A Brief TR: Garden City Poker Room, San Jose

GTA Poker

I posted this on 2p2 as well because I had such a good time playing at Garden City. Driving from the clinic to my hotel I noticed that this casino was 3 blocks from the hotel so I put a hold on my plans of checking-out Bay 101 and played some poker at GC. Well, I never made it to Bay 101.

I just got back from 5 nights in San Jose and Garden City was 3 blocks from my hotel so I ended up playing there every night. It was by far the best run and friendliest poker room I have ever played in and I have played in lots of rooms. They don't spread high limit games at all but if you are looking to play low limit it is a great place.

I was playing mostly limit because I never get to play it any more and it was a fun change of pace. The players tend to be much more social with a lower douche ratio than NL players.

I played 6 12, 8 16 1/2 kill and 15 30 1/4 kill when it ran. I also played some 1/2/3 nl, 2/3/5/nl and 2/3/5 deepstack nl...all the games I sat in were quite soft and fun to play.

Friendly floor, chip runners and mostly good dealers made it a fun experience overall. I never made it to Bay 101 due to the proximity of GC and the great experience I had there. The food service was also 24/7 and everything I ate there was rather tasty when compared to other poker rooms.

Everyone (at least the dealers...so I assume everyone) keeps their own tips which makes the service great. The floor remembered my name after playing there 2 nights. The chip runners are there within 30 seconds of you needing chips and you generally have the chips within1 hand or less. I only came across one bitchy old dealer, everyone else made the games super friendly and fun. The board was run perfectly with one guy dedicated to sitting at the board and calling out names while the floor relayed open seat info to him via walky-talky. The room was brightly lit and had a fun atmosphere. The chairs were comfy. Food servers would arrive at your table within 3-5 mins of requesting service. Overall, I was blown-away by the customer service.

My only complaints would be that the $100 chips are a pale white which makes them hard to detect in NL games. They use $20 instead of $25 chips (I assume due to being a limit room as well) which are a dull green/black..also not great for detecting in NL stacks. IMO, the higher denominations need to pop a bit in relation to the $5 chips.

Funny story for fans of The League that made me chuckle. I would say 1/2-2/3 of the poker players are asian. One floorman named Davy is also asian. He had called me the correct name a few times on my third or fourth night there (my name is Dave, easy to remember for him one would think). So, I walk in and ask to be placed on every list except 3/6 and 6/12 and he says, "ok, Brian, right?". I correct him and wonder if Brian is sort of the default white guy name in his mind. He quickly apologizes and corrects himself. I sit in a 1/2/3 game for a while waiting for a 15/30 seat and he comes and tells me a seat has opened-up. I tell him I'll be there in a few hands and he locks the seat (they do this my sticking a yellow post-it with your name on the rail). 5 minutes later I walk to my seat with my racks in hand to see "Brain" stickied to the rail. Made me lol. Only funnier things would have been if it said "tall guy".

Wetts1012

I thought you said it would be brief. Scam.

GTA Poker

Wetts1012;296846 wroteI thought you said it would be brief. Scam.

It felt pretty brief minus the hilarious anecdote.

Milo

Stop using the word "brief" . . . you want that Mark shows up? Jeez,

Nice TR.

BlondeFish

GTA Poker;296719 wroteI also played some 1/2/3 nl, 2/3/5/nl and 2/3/5 deepstack nl

What are the rake and buy-in structures? I tried to play at the Commerce Casino during a WPT event last year, but the virtually unbeatable structures made me puke, so my friends and I went to Bicycle Casino instead.

GTA Poker

There's no rake, but a drop which is the same at every limit spread in the room. No flop = $1, flop = $5 drop. Definitely beatable at 2/3/5 and 8/16+. A good player could still beat this at 1/2/3 without a doubt IMO. Cali players are action players and there is literally an all in twice an orbit.

2/3/5 is 100-500, 2/3/5 deep is 500-3k. 1/2/3 is 50-300.

literation

GTA Poker;296865 wroteIt felt pretty brief minus the hilarious anecdote.

That's odd. Here's an excerpt of an email I saw today:

"...meeting with all of us including Brain first before..."

JohnnieH

A+ report.

I'm thinking the next CPF trip should be to Cali instead of Vegas.

Cerberus

JohnnieH;297013 wroteA+ report.

I'm thinking the next CPF trip should be to Cali instead of Vegas.

Agreed, as long as it includes stopovers at Disneyland, San Diego Wild Animal Park, San Diego Zoo, 6 Flags Magic Mountain and Sea World.

What? I like theme parks :)

GTA Poker

Cerberus;297334 wroteAgreed, as long as it includes stopovers at Disneyland, San Diego Wild Animal Park, San Diego Zoo, 6 Flags Magic Mountain and Sea World.

What? I like theme parks :)

No Legoland?

Cerberus

GTA Poker;297335 wroteNo Legoland?

Been there, done that. Was great as a one time thing but not something I really need to go back to. Universal Studios is always fun too, and Knotts Berry Farm has a certain nostalgia to it since the last time I went was about 25 years ago.

asxn557

JohnnieH;297013 wroteA+ report.

I'm thinking the next CPF trip should be to Cali instead of Vegas.

Agreed. Always wanted to play at The Bicycle.

ReefAquarium

BlondeFish;296963 wroteWhat are the rake and buy-in structures? I tried to play at the Commerce Casino during a WPT event last year, but the virtually unbeatable structures made me puke, so my friends and I went to Bicycle Casino instead.

I've never been to the Commerce/Bicycle.

How was the Bicycle?

At the Commerce ...
I understand you need to play at least as big as 5/10 (500-1500) minimum in order to beat the rake.

5/10 (400cap) sounds awful.

BlondeFish

If I ever go back to California, I would play $2/3 at The Bike with $300 maximum buy-in. You get to play at the highest elevated floor and get to order free food. The lowest floors at both Bike & Commerce are a sea of clueless :fish: getting raked to death with virtually no chance of winning and moving up limits. You are correct that $5/10 (>= 100BB max buy-in) is the lowest limit at the Commerce where you can beat the high rake/drop in the long-run.

ReefAquarium;297405 wroteI've never been to the Commerce/Bicycle.
How was the Bicycle?

At the Commerce ...
I understand you need to play at least as big as 5/10 (500-1500) minimum in order to beat the rake.
5/10 (400cap) sounds awful.

GTA Poker

Not certain what you are referring to ITT, but if you can't beat 2/3/5 with a $5 drop then you need to work on your live cash came.

I think somehow you mixed this up with another Cali TR thread.