poker in Aruba

[amylou]

The last time I was in Aruba, 3 years ago, there was only one place that had poker games - the Holiday Inn and the room was very small - only 3 tables. Does anybody know if other hotels spread games now? And what stakes and games?

[Shoe]

I was there for the WPT Aruba tourney, so they might not have as much poker running now, but they had poker at the Wyndham, Radisson, and Holiday Inn while I was there. I played $2/$4, they had some really high stakes games going for the high rollers, not sure what games they normally spread.

[null]

Here's a link to a long post (http://archiveserver.twoplustwo.com/showflat.php?Cat=&Board=cardroom&Number=1051225&Fo rum=f13&Words=&Searchpage=0&Limit=25&Main=1051225& Search=true&where=bodysub&Name=9397&daterange=1&ne werval=1&newertype=y&olderval=&oldertype=&bodyprev =#Post1051225) about my experience playing poker in Aruba.

[hamstacker]

I just returned from a week in Aruba yesterday. It is a beautiful place. In terms of poker, however, I had a frustrating experience. The fish are still there to be sure. The problem I kept encountering was that these fish kept calling and raising down to the river IN NUMBERS and invariably one of them would suck out. It was very difficult to have premium hand hold up because the jokers in Aruba will chase a ANYTHING (especially a flush with ANY two suited cards) ... you CANNOT get rid of them with pre-flop raising/ even re-raising. (On my second night I lost a big pot where I held trip K's to a flush on the river... the player's starting hand was 7, 3 spades! ... sooooo disappointing because a third player was in the pot re-raising me with K, 8 off (I had played with him the night before and knew what he was up to).) Another obvious consequence of this style of play is that pre-flop raising fails two of its important purposes (i.e., it does eliminte unwanted cards and it doesnt provide any real information about your opponents' hands.)

In another hand I was betting A,K with my K paired on the board. A crazy man kept calling me with pocket 6,6 (EVERY card on the flop was an over card) and . . . sure enough, the river produced the third 6.

In another hand I bet pocket Q,Q all the way down a ragged board. Player 2 called all the way and held 8, K (and held top pair (8 was the high card on the board)). He was very confused about what I might have that I was re-raising him. However, a third player held 4,5 suited and paired his five on the flop and stuck with it down to the river (with no possibility of a straight or flush) where he caught a 4. This third player sucked out on me in a later hand with a ragged flush draw to beat my trip 222.
I was then down to my last $30 when I caught pocket KK. The board was rags. A strong player next to me had pocket AA (poetic). I shook his hand ... refreshing to lose to a good player with a REAL hand.

I often found myself losing with AA, KK, trips, two pair. I would win some but I found it hard to come out on top in what was often 4-way or 5-way action. Most of the beats were at the hands of low flushes. Only once did I see one these players punished with a higher flush. Also, you can bet a big bet (i.e., $8 in a $4-8 game) on the flop in Aruba, so the beats get pretty expensive.

Tournament structure in Aruba is perfectly suited for this type of play, REBUYS REBUYS REBUYS . . . (I wanted to try a tournament but none coincided with my schedule.)

I consider myself to be a moderately strong player. I usually profit in ring games and finish in the money in small tournaments. However, I was unable to overcome the school of fish in Aruba and LOST money each and every night during my trip. I witnessed similar "strategy" in a no limit game at the Wydham . . . there, a $2,700 pot developed when the board was 4,6,8,8,7. Player 1 was all-in on the turn with A, 8. Player 2 (a high roller) was all-in at the river with 9, 10. Player 3 (a CRAZY high roller) was all-in at the river and took the pot with 8, 6. In each case these players paid $50 to see the flop in a $2-5 game. How the HELL do you bet/call 10X the BB with ANY of these hands??? I didn't have the bankroll for the game but would have loved to have given these men a harsh lesson or two.

The lesson I learned is that even a very strong player is essentially gambling when he plays against not one fish, but an entire school of fish.

I had some better luck when I could find a table mostly full of gringos. The crazy people tended to be a pack of Argentinians that travelled together but I saw the same play from natives and others too. The Radisson was best place to play that way. I didn't go to the Excelsior (Holiday Inn) because I heard from another "reasonable" player that there was a problem with fights breaking out in the poker room (complete with flying chairs).

All in all, it was a fun trip but I found myself understanding why people got shot at poker games in the old days. (I really wanted to hurt the bastard with the 3,7 spades flush.) When I go back, I plan to take a larger pile of $ and forray into the pot-limit and no-limit tables at the Radisson, they seemed to attract a decent group who do not throw thousands of dollars at rags as did the high-rollers at the Wyndham.

If you are going to Aruba, have fun. I will be pulling for you and your strong play to withstand the school of fish to win some pots.

That's my 2 cents, for what its worth.

[As Zehn]

How big is the PR in the Wyndham? What limits was the Wyndham spreading? Thanks.

[hamstacker]

The Wyndham has the nicest if the three poker rooms on Palm Beach. (It was converted from part of the "high stakes" area of the casino.) There were (I think) four tables in the room. Only three were operating. There was always a $4-8 limit game and a $2-5 NL game. The third table was always a second $4-8 limit game. The casino also advertised that it operated $5-10 and $15-30 limit games and a pot limit game but I never saw any of these. The second $4-8 table would get short handed around midnight and close down by 1:00 am. I think the card room would basically start a table for whatever was in demand. At the Radisson, for example, the cardroom manager would always be asking any people in the poker room what they wanted to play and would end up getting all sorts of games together.


Have fun!

[amylou]

Thanks for the info. My husband and I are heading down in a couple of weeks and are looking forward to some juicy games. I'll take your advice and bring a lot of ammo so we can withstand the bad beats that are sure to come.

[TheBeef]

I was there for my honeymoon the end of June. The Radisson poker room had literally just opened, and the manager there was super-accomodating, trying to drum up some action. I imagine they got it running smoothly by now, 7 months later. Nice room with some big TVs to boot.