FAQs and Common Topics
Guidelines
Welcome to the Brick and Mortar Forum (“B&M”) at 2+2. We take liberal view on acceptable topics in B&M if 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. Requests for information re underage gambling are prohibited. A story of how a friend of yours did it and almost got arrested might be OK if it's informative/entertaining. However, asking about how to get away with underage gambling or what the punishments are for doing so is prohibited. If you have a question about a card room's legal age limit I recommend you consult this very effective list at Nelson Rose's website. The name of the game is patience, in both poker and life; if you're underage, it is best to wait. You won't regret it.
2. Bad beat stories and brag stories are prohibited. The Poker Beats, Brags, and Variance Forum is the perfect place for these stories!
3. Authorized representatives of a card room must receive prior clearance from the B&M moderators to post information re their rooms and are restricted to answering user's questions; unsolicited promotion is prohibited. Posting information about card rooms of dubious legality, including but not limited to name, address, or phone number is prohibited unless you are an authorized representative of the card room.
4. B&M is a troll-free zone. We ask that you treat your fellow posters as if you were sitting next to them in a casino. If you are unable to do that, you will be sent away as you would be if you were in an actual casino. A good definition of trolling can be found here. The most common form of trolling seen in B&M is a post that is a bald criticism of another poster (i.e., does not contribute to the discussion and serves only to insult) that derails the thread in which it is posted. Another common form of trolling is commentary relating to legislation affecting poker or politics. Please use the Poker Legislation and Politics Forums to discuss those topics.
5. For your safety, B&M does not allow discussion of staking arrangements or money transfers. This rule includes online poker room-to-cash conversion requests. The proper place for transfer requests is the Internet Poker Forum. The proper place for staking requests is in the dedicated sub-forum in the Marketplace Forum.
6. Anything that's posted about ad nauseum, e.g., tipping, 18+ casinos, how much money to bring to a casino, best hotel deals in AC/Vegas, etc. If you have a basic question, it's probably been asked and answered multiple times in the past. PLEASE USE THE SEARCH FUNCTION. Try multiple searches with different search terms. Your question most likely has been answered multiple times. We were all new at some point, but for veterans it can get tiresome seeing the same posts over and over again. Often, it's these veterans who post the answers you seek, so encourage their participation by not posting the same questions repeatedly.
There will be tolerance for some repetitiveness. If only 100% new content were allowed, B&M would have a handful of new posts per day and new users would get nothing out of it. Thread locks are at the moderator's discretion. Please feel free to send a private message to any of the mods (RR, StevieG, *TT*, or Rapini) if you have a question about this issue.
7. Opinions on the validity of tipping (aka tipping politics) are forbidden. If you don't like the culture of tipping or if you think you shouldn't ever have to tip then it's best to keep it to yourself; don't post your opinion in B&M.
8. B&M cannot be used as a bully pulpit/means of revenge against the policies or actions of a card room or disputes with a room's staff. Allegations of cheating need to be brought to the room's management's attention and that management needs to be given a chance to remedy the situation before details can be posted in B&M. It is only after management has had a chance to resolve the issue and has not done so that a poster can give full details in B&M. When in doubt, please send a PM to a B&M moderator with the details before posting.
9. B&M cannot be used as a soapbox for expressing outrage on political views. There are many forums on 2+2 that are better suited; please chose the appropriate one. Political viewpoints derail threads from their originally focus. Our goal is to keep the threads on track for a better reading experience for everyone.
10. The 2+2 Forums have a profanity filter built in. Please do not dodge this filter. Instead, type expletives as you would normally and let the filter do its work.
11. In order to keep the signal-to-noise ratio high and to provide a better reading experience for our users in B&M, posts that do not add in a meaningful way to the discussion are discouraged. Good examples of these discouraged low-content posts are "this," "wat," "first," and "no."
12. B&M is not a strategy forum. The proper place for strategy posts are as follows:
(a) Live Low-stakes NL: Discussion of up to 3/5 live no-limit, pot-limit and spread-limit Texas Hold'em poker games, situations and strategies.
(b) Small Stakes Full Ring: Discussion of .50/1 and 1/2 online and 5/10 live no-limit and pot-limit Texas hold'em full ring games, situations and strategies.
(c) Medium-High Stakes Full Ring: Discussion of $400+ pot-limit and no-limit texas hold'em full ring games, situations and strategies.
(d) Other poker variants have their own strategy forums under the "Other Poker" heading.
The rules will change/grow/disappear as needed. Violations of these rules may result in threads being locked, warnings, infraction points, temporary bans, or permanent bans as the moderators see fit. If you have a problem with action(s) taken by a moderator, please PM that moderator to discuss it; do not derail the thread in which the action(s) occurred by discussing the action(s) there.
Please use the “Report Post” button which appears underneath the poster's information as a white triangle with a red border if you believe a user has violated one of the above rules or 2+2's Terms and Conditions.
Search Tips
Please make an honest effort to search before posting a new thread.
(1) Bring up this Advanced Search page. That link has some options selected that will make your search more efficient than the defaults.
(2) Use only one or two of your most relevant terms. A search for "pot limit Omaha 8 in Las Vegas" might get no hits. But "Vegas Omaha" should get multiple hits.
(3) The current engine does not match partial words. So "hotels" gives different results than "hotel". You should try both.
18+ Casinos
You must be 21 to gamble in Nevada or Atlantic City.
Search is not helpful for "18+", so please check this thread first: Casinos that are 18+. Post there if you are still not sure.
Is there Poker in Country X, City Y?
Chances are someone has asked about your destination already. Please search for it first before starting a new thread, since it makes future searches easier and naturally updates older information.
There are plenty of threads for London, Amsterdam, and many other places.
Also, please don't respond "Why would you go to location X and play poker?"
Bankroll Requirements (How much money to bring to a casino?)
A common topic across a lot of forums. See these search results for "bankroll" across all General Poker forums, of which B&M is one.
How much do dealers make? How can I get a job dealing?
The keywords you should try for your search include dealing, dealer, job, jobs.
Good threads to get you started:
How much does the average dealer really make?
Question About Becoming A Dealer...
World Series of Poker Dealing Jobs?
Getting into Casino Dealing Positions?
Las Vegas
Questions involving Las Vegas generally, as opposed to specific questions re poker, should be directed to the Las Vegas Lifestyle Forum.
Atlantic City
Questions involving Atlantic City generally, as opposed to specific questions re poker, should be directed to the Atlantic City About Town Thread in the Travel Forum.
“Prop Bet,” “Challenge,” and “Wager” Posts.
Two Plus Two encourages the candid and open exchange of information and communications between its members. The sheer size and scope of our forums - and the rapid distribution of information originating from thousands of different sources every day - limits our ability to monitor, approve, delete, edit, censor, or screen certain posts that may be offensive or may contain information relating to harmful or illegal activity.
As noted in our terms and conditions, Two Plus Two is not legally responsible for the content of any post, or the accuracy of any information discussed or uploaded onto the Forums by the members. Opinions, advice, discussions, and all other information expressed by the members are those of the members themselves, and not necessarily shared by Two Plus Two.
This includes posts or threads relating to contests, tournaments, “prop bets,” challenges, and wagers between Forum members. Two Plus Two does not, and will not, “book” any bets or wagers between Forum members. Further, Two Plus Two takes no official part in any bets, wagers, related posts, or the discussion of any such transactions between Forum members.
Two Plus Two makes no guarantees or certifications whatsoever that any bets, wagers, or transactions discussed on the Forums are legal, safe, accurate, or sanctioned by Two Plus Two in any way. You rely on such information at your own risk. As such, Two Plus Two will not be liable for the ultimate legality of such transactions nor will Two Plus Two be held responsible for any potential loss or harm to its members as a result of such transactions.
Classic Threads
Here is a listing of some of the best threads & resources the B&M forum has to offer before the forum software change (Dec/07)
A Newbie Guide to B&M Small Stakes No Limit Cash Games is still the most definitive guide to your first time playing live.
The gigantic Vegas restaurant thread
Las Vegas development maps
The B&M Card Room Newbie Guide v. 4
InThacup's "A trip report I never posted..." - This is perhaps the most beloved trip report in 2+2 history!
JSD's guide to low limit straddling - A very funny look at a -EV activity
Casino player ratings & the host position - trying2learn tells us what its like to be a host, and how to use a casino host for your advantage.
Congratulations! You just became the manager of a Vegas poker room! How would you manage a card room if your job was to assure a specific limit game?
The definitive tipping post - visiting Las Vegas? This is the thread to discuss how much you should tip. Its a thread thats sure to cause controversy, but its a great guideline.
A great thread where there is lots of discussion about underground clubs, and the legal issues around them. - this thread is mostly about NYC's troubles, but its possible the legal concepts will apply in other states as well.
How to navigate Las Vegas traffic on and around the strip - learn all the secret side roads the locals use.