Belterra Poker Room, First Impressions. Positive, very positive. - Page 2

gregdillon · #11 06-08-2005, 09:20 AM

Wow. I thought they didn't open till the 14th? I was planning on going to Grand Vic this weekend. Sounds like it might be worth the extra drive. Do you know if they allow call ahead?

Tom1975 · #12 06-08-2005, 11:46 AM

I played for five hours last night and my overall first impression was very positive as well.

The waitresses were very attractive and prompt. At first I thought speed of service might be an issue since the main casino bar is on the opposite end of the boat, but they have a service bar right next to poker room. Definetly a change from the GV where I'm used to ordering my next drink when I'm half way done with the last one. They also have built-in cupholders on the tables. Another plus is that the room is right next to the restrooms, so if you're quick enough you can get back without even missing a hand.

The dealers were sharp, if a little timid - for some of them it was their first time dealing in a casino. We had a couple people at our table who had a problem with acting out of turn. Some of the dealers would correct them, but some just let it go. Another nice thing about the tables is there is a line running around the table - placing chips past line denotes they're in play. I've seen this in Vegas and it handles the problem of people who do the quasi-string bet move where they reach out with a large stack of chips, look around the table to get a reaction, then just put down enough to call. However, the dealers weren't enforcing that rule last night.

As far as comps go, I actually managed to find my card in my wallet (I had only been there once, about 3 years ago). The floor guy said you get the standard dollar per hour, however you can use it on anything in the place - hotel room, gift shop, concert tickets, and any restaurant. You can also accumulate comps, it's not use it or lose it.

I asked one the floor guys if they were going to spread a no-limit game. He said a couple of people had expressed interest but not enough to open a game that night, but he expected to get a one going on the weekend. I said "What are you thinking of having, 1/2, 1/3, 2/5?" He looked at me with a blank stare. I said "You know, the blinds - one dollar/two dollar", etc. He said "Oh no-no-no, if we did a no limit game, blinds would be like 5,10,25." I'm like "oh wow." Then the dealer standing next to him says "Yeah I think I heard a buy-in of $300-500" and the floor says "yeah, somewhere around $300-500 for the buy-in". So clearly there's a disconnect there somewhere, since I've never heard of a capped buy-in above 2/5, and if there was one for 5/10 or 10/25 it would be a lot higher than 300-500.

Anyway, I'm sure they'll get this all ironed out. I plan on going down there again this weekend and hopefully play some no limit at a level by bankroll can tolerate. If not I'll just play some more 4/8.

Tom1975 · #13 06-08-2005, 11:47 AM

The "Official grand opening" is 6/14, but it's open as of yesterday. Not sure about call ahead.

steamboatin · #14 06-08-2005, 02:19 PM

What time were you there? I played four eight until about 8:30 PM. I was at the first table on the right as you walk in seat three if I remember correctly.

I left my sporty grey tweed hat in the car so I was wearing a blue cap that said No Limit Texas Holdem.

MicroBob · #15 06-08-2005, 02:33 PM

Floor guys not even knowing that lower blinds are warranted on NL and thinking that 10/25 or something would be a 'normal' game is kind of weird.

MicroBob · #16 06-08-2005, 02:37 PM

Nice report...but you can't fool me. I know you're lying.

[ QUOTE ]
The waitress was a hottie

[/ QUOTE ]

I simply refuse to believe this can be the case in Indiana.

The bit about the chip-runners kind of made me laugh also. I can tell that you guys don't exactly get the primo poker-scene up in Indiana based on the things that excite you.

That whole "standard $1 per hour for comps" bit is completely foreign to me.
Plus you get excited about 'free' drinks in Tunica.
Golly.

I guess I never knew how spoiled I truly am in Tunica.
I mean, I know everyone talks about how great things are in this area....but I have never played live poker outside of Tunica except on the Party Poker cruise so I was really unaware of how truly different it all is.

'$1 per hour comps in Indiana' vs.
'Can I get a buffet comp?' 'Sure...right-away' at the tunica Horseshoe.

Tom Bayes · #17 06-08-2005, 03:00 PM

[ QUOTE ]

As far as comps go, I actually managed to find my card in my wallet (I had only been there once, about 3 years ago). The floor guy said you get the standard dollar per hour, however you can use it on anything in the place - hotel room, gift shop, concert tickets, and any restaurant. You can also accumulate comps, it's not use it or lose it.

I asked one the floor guys if they were going to spread a no-limit game. He said a couple of people had expressed interest but not enough to open a game that night, but he expected to get a one going on the weekend. I said "What are you thinking of having, 1/2, 1/3, 2/5?" He looked at me with a blank stare. I said "You know, the blinds - one dollar/two dollar", etc. He said "Oh no-no-no, if we did a no limit game, blinds would be like 5,10,25." I'm like "oh wow." Then the dealer standing next to him says "Yeah I think I heard a buy-in of $300-500" and the floor says "yeah, somewhere around $300-500 for the buy-in". So clearly there's a disconnect there somewhere, since I've never heard of a capped buy-in above 2/5, and if there was one for 5/10 or 10/25 it would be a lot higher than 300-500.

[/ QUOTE ]

Yeah, I've found a fair number of floorpeople in newer poker rooms in the Midwest that aren't terribly knowlegable about poker terms. The poker room at Harrah's Metropolis in southern Illinois opened about 5 or 6 weeks ago. I went on the 1st weekend and asked what games were being spread. Of the four tables, I was told 3 were $4/$8 limit and one was a "5 and 10" no-limit game. I thought this meant the blinds were $5/$10, which would make the game too big for me. Later I found out the blinds were $2/$5 (more reasonable for a small room in this part of the country) and that the person said $5/$10 because that was the size of the minimum bets preflop/flop and turn/river.

Another time I was at Casino Aztar Misery in Caruthersiville, Missouri (that's in the bootheel of extreme SE Missouri). The floor person told me they were spreading a "5 and 10" Omaha high game. I asked if it was limit or pot-limit. The guy looked at me like I was speaking Greek and just repeated "It's 5 and 10". Some regular overheard and told me it was limit, which made sense because that little low-roller boat couldn't support a $5/$10 PLO game.

Oh, and no such thing as chip runners at Harrah's in southern Illinois. They have a weird thing where the chips that are raked off go in the dealer's tray rather than into a locked box. You can buy chips from the dealer if there are enough in the tray. If there aren't enough chips in the tray, then you have to go to the other side of that level of the boat to buy chips at the cage.

And we get a whole $0.75/hour in comps.

Tom1975 · #18 06-08-2005, 03:59 PM

I was at the first table on the left, seat 8. I was there from 7-midnight.

steamboatin · #19 06-09-2005, 06:48 AM

The waitress was a hottie, we got some sweet looking honeys in this part of the world.

Bob you have no idea what it was like to play poker in Indiana. Belterra almost felt like a REAL poker room.

WC64 · #20 06-09-2005, 09:02 AM

[ QUOTE ]

Another time I was at Casino Aztar Misery in Caruthersiville, Missouri (that's in the bootheel of extreme SE Missouri). The floor person told me they were spreading a "5 and 10" Omaha high game. I asked if it was limit or pot-limit. The guy looked at me like I was speaking Greek and just repeated "It's 5 and 10". Some regular overheard and told me it was limit, which made sense because that little low-roller boat couldn't support a $5/$10 PLO game.

[/ QUOTE ]

Wow I have actually been to that casino. We were driving back from Tunica and saw a sign that said Casino Aztar and figured it was time for a break lol. I thought it was dumb that just to get in there you had to sign up for a players card (in which they totally screwed up my name on the card even though they were reading it off my license). The poker room (up some little stair case) only had a 1/2 or 2/4 game going while I was there so I played blackjack. While sitting there with a friend he gave me a dollar chip (because we collect them from every place we go) and the dealer looked at us and said that is not allowed and proceeded to go on why it was not allowed so I gave it back until we left. Can't say that I will ever go there again.