San Diego

[The Dude]

Where are some good places to play low-limit Hold 'Em in the San Diego area? I will be visiting there in a few days and would like to play a little.

Thanks.

[HeartsKing]

The 3 places I've been to recently are Pechanga, Barona, and Oceans 11. Both Pechanga and Barona are "full" casinos (i.e. blackjack, slots, and other tables games; no craps). Oceans 11 is just a poker room and doesn't have it's own hotel; there are plenty of places nearby to stay at though.

Barona is situated on one of the top 5 golf courses in the US, if that helps (I can't say what the golfing is like, I don't golf; but the view of the course from my room was incredible); the drive there from Los Angeles is going to be the longest of the three with lots of surface driving.

Pechanga gets my vote for having the best all around experience: excellent dining, good poker, and a relatively short drive (a little over an hour from downtown LA, sans traffic).

If you want maximum game selection, Oceans 11 is probably going to edge out Pechanga, but not by much. Food service at the tables here is quiet good. Currently, they're running a frequent player reward system. Play a certain number of hours and get back ca$h. I don't remember the details, I was only there for a day.

All three places have jackpots (Aces full or better beaten by Quads or better, both hole cards must play, etc.). The rakes are fairly comparable. One place has a no flop, no drop; the other two have a dollar drop (jackpot) if no flop. I think it's Barona that has the no flop, no drop; I think their jackpot is house funded, which explains the no drop when there's no flop. I'm not positive on this, so call them and check if it matters. Also, Barona didn't have a liquor license the last time I went and they were 18+; It was a couple of months ago that I went so one or both of those things may have changed.

[Dept111]

I've played at Ocean's 11, Sycuan, and Viejas. Ocean's 11 is an excellent card room with a wide variety of good games and great food service, but be careful of driving up during rush hour if you're coming from San Diego.

Sycuan has a beautiful casino and a comfortable glassed-off card room, but the one time I went on a weekday afternoon, they only had 2-3 tables running. However, if you want to play in a very unique game, you can try their $3-$6 "H.O.P." Every 9 hands, the game switches from holdem, to omaha, to crazy pineapple, and all three games are played high-lo split with an 8-or-better qualifier. I had to frequently check that there was a professional dealer and a rake to remind myself that I wasn't playing in a goofy home game.

My favorite place to play, however, is at Viejas, a half-hour east of San Diego on the 8 in Alpine. While there may be more luxurious places to play in the SD area, the games at Viejas, IMO, are just the best. They spread low-limit 7-stud high-lo, omaha/8, and holdem ($3-$6, $4-$8, and $8-$16, all played with a full kill). All the games are great, and they have plenty of promotions and low-limit tournaments. I've made money almost every single time I've gone.

Enjoy your trip!