Poll: would you sit at an electronic table at a B&M room?
 

There's a company, PokerTek, marketing an electronic version of poker. Basically, rather than real cards and chips, you sit around a table and play on monitors, using virtual cards and chips. Casinos like the idea because they'll spend less on labor, and hands will go faster, so the rake will increase.

What about the players? On one hand, I'd like to see more hands in an hour. The software will make it so people can't bet out of turn or make other mistakes, the dealers won't make mistakes, and you don't have to tip the dealer. On the other, if I want to play virtually, I'll 4-table online at home. B&M is where you get to physically touch your cards and chips, and people don't need to worry that the cards are rigged.

Re: Poll: would you sit at an electronic table at a B&M room?
 

These machines were discussed before and I think the consensus was that PokerTek is developing these machines for locales where local law prohibits table games but allows for slot type machines.

I don't think this is gonna make poker dealers obsolete.

I think these things are a [censored] joke. It would be easier to play internet poker at home.

Re: Poll: would you sit at an electronic table at a B&M room?
 

I'd rather shoot myself than play at a table like this. I don't think that they will ever catch on - if people didn't like the live aspect of touching cards and chips, then you would see a lot more electronic blackjack and pai gow tables.

And of course there's there issue of cheating. With no dealer there, people are going to be lot more ballsy about open collusion - "hey frank, I got top pair and don't want to get sucked out on - raise this guy out for me, would ya?" What's the third player gonna do? Push the "call floor" button and hope they have a microphone in the table? It could turn into a real nightmare.

Re: Poll: would you sit at an electronic table at a B&M room?
 

Of course any card player would probably rather play at a table with a live dealer. These tables can still have their place, though. They can allow a casino to run a table at a lower limit than 2/4 or 1/2 NL. A casino right now can't run .25/.5 NL, but an electronic table might allow that. It might also allow a casino to charge less rake and make the same profit. However, it is likely that rake and limits will stay the same and some casinos will just use these tables to ruin the experience. But it doesn't have to be that way.

Re: Poll: would you sit at an electronic table at a B&M room?
 

flatline, a lot of the better places in Vegas (wynn, mgm, bellagio) charge less rake then some online places. for 4/8 and above it can be ~5% or less up to 4 dollars.

Re: Poll: would you sit at an electronic table at a B&M room?
 

I saw such a table at the Hard Rock in Hollywood, Fl., for low buy-in SnGs.

I didn't play, but I'd be happy to.

First of all the electronics assures no dealer mistakes, which is already a major advantage. No misdeals. No exposed cards. No dealing of the flop before I have raised my big blind. No failing to wait for a player to act before forcing the action on. No acceptance of under-raises. No erronious awardings of pot.

Secondly they assure more hands per hour than by far the most of the dealers are capable of.

And thirdly, NO TIPPING of the dealer!

I still get the table banter and the tells from the other players. There's no point in comparing with online poker - this is the live experience, and the fact that my card is shown on a screen and not on a piece of cardboard changes little.

Best,

McMelchior (Johan)

Re: Poll: would you sit at an electronic table at a B&M room?
 

[ QUOTE ]
I still get the table banter and the tells from the other players. There's no point in comparing with online poker - this is the live experience, and the fact that my card is shown on a screen and not on a piece of cardboard changes little.

McMelchior (Johan)

[/ QUOTE ]

It takes away enough tells that I wouldn't want to play (if I had an alternative). Of course not all players have betting tells, but some do...

Re: Poll: would you sit at an electronic table at a B&M room?
 

I played the electronic table at Hard Rock in Tampa. $30+$10 NLHE tournament (paid out $240 and $60). I won't do it again. It's like playing online - but you can breathe the smoke of the people you're playing with.

Re: Poll: would you sit at an electronic table at a B&M room?
 

Hot Springs, AR recently passed a referendum authorizing "electronic games of skill" in their horse track, which is widely understood to mean "video poker" (of the garden variety), but the wording of the referendum is vague and it's possible that these types of machines would be permitted.

If that's the only option, I would not turn my nose up at it. I'll still prefer real dealers, but I can make a 30 minute trip to Hot Springs a lot more frequently than I can make a 3-hour trip to Tunica.

Re: Poll: would you sit at an electronic table at a B&M room?
 

People play live to get away from the rigged internet, or in this case, a "live" electric game