The 101 Casino in Petaluma California is eliminating the 4/8 LHE game and replacing it with 6/12 LHE effective November 24.

I've been playing there a long time and even though they always have an interest list for 6/12, only once have I seen the game run.

The dealers said other changes were going to be made too, but didn't know the details. The notice on the wall said they were doing this "for the benefit of the club." Whatever that means.

Cheers,
NBB

The 101 casino is eliminating the 4/8 because otherwise the 6/12 will never get going. there are not enough limit players to run both games. it could be a good idea but there are problems with the 6/12 game which makes it hard to beat. Most of the players are terrible, so I am all for bigger limit games. The problems involve the greedy way the house sucks too much money off the table. At the 101 Casino in Petaluma they feel that they don't need to be competitive because they have a monopoly on the local clientele. They take a $4 drop for 6/12 & higher compared to the $3 drop for 4/8 & lower. This is in addition to a $1 jackpot drop, so $5 gets dropped off every 6/12 hand. Worse yet, they take a full drop when you raise, and everyone folds and there is no flop. You bet $12 to win an $8 pot (2 & 6 blinds), and the house takes $5 (62.5% of the pot). Rediculous. The only way the game is beatable is if it is a full table of horrrible loose players and 5 or 6 players seeing each flop. If the game gets at all tight or shorthanded it becomes impossible to beat the drop. This is frustrating for me, because I live in Petaluma and would like to play close to home, but because of their prohibitive drop I wind up traveling 50 miles to Emeryville (near Oakland) to play at the Oaks if I want to get a fair deal on a good 6/12 game. Unfortunately for 6/12 limit players in the bay area, the choices are few these days,

just gotta poke around

Just want to add that they are also changing the buyins for their no-limit games. 2-5 no limit will now be a $50min - $500max. 5-10 will be $200min - $1000max.

When was the last time you raised pf and everyone folded at the 101? At the 4/8 the other night it was rare if there were less then 5 people to the flop with or without a PF raise.

I don't think the quality of play will improve just because they up the limits. There will still be the players that call pf raises with k7 off.

The drawback that I see is that the lower rolled players will go bust faster with no one to replace them.

Cheers,
NBB

PS - The notice also said they are going to start a 15/30 LHE game too.

200$ 5/10 nl buy in?? Hello shortstackers.

Yea no kidding. A number of us have been pushing for them to up the min buyin, but apparently that would require another application to the state. Ridiculous.

>>When was the last time you raised pf and everyone folded at the 101?


Last night, actually. After playing in 4/8 for 4 hours, they finally started the 6/12 with 7 players. 4 of the initial 7 play relatively tight, including myself. I didn't know the others. It was not a rock garden but there was some respect for raises in that game. I played the 6/12 for less than an hour and it happened 3 times that noone called my preflop raise. I won a very small amount in the game, but I would rather have that extra $15 in my pocket than down the drop chute!

The games are usually very loose, but there are still a few times each session when it happens. Maybe a couple of fish take a break and the game slows down for a while, or both blinds get 72 off. It happens. That extra 5 bucks out of each pot with no flop is very significant in a game as low as 6/12. So is the extra buck in the drop.

Unfortunately for my interests, the majority of local players either don't realize or don't care that this blatent gauging deflates the profitability of the game for all players. I am usually the only one who says anything to management. Hopefully, the quality of play at the new regular 6/12 game will be so loose and so bad that I can beat the game enough to overcome the excessive cost to play at The 101 Casino.

I was trying to get the head guy at the River Card room to start a 1/2 NL game there to try to differentiate between them and the 101 (back when they had two different owners). He said that every time they add or change a game, it's an $800 application fee to the state.

Now that they both have the same owners, River Room is doomed.

Cheers,
NBB

PS - I know why you go to Oaks to play. I played there today for the first time. Wow, just, wow.

When is this suppose to happen?

Edit: Also, ive played at 101 a zillion times and whenever I raise and steal the blinds they take no drop. Then again, I play NL not limit.

This went into effect Friday Nov 21st. Also: live straddle.

Wow I didnt realize that if you steal the blinds in limit at 101 you still get charged the whole drop. Wow what a ripoff. Glad I dont play limit there. Then again at 3/6 or 4/8 it doesnt matter cuz your never stealing the blinds in those games.

They already changed the buy in structure for the nl games. 2/5nl has 50-500 bi and 5/10nl has 200-1k buy in. Both of these games run everday. Both games are very juicy as well.

SPINOLI...u play there alot, who are you?

at 101 casino, the no limit games run steady, but the limit games are lame. the only steady limit game is 3/6.

shakedown street, u play at 101 alot, do u play nl there?

I dont play no limit cash games often. I prefer to play limit, 6/12 through 15/30. Their limit games higher than 3/6 rarely go, so I dont play there much even though it is close to my home.

oh ok just curious, yeah i play there quite often and was just wondering if you were someone i play with alot

Actually now that they got rid of 4/8 the 6/12 runs almost every day. I've only seen the 15/30 run once, but there's always a few names on the board.

NOT TRUE. I got tired of wasting my time at the casino, so now I call there mid-late afternoon often to ask if they have a 6/12 game, and more often than not, they DO NOT. When they do get a 6/12 going, it often does not last more than 2 hours. Most of the idiot regulars lament the loss of the 4/8 game and won't play 6/12, opting for 3/6 or no limit instead. They liked that there were always a lot of $1 chips on the table in 4/8, and perceive the 6/12 to be tight. 101 Casino is all about hanging on to their bread & butter 3/6 games, and milking the no limit games for all its worth before they dry out (they will). Names on the board at this card room don't mean a thing. I can't imagine a decent 15/30 game ever going in Petaluma. These small card rooms run on smoke and mirrors. It has always been that way. When I criticize some of the casino's terrible policies like dropping $5 on pots with no flop, the regular losers often defend the house as if they were owners or stockholders. Right now, The 101 Casino is useful for making money if you are a good no limit cash player (while it lasts) with an adequate bankroll, but for limit games, it will always suck. This place is just a money grab for the greedy owners who know nothing about poker.

I'm there four to five nights a week and I see the 6/12 running the majority of the time I'm there. I'll admit I usually don't go until dusk but regardless, it has been running a lot lately. Last time I played in the 6/12 it wasn't much tighter than the 3/6 anyway. I fail to see why the 4/8 regulars would drop down to 3/6 when 6/12 is also a three chip game and the main reason that they were playing 4/8 to begin with is that it's a slightly bigger game and it wasn't 9 players to the flop every hand.

I've played the 6/12 a few times while waiting for the no limit games and the people I've talked to in the game enjoy the 6/12. They agree that there was really no point for the 101 to run both 3/6 and 4/8 and that by eliminating 4/8 the 6/12 game will run far more frequently, bringing in players who live nearby who would otherwise go to LC/Oaks/San Pablo/Napa/etc for 6/12. They also stand to lose very little from eliminating 4/8 as many of the players will either move up to 6/12 or down to 3/6, they more than likely won't go searching for a 4/8 game at another casino. In other words, I think the owner knows what he is doing.

You are right about regulars defending the 101 like they are owners/stockholders, as re-reading my post I sound like that. I think it's because the 101's small feel and great floormen really make it an enjoyable place to play, and all of the customers feel like they are apart of the 'club', if you will. Oh and also 2.95 for a BREAKFAST SANDWICH HOW CAN THEY DO THAT so delicious.

I also disagree about the no limit games drying up but have typed far too much to bother responding directly to that claim.

very good rsponse synxes:

synxes, wondering if we have ever played together at 101, i play there quite frequently as well...

yes nice response. thanks.

I have always been in favor of dropping the 4/8 and making 6/12 a regular game. Makes sense. Most of the regular low limit players are of a different, less cerebral mentality. Many will gladly play 4/8 but will rather play 3/6 than 6/12. Because of this, the 4/8 was a juicier, steadier game than 6/12. i am glad that 6/12 has indeed been running lately, but that hasn't been my experience. Maybe I have had bad timing over the last month. on a few occasions the game was running but short handed and ready to die so i opted not to play. Cant play shorthanded when they take full drop pots with no flop, ugh! When all the no limit players get their seats, the 6/12 often dies young. It has been this way since the boom. Bad for a limit player like myself.

The no limit games are still strong as they have been for a while. They have a no flop no drop policy which is good. I just don't see how the no limit cash games will remain juicy for too many years because it seems like eventually all the fish and newbie tv watching wannabes will go broke or lose interest, or else get skilled and make the games harder to beat. It seems like this has been a trend over the last 2 years at least and will continue. Are the NL games actually getting better lately, with an influx of poor playing newbies? If so the NL boom continues, if however there is no influx, then the days of juicy NL cash games are limited.

I hadn't been there since they changed over, but today I had some time to kill and stopped by. It was packed. All the games had waiting lists over 8 people long. I didn't feel like waiting, so I left. I think any time during the weekend, the 6/12 will go. I'll stop in a few times during this week to see how it's doing.

As for the No Limit games, I think most of the players are just gamblers. They'll spend some time at the crappy pseudo BJ games or Pai Gow, win some bucks and try that game they see on TV. Or, they are wealthy and don't care if they drop $1000 in a night. Even the players that have played there a long time aren't getting better. They still call raises and reraises with crap hoping to hit or suck out. Playing the small NL game there is like playing the 3/6 limit. It's just variance poker.

What might kill the NL games there are when the younger wannabes go broke and there are just the old fart gamblers spending there time there. That said, if you have the bankroll and can stand the variance, those guys will not run out of money. There's a lot of it in the North Bay in the hands of the old timers.

Just my 2 cents.
NBB

i actually really like the nl games there. yeah there are people who just gamble in those games but there are also more than a couple very solid players. Regardless both the big and small nl games are very juicy and i dont see them dying anytime soon

The 6/12 started up about 3 PM today. It plays a "bit" tighter, but there are still plenty of calling stations. Only once did I see a pf raise that was folded around. And yes, he won $4 because they took the drop. Every other time someone raised, there were callers.

Cheers,
NBB