Sahara LV Poker

[Rugbyrat]

I just returned from a brief trip to LV for a wedding. I stayed at the Sahara, since it was cheap, and I could use the monorail to do alot of my strip travelling. The Sahara was fine to stay, but be cautious with my opionion, since I'm of the "all I need is a bed" school of hotel-finding.

I didn't play nearly as much poker at I would have liked, but I did play two 2 hour sessions of 2/4 at the Sahara. I ended up +79 over 4 hours of total play (5BB/hour). My first session was played from 6p.m. to 8p.m. on Thursday evening (+47) and from 4p.m. to 6p.m. on Saturday (+32).

The poker room itself is okay at best. There were about 12 low-quality tables, which played 9-handed. Dealers were competent for the most part. It is a smoking poker room. Even though I am a smoker, I prefer a nonsmoking room. However, the poker room is not smoky.

During the time I was at the Sahara, the room spread 2/4 hold'em, and some stud. An interest list was started for no limit, with a $100 minimum buy-in, but I'm not sure if the game started. Also, I was aware of one 4/8 table being played, but I was playing 2/4 with a friend who is a newbie, so I was not comfortable leaving him alone so that I could move to the 4/8 table.

At the Sahara, there is only one blind. When you sit at the table, you are dealt into the current hand, regardless of whether you post the blind. The rake is 10% to $3.00, and the Sahara takes the actual rake, which can be annoying. So, if the pot pre-flop is $7.00, the Sahara rakes $0.75. The dealers are armed with quarters to be able to rake any amounts. So, if you win a pot, you receive quarters, and can use them to play just like the chips.

The competition was excellent. Very bad players. I did not have a single player at my table that I felt was a decent poker player. During my second session, some of the highlights included:

-one guy raising UTG with Q3s and with K6o;

-another guy taking down a pot after his Q6o hit 2 pair.
He stayed in the hand because he "had a feeling he would win"; and my personal favorite:

-another player asked if the ace can be used for a low straight , or if it could only be as a high card.

I'd recommend the Sahara poker room for those who have never played live before. It's a friendly room with bad players who should help newbies build confidence. For other low limit players like me, the games are juicy, but you will probably find more enjoyable games at other locations.