Downtown Las Vegas Visits Long-Term Objective

[Student]

All good news, and thanks!

I've played much at Union Plaza, and not as much at Golden Nugget, and I mean craps and not poker. I've made a lot of money at Union Plaza! In those days, the Plaza referred to the casino on Main Street, across the big parking lots, at what is now referred to as Main Street Casino (famous for their wonderful buffet today, especially their breakfast!). Cheap and real good, if I do say so myself. The old Plaza had a single dealer at the craps player, probably a fellow from Puerto Rico. He was good, being all of the boxman, stickman, and both dealers. What a nice place to play!

Yes, I've played craps at El Cortez, but it was always a new craps dealer being broken in. It was thus slow, too slow for me. Of course, Binion's had the very best and most professional craps dealers, and they were a hard act to follow!

Good info...

Dave

PS: Knowing what you all are sharing with me will save lots of walking, not so easy for an old man. Thanks very much!

[Student]

Gee, more great news! My eventual interest will be in NL HE tournaments, but as a poker beginner I need to learn limit HE as an introduction to Hold'em, then NL HE (which is all I play, as stated above), and only then can I go to NL HE tournaments. But that there are mini NL HE tournaments is positively wonderful! By the time I get to Las Vegas I'll have worked with HoH (Harrington on Hold'em), and maybe even one of the other 3 Harrington/Robertie books Robertie states as being planned (first will come out on 2+2 within 2 weeks!). Hence I'll be playing tournaments by then. Just as I'm now playing 1/2 cents NL HE ring games, when I start on tournaments it'll be at the Golden Palace 10 cents + 1 cents entry fee single-table NL HE tournaments. Why pay big bucks to learn? I spend my money on books at this juncture.

So you are the bearer of even more good news about Downtown Las Vegas poker, and Thank You! It would seem Downtown continues with it's reputation of attempting to find a way of competing with the Strip.

By the way, I agree about Downtown craps being crappy! That's the case everywhere in the world, as these fellows have figured out how to cheat at poker with impunity. That's another matter...

Dave

[Student]

Thanks much for the linkage to the Las Vegas Poker Room website! It's just what I needed, from a cursory look-see.

As a person of considerable vintage, I prefer to refer to Binion's and Union Plaza as having character! When I say I've stayed on the 3rd floor of Old Binion's, I'm referring to a hotel purchased by Jack Binion in 1950. It's quaint, and they've done not a thing to cause that; it just is! And I can walk down 3 flights of stairs (including the very long walk from the fattened up 2nd floor, due to the catwalks above the casino proper), and be right in the casino. Or I can duck into a hole in the wall, and I'm in a totally different world immediately (the hotel). I can explore the back hallways, and think about the way gambling was back 50 and more years ago!

So for me these places aren't dumps; they have character!

Dave

[Student]

Thanks especially for the info you've supplied about the state of affairs concerning poker, and Las Vegas! As a local, you know ALL the angles, and your contribution is valuable!

Everything I've heard is that typical B&M games outside Las Vegas as really, really easy. A $5/10 NL game at these B&M games might be compared with 50/100 cents online poker, say at PokerStars (where I presently practice). HOWEVER. Las Vegas poker is tough, as I understand it. So many people have picked up to go professional at Las Vegas, and they have a rude awakening when they get to these tables in Las Vegas! Play in Las Vegas is primarily a process of picking on the easy tourists. Among other things, that's why I prefer to play at the lowest possible stakes levels in Las Vegas, and in tournaments too. After all, I'm a beginner. By the time my education is done, so I can be competitive in the many Indian casinos that surround my home here in Albuquerque, it will be remotely possible for me to go to Las Vegas and not totally lose my shirt the first day!

Thanks for the inputs! If you should want to elaborate a bit more concerning where the 1/2 NL HE games are located in Las Vegas, you'd have my full attention! And tell a bit more about the ins and outs of poker at these favorite places of yours. Please!

Dave

[Student]

Last time I was in Las Vegas O'Shea's had $1 craps...

Dave

[Student]

When I figured out how they were able to cheat at craps (the house, that is), and how deadly the mechanism was, I gave up playing craps. That's why I'm moving into poker these days, which harmonizes welll with my innate talents.

Thanks for the info about craps, though!

Dave

[Student]

I totally agree, concerning rake expense, and size of the pot! Certainly if the pot is $100 or more, and maximum rake is $3, rake expense is just 3%. However, if they take 10% of the pot, to a limit of $3, and the pot is $15, rake expense is thus 10%. Even at the 1/2 cents table PokerStars takes 5%, but they only take rake on complete dollar amounts within the pot. Hence, the 99 cents pot costs $0.00 rake, and the $1.99 pot costs 5 cents, using their formula. My numbers only apply to NL HE, as I understand they charge nothing at 2/4 cents limit HE.

In my learning game (1/2 cents NL HE), the average pot is roughly $1.00, so most pots suffer no rake expense. Yet this game is especially loose, so the educational advantages of learning in this game are skewed way over to one side (looseness!).

Being of the elder generation, patience is a characteristic I've had a lot of time to develop. I don't want to be just the top player at a table. I continue to work on understanding the fundamentals of the game. I prefer to think I'm waiting until I have competitiveness, as a poker player. My competition can be expected to have spent a lifetime playing and learning poker, so I must substitute books for actual playing experience, to keep up.

Dave

[terrapin314]

[ QUOTE ]
When I figured out how they were able to cheat at craps (the house, that is), and how deadly the mechanism was, I gave up playing craps.

[/ QUOTE ]

Can you explain this further? I would love to know how this is possible?