1-2 nl game ruined by the house

willie · #1 02-23-2005, 02:21 PM

Previously this casino had what i believe to be a standard drop policy

$2 on the flop
then 1 dollar at 20, 1 at 30, 1 at 40 (or something to that effect, so essentially max drop was 5 dollars on a hand)

Recently a different local casino(irving), took control of the poker room in a different casino (seneca niagara)

new policy

5 dollar session fee. session= half hour

10 dollars an hour to play 1-2 no limit.

I'm TAG and if i go cold for an hour or so this is just killing me.

Previously when i was playin extremely well and getting some hands i could average 30/hour in winnings.

If i'm making 30 an hour now i'm dropping 1/3rd of it to the session fee, if i'm making 20 i'm dropping half.

I think that this new policy has made the game completely unplayable for me and i won't be going back. You tend not to notice the rake as much when you're dragging a pot, but when you are dropping 5 dollars with each half hour you REALLY notice how much it is costing you.

It also led to me becoming extremely aggitated with players who would take 2 minutes to make a decision- even when the decision should have been clear to them.

The casino really shot themselves in the foot with this one since they think that they have a monopoly but a different poker room just opened a mere 15 minutes further away and i'll be taking my business there from now on.

Does anyone else think that this new policy is a bit steep for a 1-2 nl game (40 min, 100 max buyin)

Milky · #2 02-23-2005, 02:24 PM

I think it's pretty crazy too but when i was at the Reno Hilton this weekend I noticed they had the same fee. There were only limit games going at the time though and there was no time fee. Only rake. So I'm guessing they only use that time charge for the $500 max buy-in NL games they sometimes run.

But yeah, I agree that it's pretty crazy.

Durs522 · #3 02-23-2005, 02:27 PM

This is exactly how it is done at Foxwoods. Same buy-in, same time charge. When you're winning it is not a big deal, however when you are card dead it sucks. In the end it evens out to what the rake would be. I don't think they're really shooting themselves in the foot here. Foxwoods has done this and it seems to have worked fairly well for them.

Dave

willie · #4 02-23-2005, 02:32 PM

It just seems tough to me since my tight play is what has generated my winning there.

I never really noticed the rake as opposed to the session fee.

And as for shooting themselves in the foot, they're not the only show in town and the players know that fact very well.

Typical friday nights, 4 full 1-2 nl games running with a list that stretches about 30 deep.

Last friday when i was there, 3 Tables running 8 handed apiece, and open seating

this is within one week of the change.

(As far as evening out, i kind of think it does, but it still tilts towards the casino's favor. I have heard previous rake amounts totalling around 80 an hour, so a full table session fee= 100 an hour.)

Clarkmeister · #5 02-23-2005, 03:16 PM

Think of yourself as a business. If you really make $30/hr and pay $10/hr in overhead, that's a pretty sweet margin.

jcolter · #6 02-23-2005, 03:26 PM

One of my friends used to go to Irving and always complained about the rake there.

last time I was home I played at the Salamanca Casino on rt 17. They ran that i think was identical to what you just mentioned. I believe they were the same people running the niagra casino as the website was nearly identical. Anyone know anything about what is currently going on at Salamanca. Last time I was there I was suprised at how good it was.

PennDisc · #7 02-23-2005, 03:27 PM

have you really given that much thought to how much this is actually costing you? Assume a 10 handed game, 30 hands/hr, you win on average, 3 pots/hr. If the average rake is $3-4 it's a negligible difference because you're still paying about $10/hr. Also remember that your $30/hr is after the rake was taken out, so if you had won just 2 medium/big pots in that hour, your $10 was already taken out of those pots. Sure you didn't notice it because you were stacking all the rest of the chips that you did win, but really how different is it if you keep the whole pot and pay the time charge later?

TJSWAN · #8 02-23-2005, 03:29 PM

willie,

Just FYI, it's $7.00/ half hour for same game setup out here at Lucky Chances in CA.

Tim

Beezos · #9 02-23-2005, 03:30 PM

you might actually be saving money this way...

previously the house would take $5 bucks a hand. figure you see 30-40 hands an hour in B&M. that means the house would get 150-200 dollars an hour. Lets say not all the drops are a 5 bucks. Then the number would be closer to $100.

With the new time fee, the house gets $100 bucks an hour. $10 bucks times ten players. So you are either saving money or spending the same as you would with the rake. In addition, since there is no rake you need count the drop when calculating pot odds to make a call. The rake can actually affect a decision whether or not to make a call. You should be happy they are no longer taking money out of the pot.

Thats my 2 cents...

willie · #10 02-23-2005, 03:31 PM

[ QUOTE ]
willie,

Just FYI, it's $7.00/ half hour for same game setup out here at Lucky Chances in CA.

Tim

[/ QUOTE ]

"we fear change"
Garth

It was probably a combination of the fact that i was running bad and just bleeding off constantly

and 30/hour is not my standard take, that's when everything is going about as well as possible, it's usually 20ish.

sorry for throwin it out without really thinkin it through

--7 for a half hour is rich...wow.