01-25-2002, 12:24 PM
Clarkmeister, D.Andrew, and myself got back from California last night. After 2 1/2 days at the Commerce and 1 day at the Santa Anita racetrack, all three of us finished the trip with significant winnings. /images/smile.gif But, it was Dynasty's stud play which gave me the bragging rights for being the group's biggest winner. /images/biggrin.gif
The Stud games at the Commerce were even better than the Hold'em games. They were just as loose but not quite as aggressive. Because this site is constantly talking about how popular Hold'em is in California, I wasn't expecting to see much stud action. But, the number of low-limit games being spread at the Commerce was astounding. They had multiple 1-2, 2-4, 3-6, and 4-8 games constantly. However, there were no 1-5 spread-limit games.
I played 6-12 stud on the second day of the trip and picked up $400 in 2 2/3 hours before going to dinner. The next day I waited for several hours, but a 6-12 game couldn't get going. So, I decided to try out the 10-20 game which was higher than I've ever played before. In 3 hours, I won another $245. That works out to a $113.82 hourly stud rate. Not bad.
Of course, my experience in California games is extremely limited. However, I definitely believe the low/midde-limit money to be made out there is in Stud rather than Hold'em. The games are perfect- loose and passive whereas the Hold'em games are loose and aggressive (though not as aggressive as I've read- see below). To all those California residents who exclusively play Hold'em- give Stud a try.
I was playing Hold'em on the first day and in my morning sessions. The 4-8 game was very easy to beat. In 6 hours, I picked up $307.5 ($51.25/hr) in regular play and lucked into a table share of a bad beat jackpot. That landed me an additional $229 simply for folding J5s.
But, not all was good. I had 3 sessions at the 6-12 Hold'em game and two were bad. The net result was a $276 loss in 9 1/2 hours. Oh, well.
The Hold'em games were not nearly as wild as I had braced myself for. While I saw quite a few more pots capped pre-flop (Including one where I held AA /images/biggrin.gif ) than in Vegas, the play on later streets was fairly standard for low-limit games. The players were calling with weaker hands but they weren't betting or raising with them like I had been told to expect. Clarkmeister and D.Andrew both said the games were much tighter than their previous trip to the Commerce in November. So, it's possible that these "tight" California games were an aberration rather than the norm. However, I'm going to be a bit more skeptical about you California players who complain about the "wildness" of your games. Clarkmeister and D.Andrew speculated that the Commerce changing from a dead-button drop to a raked pot may have changed the nature of the game. However, I doubt that the players were aware enough to adjust their play based on how the house makes it's income.
In total, I got in a little more than 21 hours at
the tables and won a grand total of $905.50.
On the final day of the trip, Clarkmeister and D.Andrew dragged me to the Santa Anita racetrack where we watched the horsies. Since I know nothing about horse racing, I simply watched the races while Clarkmeister and D.Andrew would continue with their "gambo".
In one of the early races, we watched the horses being displayed before the race. I pointed out that Horse #1 looked "unmotivated". Seriously, the horse didn't look like it wanted to be there. So, I told the guys my "expert" opinion. D.Andrew bet on the horse to win the race. Of course, I was proven to be a horse racing Super-Genius when the horse not only finished last but did so by a HUUUUUUUUGE margain.
In the last race we watched, there were two intriguing horses- Dynamous and Dynamistic. The guys urged me to bet $2 on these guys but I'm a big cheapskate and kept my money in my wallet. When the race was over, I pulled out $2 and told them I just "won" this money by not betting. Dynamous finished 4th. Dynamistic was in the back of the field.
I'm looking forward to another California trip in the future.
The Stud games at the Commerce were even better than the Hold'em games. They were just as loose but not quite as aggressive. Because this site is constantly talking about how popular Hold'em is in California, I wasn't expecting to see much stud action. But, the number of low-limit games being spread at the Commerce was astounding. They had multiple 1-2, 2-4, 3-6, and 4-8 games constantly. However, there were no 1-5 spread-limit games.
I played 6-12 stud on the second day of the trip and picked up $400 in 2 2/3 hours before going to dinner. The next day I waited for several hours, but a 6-12 game couldn't get going. So, I decided to try out the 10-20 game which was higher than I've ever played before. In 3 hours, I won another $245. That works out to a $113.82 hourly stud rate. Not bad.
Of course, my experience in California games is extremely limited. However, I definitely believe the low/midde-limit money to be made out there is in Stud rather than Hold'em. The games are perfect- loose and passive whereas the Hold'em games are loose and aggressive (though not as aggressive as I've read- see below). To all those California residents who exclusively play Hold'em- give Stud a try.
I was playing Hold'em on the first day and in my morning sessions. The 4-8 game was very easy to beat. In 6 hours, I picked up $307.5 ($51.25/hr) in regular play and lucked into a table share of a bad beat jackpot. That landed me an additional $229 simply for folding J5s.
But, not all was good. I had 3 sessions at the 6-12 Hold'em game and two were bad. The net result was a $276 loss in 9 1/2 hours. Oh, well.
The Hold'em games were not nearly as wild as I had braced myself for. While I saw quite a few more pots capped pre-flop (Including one where I held AA /images/biggrin.gif ) than in Vegas, the play on later streets was fairly standard for low-limit games. The players were calling with weaker hands but they weren't betting or raising with them like I had been told to expect. Clarkmeister and D.Andrew both said the games were much tighter than their previous trip to the Commerce in November. So, it's possible that these "tight" California games were an aberration rather than the norm. However, I'm going to be a bit more skeptical about you California players who complain about the "wildness" of your games. Clarkmeister and D.Andrew speculated that the Commerce changing from a dead-button drop to a raked pot may have changed the nature of the game. However, I doubt that the players were aware enough to adjust their play based on how the house makes it's income.
In total, I got in a little more than 21 hours at
the tables and won a grand total of $905.50.
On the final day of the trip, Clarkmeister and D.Andrew dragged me to the Santa Anita racetrack where we watched the horsies. Since I know nothing about horse racing, I simply watched the races while Clarkmeister and D.Andrew would continue with their "gambo".
In one of the early races, we watched the horses being displayed before the race. I pointed out that Horse #1 looked "unmotivated". Seriously, the horse didn't look like it wanted to be there. So, I told the guys my "expert" opinion. D.Andrew bet on the horse to win the race. Of course, I was proven to be a horse racing Super-Genius when the horse not only finished last but did so by a HUUUUUUUUGE margain.
In the last race we watched, there were two intriguing horses- Dynamous and Dynamistic. The guys urged me to bet $2 on these guys but I'm a big cheapskate and kept my money in my wallet. When the race was over, I pulled out $2 and told them I just "won" this money by not betting. Dynamous finished 4th. Dynamistic was in the back of the field.
I'm looking forward to another California trip in the future.