Caesers, IN vs, Trump, IN

[O Doyle Rules]

Hi All,

I'm taking my son out for his 21st birthday this weekend. He was wanting to play some live holdem at a casino and I am trying to make a decision between these two. We will be there on a Saturday night and we would be staying at their hotels. Any info would be greatly appreciated to help me make a decison. Thanks alot.

[cardcounter0]

Never been to the Trump boat, so I can't compare.

At Ceasar's, if you are planning on playing Saturday Night show up early and get signed up. Average 2-3 hour wait for a seat, since weekends are prime time gambling. Sign up, go eat dinner, check out the sights.

If you don't have reservations, the Hotel fills up fast on weekends. If you have to, go across the river to Louisville. There is a Ramada Inn a couple of exits down the highway with good quality rooms, free breakfast, and a $60 weekend rate.

[O Doyle Rules]

Thanks Card,

Do you know what kind of limits they spread at Caeser's? My son would defintely be a low roller.

[cardcounter0]

They spread several tables at the lowest limit: $4/$8
They have 25 to 30 tables, and play pretty much everything on up to $100/$200. Although on weekends they do not have $5/$10, the next jump up from $4/$8 is $10/$20.

[PlayerA]

I've never been to Trump. I live in Louisville and would rather drive to Tunica than play at Caesar's. Unless it's changed in the last few months, it's not a pleasant place to play (not to mention the $6 rake on weekends).

[fritzwar]

Trump would be better both for finding a game and for getting a hotel room (though on the weekend you'll want to get on this in advance). At Trump you can always count on a 5/10 game, sometimes with a full kill, and I think that smaller games are also spread depending on the interest list. If you're at Trump Indiana you're also near Harrah's which also has a poker room and 5/10 games going regularly.

[Brannigan]

I played at Trump's on Saturday. It was my first time there and actually my first time playing in a B&M cardroom.

I wasn't sure how to get there, so there was no way that I would try to drive back to Indianapolis that night. I reserved a room online, 69 dollars with tax for a decent room with 2 double beds.

I got there at 4:30pm but had called ahead at 4 for a 5 pm seat on 3/6 full kill hold'em. Unfortunately, I'm a complete newbie and I didn't realize that the self-park parking lot was connected to the casino and not the hotel. Some time passed before I figured it out and I waited 20 minutes for a shuttle that never appeared. I hoofed the mere 3 minute walk to the hotel and called to make a 6 o'clock seat reservation. Btw, the direct poker room number for Trump is 1-219-977-7444, you can also dial 0 from 1-888-218-7867 and ask to be directed to the poker room.

Alright, so I cleaned up and got ready. Gotta remember that this was my first time playing in a organized off-line setting, so I was pretty freaked out. I got to the room at about 5:30 and I didn't get seated until about 6:20pm. So 20 minutes past my reservation.

The room was full and there were about 7 people on the 3/6 fk list behind me. I bought in for 140 in white (too much, 80-100 needed) and sat down.

The table I was at had 2 loose/semi-aggressive locals, a tight/aggressive kid (very shortstacked), a weak tight redneck, a loose calling station middle aged woman (friends with 2 of the locals), a good regular (old guy), a semi-loose old lady who had trouble reading the board (non eyesight related), a weak/tight regular, a tight angleshooter who liked to talk and slowplay, and me. Very good table to play.

About 5 people were in every hand unless there was a raise preflop (very rare, me, the good old local, and the kid were the only ones who raised regularly). There was a kill pot probably every 15 hands or so.

I played for 2 and a half hours until the action died (the loose players had left one by one until maybe 3 people were seeing every flop). It was about suppertime by then, so I cashed out (168 up) and checked out the board.

This was at 8:40 and there was at least 20 people on the 3/6 board. However, there was only 3 people on the 5/10 full kill, so I signed up for it. I ate dinner, hit the bathroom, and got the call at about 9:00 pm. So it was a 20 minute wait.

Second table was tough, 2 guys were semi-loose and very aggressive, 5 guys were tight aggressive with 1 or 2 of them being very good players, with the rest being people who shouldn't be playing. Half of the guys there were wearing sunglasses and performing chip-tricks. Anyway, it was a bit rough and not the soft table I was expecting. However, there were 4 to 5 people pounding beer. Good stuff. Bought in for 300 in red, which was borderline. Probably 400 needed.

I dumped my first 3 rounds of blinds (10's and a/10o i dumped on the flop) and was down about 40 until I entered the game voluntarily. A/Ko and I got tested immediately by someone trying to make a move to disguise a flush draw. Anyway, I was up 20 by the end of the first hour or so.

Playing tight got my entry raises too much respect so I showed a bluff and sipped beer to get action. Spent the night trying to isolate or use draws against large crowds. Hit a few big payoffs and won a lot of small pots. Bluffed probably 7 times all night, was busted once. Anyway, I left the table at 2 in the morning and I was up 373. Good competition but nothing that was too horrible. Of course, I did hit my first royal flush ever, which helped quite a bit. Easy to win I suppose with hands like that.

Total for the night, 6:20am to 2:00pm was 541.

Probably around 21 tables in the room. Games are a mixture of stud, omaha, and hold'em. hold'em range is 3/6 full kill to 10/20 half kill, there was also at least one no-limit game in progress. The room practices as 3 man up rule, so if you're the 3rd person to be absent from the table, you have 10 minutes to get back or your chips will be moved to the cage and you'll lose your seat.

All in all, a very fun night. I think your son will enjoy himself.