How to build the best cardroom?

[ReRaze]

I am researching the viability of a new card room in the Sacramento area. What do you look for in a card room? What are the most important factors that you consider when choosing where to play?

[MrGo]

Space, decor, fast and friendly dealers, rake, comfort (chairs and tables), etc...

[PuckNPoker]

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I am researching the viability of a new card room in the Sacramento area. What do you look for in a card room? What are the most important factors that you consider when choosing where to play?

[/ QUOTE ]

Maybe I am just spoiled by the internet, but most if not all card rooms give out very little information before (or even while) you get there. If I am going to try a new spot, I want as much info as possible (games spread, tournaments time STRUCTURE and buyin, etc)

What if some smart place actually put their Board up on the internet? It would let you see what games are running or trying to get started, and the waiting list for each (no names, just the # of people on the list). Trying to get new customers in the door would be the hard part I would think, and providing as much info as possible before getting in the door makes it as comfortable for a new person as it can be.

Just look at the questions asked in this forum about any particular casino. Most if not all of these questions could be answered on a card room/casino website, but they usually are not.

[ReRaze]

I really like that idea PuckNPoker. I will want to have the web site be as infomative as possible. The things you listed wouldn't be difficult to implement.

[scotnt73]

if someone is abusive to dealers or players boot thier ass out pronto. i enjoy playing live every now and then but it only takes 1 jerk at the table to make me thank God for the internet poker mute button.

[Ms 45]

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What do you look for in a card room? What are the most important factors that you consider when choosing where to play?

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Without question the most important factor for serious players in determining if/where they will play is how much money they are likely to make in a given game. We will put up with a lot (incompetent dealers, clouds of smoke, obnoxious players) as long as the game is soft enough.

Make no mistake about it, for your cardroom to be a success you need a core of serious, skilled players to keep the games going and reasonably full. However, you won’t get these skilled players without a steady supply of “fish” making the games soft enough to be appealing to your regulars. In my opinion, Party Poker has shown that the way to bring in the unskilled fish is through mainstream marketing (not niche marketing in poker magazines, websites, etc.).

I think that the success of Party Poker provides a model for other poker rooms, both live and online, to follow. Party heavily markets their product through mainstream sources, which instigates literally tens of thousands of unskilled players to play at Party Poker every day. The effect of the marketing does not stop there; thousands of skilled players also play at Party Poker every day because of the large numbers of fish playing at the tables. Notice that Party Poker is almost as large as every other online poker site combined. Also notice that, aside from being aesthetically ugly, Party Poker has the worst rake structure, the worst software, and the worst customer service of all the major online poker sites. Party has realized that the key to building a successful poker operation lies in the marketing, and everything else is of secondary concern. (You can go to www.pokerpulse.com to see for yourself the number of players Party Poker routinely draws in).

Party Poker’s business model can easily be applied to B&M cardrooms. I hope that if you do decide to build your poker room, you follow this model and devote most of your attention to marketing. Sure, it would be nice if you had excellent dealers and a great comp program, but as long as your facility is reasonably clean, competent, and convenient your regular customers will be more than willing to overlook your cardroom's shortcomings.

[JEM7VSBL]

check out poker essays 1 and 3 by malmuth on cardrooms. he gives a lot of info on what makes and breaks a cardroom, and why some go out of business.

[Andy B]

[ QUOTE ]
Without question the most important factor for serious players in determining if/where they will play is how much money they are likely to make in a given game. We will put up with a lot (incompetent dealers, clouds of smoke, obnoxious players) as long as the game is soft enough.


[/ QUOTE ]

I consider myself a serious player. Most of the time anyway. I can only endure so much smoke, and I have little patience for incompetent dealers or abusive players. Happily, my local room is one where I don't have to put up with too much of any of this.

[Dylan Wade]

The problem with that is that almost without fail those players are also pumping plenty of money into the game.

I think one of the beautiful things about poker is it exposes people for who they really are. Some people are in control of their lives/emotions, others aren't. You can tell really quickly at the poker table.

[Dylan Wade]

1. hot cocktail waitresses
2. cheap beer
3. complementary massages from hot women