]

Fourth offense

bigjimt -- Trolling. [Rapini]
floppingnothing -- 72-hr ban for violating the privacy of non-famous players or cardroom staff. [Rapini]
LVPILET -- Permanent ban for racist remarks and trolling. [Rapini]
PhosphoricAcid -- 72-hr ban for no-content posting. [Rapini]

Special Achievement Award

g00t4life -- exile for a multitude of violations in rapid succession.
goofball -- exile per this thread: http://forumserver.twoplustwo.com/55...an-me-1272714/.
Pauky -- 3-day tempban & exile from B&M for low-/no-content posting and discussing moderation action in a substantive thread. [Rapini]