Empire v. Paradise

[otter]

The higher levels aren't a cakewalk either anymore

I recently rolled a sportsbook.com bonus into some nice dough and decided to try out Paradise this afternoon in between games. I had downloaded the Paradise software some time ago, but never played there before. I found a 5/10 table and sat down.

The game was insane. I stayed an hour, lost $250, and got the hell out. A 9-handed game had 5-6 to the flop virtually every hand. Average pot size during my session was probably $80-100, and pots of $150+ were frequent. People were taking pots with flopped two pair on hands like J6 or Q4 (not in the blinds, either). Losers were showing down bottom pair, low PPs, unpaired AK, etc., which they stuck with despite heavy post-flop action.

3-flushes, 4-flushes or straight boards scared no one. On one hand, I folded JJ with one club on the turn when it brought the 4-flush. After checking to a bet, then seeing a raise, I figured my jack-high was no good, then saw the raiser take down an enormous pot with flopped two pair. . . neither of the two, it turned out, had a club.

I would have loved to stick around, but the table was too loose, too weird. I had dumped much of the $250 on three big PPs (including the JJ hand mentioned above) that got killed, and I decided I better keep what I had left for football, rather than risk tilting it away at this crazy-ass table.

I don't know if the table was full of clowns who won big in the NFL and took their winnings to the poker tables, or what, but it was the craziest 5/10 game I've seen on a Sunday afternoon anywhere. I can't imagine what it would be like at 2 a.m. on a weekend.

If you have a roll that isn't earmarked for sports, I highly recommend the Paradise 5/10. . . just strap yourself in.