Detroit Area Casinos

[AZK]

Hi all,

A few buddies are coming up to visit and wanted to do a little gambling...do any of the casinos in the Detroit area spread low limit holdem tables? What about NL? Any games where the blinds are like $1/2 with $100 max buy in?

I'm pretty sure none of the windsor casinos offer poker so I wanted to check out the detroit casinos...Thanks in advance for the replies..

[RydenStoompala]

There is a poker room that spreads low limits in one of the big downtown casinos (I forgot which one). I played there a few months ago. The wait for a seat was HOURS. There was no PL or NL. I played 10-20 and the game was good. The casino itself is an ugly dump compared with Windsor. (It was Greektown, I think). I checked out the other casino and it was even uglier. I'm talking low ceilings, weird layout, stinky and crowded. It was like being stuck in Reno on tax refund day. I'd recommend a trip elsewhere. The einstein league of braniacs in charge of Windsor, last time I asked, were still puzzled by the whole poker craze and were unsure when they might rip out that crappy Canadian Club and install poker. Give them another year.

[beerbandit]

Yeah---This is where I normally play

These locations were supposedly temporary---but it's been quite a few years and there still in those [censored] buildings.

The 10-20 games are usually great there. The 20-40 R by R is pretty tough in my opinion.

There is a NL table 5-10 and $100 min buy-in

There is also a PLO 5-10bl game; it starts Sat. at noon and plays until the game breaks up. There is a lot of cash on that table, much more that the NLHE.

If you gonna play call ahead---they give you a hour

[Toonces]

I used to play at Greektown before the poker room opened. To understand the goofy layout at Greektown, you have to realize that before it was a casino, it was home to a downtown boutique mall. So, the room that the poker room is in was a former store, as are the romes on each side. The walls seperating the stores still exist.

It looks like it will be anothr 2-3 years before the casinos move. Permanent locations were supposed to be built by 2002, but the whole process has been a comedy of errors for the city, so now the hotels will no longer be ready for the Super Bowl in 2006.

[AZK]

Greektown spreads a NL 5-10 blind? How is it in your experience?

[beerbandit]

It hasn't been open very long maybe 2-3weeks; I've played once and lost about $800. I got there at 3:00am and was a few down on the 10-20 list and there were three seats open. I bought in and was a middle stack; the biggest was maybe 2500. The game was fairly loose and aggresive. Pots usually raised PF 25-40 maybe 3-5 players. Played for about three hours and the table broke up; I was down and tired so I left. This was my first live non-tournament NL expirience.

The tables with the higher limits are in the new room; which is also non-smoking.

[asymmetrical]

It's actually a 2-2-5 blind NL game. Button posts the additional $2 blind. Game ranges from loose to tight depending on the lineup, but always fairly aggressive. Hardly ever a long wait to get on the NL table.

Overall, Greektown is pretty terrible. The wait isn't as bad since the expansion, but with the additional tables they didn't take the time to train the new dealers very well. I was up there last night playing 5/10 HE and the tables I sat at were averaging about...20 hands per hour, being generous. A lot of times players at the table had to help the dealers figure out if the pot was right, where the button was, and who had/hadn't posted. It was almost comical.

All the low limit (including a 5-20 Stud game) is in the old smoking room. The new room is a lot nicer: roomy and non-smoking. Plus, the more experienced dealers are dealing the mid- to higher limits (10/20+).

Anyway, if you do go...limits they were spreading last night:
3/6, 5/10, 10/20, 15/30, 20/40 Limit HE
2/2/5 blinds NLHE
1-5, 5-20 Spread limit 7Stud

Sometimes they have a mixed HE/Omaha HI table...and they used to have a mid-limit HOSE game.

Rake is a pretty bad 10% up to $5 + $1 for the bad beat jackpot. Bad beat is Aces Full of Jacks or better beaten by 4 of a kind or better in HE, and 4 of a kind or better beaten in 7Stud. HE jackpot is pretty high right now ($20k?) and the Stud was about $7,500.

[AZK]

Thanks for the info... was the 3/6 game pretty soft? Is there a max buyin in the 225 NL game? soft as well?

[asymmetrical]

I haven't played in the 3/6 game. I would assume it is about the same as the 5/10 games, which are very soft, overall, if you have the patience to play at a snail's pace.

The NL game was populated by a mixed bag of players the times I've watched it run. I don't play much big bet myself, but a few others in my regular game do. They have not described it as soft, but they have used the word "crazy." I watched a hand resulting in a $600+ pot while waiting for a table. (QJ v AJ on a J-rag-rag flop). Don't know if there is a max buy-in.

[AZK]

Thanks for all the info. about greektown. After an entire day of drinking and hockey in windsor we ventured to greektown at about midnight. Needless to say I didn't sit down until about 2AM at the 5/10 table. I wanted to sit at the 3/6 table as I don't really have the bankroll to play 5/10, but the waitlist was 30 deep and there was only one table for 3/6 and I just had this urge all day to play. You were absolutely right, the 5/10 was SO soft...I was almost in shock as I assumed that 5/10 would be different from 2/4 or 3/6. But I think I was the only person who habitually raised in this game, 5+ people seeing a flop, routine cold calls, it was fantastic. Needless to say, I'll be going back.

[arvin]

I have played in Greektown 30+ hours (5-10 limit HE) and found the game to be pretty soft. Of course there were a varying number of rocks and maniacs. There was also talk at the table of a poker room opening in one of the other Detroit Casinos, Motor City Casino. BTW, I'm guessing you were in Detroit to watch the wings lose. Tough beat, eh?

[AZK]

I didn't hear of Motor City opening a poker room, do you know when that is going to go down? I go to UM so I was in detroit having come back from canada to watch the avs and wings games...I'm an avs fan so I didn't really care eitherway for the wings game, but last night's game was especially brutal...

[MrDannimal]

I've also heard that Motor City is opening a poker room. I don't know when, but it's going to be small in comparison to Greektown (post expansion). I believe I heard 6-8 tables. Still, can't hurt.