Where to play in SF bay area

[Casey240Z]

I have been playing on the internet for the last few months and now I want to give a card room a try. I am in Oakland and I know of the Oaks Card Club and Bay 101. Does anyone have a opinion on either one. I assume the lowest limit is 2/4. Any advise would be helpful.
Thanks.

[thirddan]

lucky chances is in colma and you can take the bart, just go to colma station and take the casino shuttle, the lowest games they have are 3/6 and 6/12...

[viennagreen]

i used to live in berkeley, and have played at the oaks and lucky chances.

i like the oaks much better... last time i was there was in june--- i think that they even have 1/2 games...

but don't play the 1/2... if you can beat the 1/2 games on party, you should be able to beat the 6/12 at the oaks (on the weekends at least)--- not sure if the games are really tight during the week...

also-- late at night (early in the morning), the oaks has props... they wear a badge designating themselves as that though. from my experience, the props are rocks-- they don't get very creative with hands, and only get involved with premium hands.

hope this helps.

[chaos]

When I lived in SF I played at The Oaks, Lucky Chances, and occasionally at Artichoke Joe's. I like The Oaks best. They collect time charges which works out cheaper than raking the pot. Also I thought the games were better.

[DonkeyKong]

I hadn't played live in a long time so I went to Lucky Chances 3/6 recently just for variety. Generally loose but it depends. The 2 loose players at my table busted out and then it would be a rock garden until the seats got filled with more looseys... so as always, be prepared to shift gears.

I would say its about the same as PartyPoker 3/6, some loose games and then occassionally some pretty good players.

You pay $3 to the house when you have the button so you are automatically in if unraised pot (equivalent of paying 2 BB's + 1 SB/round). You tip the dealer a piece when you win a pot so at 3/6, you are paying $7/round in blinds ($4 rake per pot) and maybe $2 when you win a pot... it's slower too so much better online but its still fun once in a while.

The choices at Lucky for Hold Em when I was there were:
3/6, 6/12, 9/18
NL was 1/1/2 and 5/5/10 (didn't play that though)

[jmark]

The Oaks has 1/2, it plays like online 0.01 / 0.02. It's very expensive though, $2.5/half hour and $1 jackpot drop. 2/4 there is $3/half hour + the $1 drop and the play is not much better.

As the other poster said, if you're good you should sit in the higher games, 6/12 should be fine based on the 15/30 I watched for a half hour. 8 players and 3 had bought in for $200. Each of the 3 rebought for $200 while I was still there.

[Casey240Z]

I think I will check out Oaks. Do you guys really think I should play 6/12? I usually play 1/2 at Party and have played some 2/4. It just seems like a big jump. If I do play 6/12 how much money should I bring?

[TomCollins]

I didn't play 6/12 much, but I wouldn't consider it much harder than Party 1/2 (if at all). 25 BB is 300, so that sounds about good. If losing $300 is a lot for you, I would play smaller.

[jslag]

[ QUOTE ]
When I lived in SF I played at The Oaks, Lucky Chances, and occasionally at Artichoke Joe's. I like The Oaks best. They collect time charges which works out cheaper than raking the pot. Also I thought the games were better.

[/ QUOTE ]

I was at Artichoke Joe's a few months ago, they had the same blind/drop structure as Lucky Chances. They take the small blind for the bad beat jackpot and the added button blind as a drop. I think they did away with the time charge method.

I like the environment at Joe's a lot more than Lucky Chances. If you search the archives, you will find a trip report where I compare the two a bit. Search under Artichoke Joe's and put my name in as the poster.

I have not played at Bay 101 or the Oaks Club yet, would like to though.

Anyone have any opinion on who has the best tournaments? Main factors I'm interested in are prize pool size, blind/ante structure, and skill level...

j.

[jslag]

Just realized you were referring to the Oaks about the time charge... anyhow, Joe's has the same rake structure for limit games as LC.

J.

[bigfishead]

wow nobody mentioned Casino San Pablo. 20 minutes up hwy 80 from the Oaks. Much safer area, fewer scumbags, livelier games. The only real benefit I ever saw at the Oaks for HE was the time drop. The games were never really that great. Except for Omaha/8.

Casino San Pablo by far has much much better, fishy games. I have been away from the area for 2 yrs but that was one of the primary places that paid my bills. And they were the furthest from me. I lived in SF/Marin and also liked AJ's and LCs a bunch too.

But the Oaks was always on the bottom of my list in the bay area.

[viennagreen]

if you're not comfortable jumping to 6/12, don't do it... you won't play well if you think about the differences in dollars between 1/2 party and 6/12 oaks.

but they have 3/6 at the oaks as well---- try that first... it's truly easier than 1/2 at party... you can move up when you gain confidence there.

[TAXI37]

If you are in Oakland obviously the Oaks due to its proximity should be your first choice. They have both a (smaller) rake and time charge, compared to 1 small bet on the button at AJ's and LC, so I think the rake works out about the same.

I have played those three @ 3/6 and 6/12, along with Bay 101 and California Grand in Pacheco (near Concord). Bay 101 and Oaks also have 2/4 and 4/8. Your mileage may vary, but over the long haul I think LC has the toughest players. (Although I was at a dream table there last night.) The loosest are at Bay 101. The most beginners are at AJ's, perhaps because the staff there seem to tolerate almost anything. Cal Grand is the oldest casino in the country and always seems busy.

There is also the Palace in Hayward, which I have never been to. Sonoma Joe's in Petaluma is a nice little room with decent action.

AJ's and LC do not use props. Bay 101 does (often) and the Oaks does at odd hours.

AJ's Hold-em jackpot is currently $100,000 and that is attracting action. Upside is more players playing worse hands. Downside is lots of lobbying players, doing just enough to qualify for a table share.

AJ's, Oaks and LC will pick you up from BART (San Bruno, MacArthur and Colma respectively) if you call them.

The best food is at AJ's, though they serve it on styrofoam plates!

[Ulysses]

[ QUOTE ]
AJ's Hold-em jackpot is currently $100,000 and that is attracting action. Upside is more players playing worse hands. Downside is lots of lobbying players, doing just enough to qualify for a table share.

[/ QUOTE ]

Unless there has been a major change recently, you don't get a table share unless you are dealt into the hand, so the jackpot should not impact lobbying at all. For that matter, the jackpot has been 100k for something like two years now (they cap them at 100k and roll into backup jackpots - I have seen them have 4 backups at 100k each).

[jmark]

If 6/12 seems like alot of money to you, don't play it (it seems like alot to me, so I stay at 3/6 and below).

If you're just looking for a fun time, you can play 1/2 at the Oaks. The huge time charge and drop don't make it very beatable, but I think it's break evenable.

2/4 at the Oaks is pretty easy to beat. If you want to play 3/6, try the Casino San Pablo -- it's much softer there since 3/6 is the lowest game they have.

Also as someone else mentioned, California Grand in Pacheco has 3/6. They used to have an internet coupon $30 free, which is a great deal. Just go down the 24 towards Concord.

The Oaks has the worst wait out of all of them, 1/2 can easily be an hour wait or more, 2/4 is an hour or less. At the others I've never waited more than 15 minutes.

[StevieP]

Someone mentioned the California Grand Casino in Pacheco...I went there recently. HERE'S A GREAT TIP. CardPlayer Magazine and The website for California Grand casino have a coupon available that allows for a $20 buy in to get $50 in chips for 2 hours of poker. The nite I went I bought in for $30(which got me $60) at a 3/6 table and walked with $200 in under 2 hours. They will take your information down so you don't use the coupon more than once but it's worth the trip for the free money. It's a nice little room too, lots of high hand jackpots going on all the time. People were getting $100 bills handed out for high hands that held up.

[TAXI37]

bigfishhead:

I checked out Casino San Pablo for the first time and you were so right. I had a profitable evening despite mucking the best hand of the evening:

8h10h in the big blind. A rabbit raises (he has raised pre-flop the last four consecutive times), an inexperienced and agressive player re-raises and I muck. Bet is capped before it gets back to the raiser.

Flop is 4h5s5h. 6 players in for two more small bets. Turn is 6h. All 6 in for another big bet. River is 7h, second-to-act checks and then raises, three callers, he takes it with a 2h.

Unbelievable!

How many of you out there would have cold-called the preflop reraise?

El Diablo: AFAIK, if you don't have a missed blind button and have been dealt at least one hand, you are eligible for a table share of the jackpot at AJ's. This is definitely the rule at LC; I will double-check AJ's. The Oaks definitely has the 'must be dealt-in' rule, but not knowing for sure I would still wager that this is not the case at AJ's.

[DonkeyKong]

if you strongly suspected it was going to have 6 players, I think a call is fine there. If there is a raise and a re-raise in front of you and you are next, I don't see how you can call that unless everyone has been willing to play for 2 bets before. You are at a table where everyone clearly goes too far after the flop --- juicy. I would see a lot of flops with speculative hands, even for 2 bets, and fold immediately thereafter if board doesn't go my way.

[M2d]

Oaks: lots of retirees and pensioners at lower limits, especially during the day. Not as crazy as the other bay area clubs, but still very good games. Just, well, different. much more loose passive, on the whole. games can get crazy at night when the berzerkeley students come out to play. the 6-12 very much exemplifies this. the 15-30 is a little different. since it's the biggest game in the east bay, it attracts the wealthier players from the east bay, marin (who don't want to travel across the GGB) and the valley. the game also turns off many better players since the location sort of sucks. Lots of props in this game, but, during the week, this includes Abby, so that kind of cancels out the "tough prop" thing. Also, jackpot is AAA1010 beat rather than quads. smaller jackpots, but they get hit more often.

CSP: poorly run room. management sucks there. they have a policy/habit/trend of training break in dealers, losing the better ones to other area clubs and promoting what's left. games are a little more aggro than the Oaks, but not to penninsula standards

Cal Grand: iirc, the drop is higher here than at other clubs. I think it was 4+1 the last time I went there. Craziest games in the area. almost to LA standards.

LC: personally, I don't like this place. just a feel thing. games are good, as they are everywhere. food sucks here. if you have to eat, order the breakfast, as they can't really screw it up too bad. 20-40 isn't bad (very crazy, but very beatable), but the 9-18 can run the gamut from great to not worth sitting.

AJ: more blue collar than the other clubs. games can be wide open at times. A few years back, before LC opened, four and five rack wins were not uncommon. lots of people who stop in for short sessions, here and there (like me for lunch). games pick up at night and get more aggressive. Cute dealers.

101: similar to LC. I don't have much experience here, but fwiw, i wouldn't go out of my way to play here.