Winstar in OK opening this weekend

[shotkdr]

I received the following information from Winstar today:

Yes, that is correct we are opening our Poker Hall this Sunday (May 1st.) We have 15 tables available.
*Limit Games*
$3 - $6 Hold-em $1 - $3 Blinds
$4 - $8 Hold-em $2 - $4 Blinds
$6 - $12 Hold-em $3 - $6 Blinds
$9 - $18 Hold-em $4 - $9 Blinds
$10 - $20 Hold-em $5 - $10 Blinds
$20 - $40 Hold-em $10 - $20 Blinds
$40 - $80 Hold-em $20 - $40 Blinds

*No-Limit*
$1 - $2 Blind $100 - $200 Buy-In
$2 - $5 Blind $200 - $500 Buy-In
$5 - $10 Blind $500 - $1,000 Buy-In

Number of Tables: 15
All games $5.00 Max Rake
$2.00 on beginning pot *$1.00 on $20 pot
$1.00 on $30 in pot * $1.00 on $40 pot. Player pool collection of $1.00
will be collected prior to dealing of each hand.
If you would like more information please contact our Poker Hall
Manager- John Montella at john.montella@chickasaw.net.

Thank you and have a fantastic day,

Karen Daughtry
Administrative Asst./Floor Analyst
WinStar Casinos
800-622-6317 ext. 20207


Shot

[Wired Jokers]

[ QUOTE ]
All games $5.00 Max Rake
$2.00 on beginning pot *$1.00 on $20 pot
$1.00 on $30 in pot * $1.00 on $40 pot. Player pool collection of $1.00
will be collected prior to dealing of each hand.


[/ QUOTE ]

Can someone tell me what the heck this is? Does this mean every player contributes $1 a hand, every hand? So in effect, at a 10 person $4/8 table (with $2 and $4 blinds), I'm contributing $16 an orbit?

That is insane if true.

[shotkdr]

I am not sure what that means either. I have sent an email to the poker room manager and will post what his reply is. At first I thought maybe a $1 is taken from the blinds for a BB jackpot or something, but then I was discussing with some firends and we convinced ourselves it was the dollar from every player situation. I know they take like $.50 every hand if you are playing BJ but surely they can't do that at poker and expect people to play. You'd need $500 to sit at $3/$6 if you wanted to play for more than a couple of hours.

Shot

[four eight suited]

keep in mind this is the same casino that RAKES BLACKJACK



I would stay as far away from here as I could. A rational understanding of their rules does not exist, so I would be very skeptical of a charitable interpretation of this rediculous raking policies

[pokermama]

Hey there.. Just a plug for my place.. Thunderbird.. we have a 10% rake up to 5.00 bucks... NO PER PLAYER COLLECTION..

It's just like regular poker.. two blinds and a rake...

As for taking a rake on the blackjack.. this is called commission and is paid prior to recieving your hand.. it is .50 per hand to play... this is how OKLAHOMA set it up... and this money goes to the Education Fund...

Me .. I'm a poker player... PERIOD!!!

See you at the tables..

Sarah aka Pokermama..

now dealing at Thunderbird...

[shotkdr]

Received this message from the poker room manager:

Yes, we have a $1.00 collection (player collection). This is per game
and not per player.
This is mandated by the State. The bulk of the collection will be
returned to the player pool for future promotions. We believe that are
future promotions will out shine the "Bad Beat Jackpots".
Thanks for the inqiury,
John Montella


So I guess its a $5 rake plus a $1 per hand for some type of future promotions or something. I'll probably try to head up there sometime during the week next week to check it out.

Shot

[StevieG]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
All games $5.00 Max Rake
$2.00 on beginning pot *$1.00 on $20 pot
$1.00 on $30 in pot * $1.00 on $40 pot. Player pool collection of $1.00
will be collected prior to dealing of each hand.


[/ QUOTE ]

Can someone tell me what the heck this is? Does this mean every player contributes $1 a hand, every hand? So in effect, at a 10 person $4/8 table (with $2 and $4 blinds), I'm contributing $16 an orbit?

That is insane if true.

[/ QUOTE ]

I was going to comment on the 4 and 9 blind structure in the 9-18 game as being silly looking. But after reading about the "player pool" fee, nothing else looks quite as silly.

[TexBigSlick]

I made the trip across the Red River (via a single lane in each direction due to construction) to join the opening night festivities. The poker room opened at 6pm and was supposed to close at 3am, although they extended the closing to 4am. I arrived at about 9pm. All of the 15 tables were full, but the wait was less than 15 minutes for a $5 - $10 Limit game. That was the lowest stakes they were running on opening night. They were not spreading any No Limit with the explaination that they didn't have the chips for it yet. (?) I believe the biggest game was a $20 - $40 game, but that's above my bankroll so didn't pay too much attention to the higher limit games.

Being a Sunday night, the tables started to thin down after midnight, but there were still two nearly full $5 - $10 tables and the $20 - $40 table going when they kicked us out.

The rake is as reported in OP's message. The $1 "player pool collection" was taken from the small blind. Depending upon the dealer who was asked it was either for "the state" or for a future jackpot/bonus. The tables seated nine each, the chairs are comfortable. There are servers that will bring soft drinks, coffee, etc. But, there is no beer, wine or mixed drinks at the tables. I believe there is a bar elsewhere in the casino.

The dealers were a mixture of experienced from other casinos and trainees. For the most part, they did well. Only two or three dealer mistakes or the tables I was on.

The casino at large allows smoking, but the poker room itself was non-smoking -- a huge bonus as far as I'm concerned!

There were many questions about future plans. The floor people said at various times:
<ul type="square">[*]There would be 45 to 60 tables when the moved to their permanent poker room[*]No Limit would start "soon" after the chips arrived[*]Yes, there would be tournaments[*]Yes, there will be Omaha and Stud[*]Yes, there will be WSOP satellites[/list]That's about it. I'll try to answer questions if I can and I'm sure I wasn't the only 2+2 player there, so maybe others will add or clarify.

Rob (TexBigSlick)

[Wired Jokers]

Thanks for the report. Two questions:

1) Is the max taken from the pot $5 or $6? (i.e. rake + "collection")

2) How were the games in general?

[TexBigSlick]

The max rake is a total of $6. The $1 player pool comes out of the small blind, regardless. Then, $2 of the max $5 true rake comes out on the initial round of betting. I did ask what would happen if it were folded around to the big blind (which never happened while I was there) and I was told only the $1 player pool would be taken.

I was seated at two different tables ($5 - $10 only) and I'd say I saw maybe 25 to 27 different players through the night. It was a blend of strong, aggressive players and calling stations with more loose-passives than tight-agressives. It was a rare flop that wasn't seen by five players or more, even facing one raise. I can only remember two or three hands that were capped pre-flop. A number of times a hand would go to a two player showdown with a board like A J 9 5 4 and the winner take it with a pair of nines and the loser would muck. I'd say the pot was won without a showdown less than 15% of the time. Players would call with obvious straights and flushes on board.

Now, a caveat -- I consider myself a poker player under construction, with only the framing up so far -- so, I don't consider myself to be the best reporter of poker play, but that's how I saw it.

Rob (TexBigSlick)