Bay101

Tommy's post on the mid-limit forum got me to thinking (no comments please). Last year at this time the mid limit action at Bay101 was outstanding. They would have a minimum of 3 15-30 games and 2 30-60 games every night. And yes, the games were good. A friend of mine who is a very long time poker pro said the 30-60 game had not broken in over a month and a half.


Well the times have certainly changed. AJ's is now likely to have more (and better) 15-30 games going than Bay101 on any given night. As for the 30-60 game, just read Tommy's post. Now the downturn in the economy has certainly had an effect but not as much as you might think. The action at AJ's and LC's is still pretty good. I think what killed the mid-limit action at Bay101 was the 20-200 spread limit game. For whatever reason, when Bay101 started spreading the 20-200 it was wildly popular with many of the mid-limit regulars taking a shot at the "big time". Also, many of the mid limit regulars taking shots at the game were the proverbial live ones. As you can imagine the downside in this type of structure is HUGE. Anyways, my guess is that by spreading the 20-200 Bay101 has effectively busted many of players that keep the games going and juicy. As further anecdotal evidence, this evening at AJ's there was a Bay101 regular playing in the 15-30 game. I asked him what he did to get barred from Bay101. He didn't do anything but was tired of checking it down everytime he was heads up with one of his poker buddies. Ugh. Now it's just a bunch of the regulars sitting around waiting for the occaisional live one to show up. Anyone disagree?

First, the reason they spread $20-$200 is that $200 is the largest you can bet in San Jose. Thus this structure is their equivalent of a pot limit game.


As for everything else, I agree completely. I have written on many occasions that card rooms that spread pot limit on a regular basis are just asking for it. Unless they have a very large player base, it can and does easily damage their games for precisely the reasons you gave. When will they learn?

I totally agree, Boris. AJ's used to have a great game, but very few players. I stopped going there for a while because there would be one game that just never moved. Now there are two games all the time and the lists move and the games are as juicy as ever. (In fact, I'm sure that we have played together).


When I first moved to the area, I played at Bay 101 all the time, but I have found that the 15 game was just never as good as those up north. After the 20 spread game opened, the games only got worse.


See you in picturesque San Bruno.


RH

When I worked at Intel, I probably made about a fifth as much as a lot of engineers. But those engineers were smart guys! Each Thursday and Friday after work, they'd take their stock options from SC7 right down the street to B101, and we'd play 9-18 'til dawn. Things leveled out slightly. Having been elsewhere for a while, I'd been meaning to ask someone if those days were over.


As an aside, I remember the day LC's opened. My girlfriend was out of town on, like, some silly bicycle trip, so I got over there good and early. What with all the ads and hype, it was sure to be a fish pond! It took be about a half an hour - and down $20 - for me to figure out I was sitting face-to-face with every out-of-town shark from Oakland (Oaks) to San Pablo (San Pablo) - who had seen the ads too. I drove back to AC's, and it was me alone with 8 pushovers (and a lot of empty tables).


eLROY

I agree also. I'm guessing the same sort of thing is happening with the LC's crowd too. At the Oaks, the game tightened up for a while after LC's became popular, but it's been getting looser and looser all the time. there's usually only one 15 game spread, but it's pretty consistant, and usually has no props in it at night. While this doesn't sound like much, the games is steady and great (although a little wild at times). A lot of people who were spending a lot of time at LC's have been playing in emeryville more lately.

I played all the time at LC's a few months ago -- anyone have an explanation for the drop off in popularity? Bankroll shrinkage favoring 15 games instead of 20 games? All I know is that the games at LC's are consistently worse than the ones at AJ's. Is it just the new club mystique wearing off?


RH

This is a poor example of that though because AJs has a big bet game.

I was there at LCs last night and the games were GREAT. The 9-18 was a dream, as usual, and the 20-40 was pretty nice too. There were two tables going and I played on one of the tables for about an hour with Matt Flynn. There were several bad players in the game, including me. I made a late position outright steal with a bad hand and ended up making two pair on the river against a gutshot. Very ugly, very embarrassing.


Then again, I may have raised with two baby cards, but the guy on my left COLD-CALLED with 85.


natedogg