Poker RoomS: Do's and Don'ts from a longtime player.

Wetbrain

Hi, I've been to several well, let's call them "poker clubs" throughout the GTA over the years. I have compiled a list of pet peeves and things that made me want to come back for more. I'm not talking about things like "rake" but rather things that can be easily controlled by the club owners. I am going to talk about he good and the bad by referring to common themes in all Poker rooms.

a) Dealers -

The first thing is that dealers shouldn't, in any way, try to control the action. For example, one time I picked up pocket aces on the Big Blind. I see people looking at their cards and probably contemplating a call or raise. But the dealer has their hand right over that player's cards, ready to take them, especially tighter players that may have folded a lot earlier. DONT DO THIS EVER. There's one thing to speed up the game by directing traffic but there's another by grabbing for cards. Also, DON'T ever stare down players. I see this a lot and I hate it. Finally and this should be common sense, dealers shouldn't comment on players' poker skills, tell people the odds of things in the middle of a hand etc. STAY NEUTRAL. Talk when shuffling.

Another thing I notice (and I have a feeling this is more controversial) but many dealers just don't shuffle . I see cards moving and banging into each other but I don't see them changing places. Yes I know there's a certain desire to speed up the game, but I won't play in any game at all when the cards aren't shuffled properly.

Food and Drink:

- Makes a good idea to, and get this revolutionary idea, ASK the players what they want to eat. Obviously selection isn't that great at 1 am. But I was at a card room where they ordered Pizza and 2 people were lactose intolerant. Ask people what they want. It's pretty simple. It probably won't cost anything extra.

- If drinks are served have some kind of cup holders or mini tables to put the drinks. Amazing how many times I've played where drinks have spilled.

Location:

- There are too many places close by to each other. It's a huge city and I know of 3 poker clubs downtown and several in Brampton for some reason. What about East York/Scarborough or centrally at Yonge and Eglinton? I know this changes over time, just a personal pet peeve since i live in the East side.

-I find it preferable if there is an ATM nearby, within walking distance. (Just in case).

- Plenty of free parking is nice. nobody wants to pay just to play. Nobody wants to worry about their car getting smashed in too.

Poker Bonuses -

When a new player enters your card room, explain the bonus right away, ask them if there are any questions! make sure they fully understand! Make the rules as simple as possible.

I guarantee if someone thinks they won a bonus payout and gets denied because they didn't understand the rules, they aren't coming back any time soon.

Hosts playing:

-I can understand when the owner gets bored and wants to play in. But there's another thing when the host bets and raises every hand. Maybe it's to induce more action and more rake. It puts me off when the host comes in to bully their own game.

-There's often multiple hosts and their employees coming in to sit down at the table. when they are playing against each other they completely change how they would play poker. I fidn they don't play the same way against each other as they do when strangers are also involved in the hand.

- In general, I recommend a 1-employee per table rule.

Wll that's it for now, feel free to add and I will think of other things later...

Wetbrain
wetbrain33.blogspot.com

BBC Z

-There's often multiple hosts and their employees coming in to sit down at the table. when they are playing against each other they completely change how they would play poker. I fidn they don't play the same way against each other as they do when strangers are also involved in the hand.

Thats probably because they have a long prior history with eachother. You need to watch how they play and what they showdown. Then exploit.

BlondeFish

The standard shuffling procedure is as follows: two or more riffle shuffles, then a strip, then at least one more riffle, then a final cut. Some club dealers don't even do a single riffle shuffle, instead lifting up the whole deck while shuffling or cutting so players can track cards in the deck. Some dealers don't know the proper way to handle the three burn cards, so nobody is sure if the correct number of cards were burnt. Some dealers don't know how to calculate side pots and it becomes a big mess.

I was watching a bunch of experienced dealers taking a poker table test to renew their AGCO dealer's license. The tester admonished all of them for their numerous mistakes, saying that they had picked up some very bad habits or weren't following proper dealing procedures.

Wetbrain;121228 wroteAnother thing I notice (and I have a feeling this is more controversial) but many dealers just don't shuffle . I see cards moving and banging into each other but I don't see them changing places. Yes I know there's a certain desire to speed up the game, but I won't play in any game at all when the cards aren't shuffled properly.

PLAYER'S LOUNGE

This is a good thread,

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