Poker in Cairo?

[stigmata]

I'm going to Egypt next month. Living in the UK, it feels like "out of the frying pan and into the fire", but what the hell. My woman is at a conference, so I should have a chance to have some evenings at the table.

There seems to be a few hotels in cairo that spread poker games (Cairo Mariott Hotel, Hilton, Sheraton are each listed as having several tables). Anybody played in these hotels? Any info about standard of games, what games are spread etc, would be useful. Thanks

[stigmata]

Sorry guys, I'm just gonna bump this a couple of times to see if anyone useful missed it.

[Psycho21]

I know this isn't the type of answer response you are looking for, but I am going to say it anyway. I don't know if you have already been to Cairo, but if I were to go travel to some exotic locale the first thing on my mind wouldn't be poker. I would rather see one of the oldest civilizations in the world. You can play poker when you are at home.
If you really want to play get a labtop and sit in your hotel room the entire trip.

[imported_adhoc]

I have not played in any of the Cairo hotels, but I have cashed traveller's cheques at the Cairo Hilton before, where there is a casino with poker tables. All of the major American-owned hotels in Cairo are better than their chain counterparts in most US cities, and the prices are good for the quality of rooms and services. All also have casino rooms with cards and table games. I do know that none of the casinos have more than 5 poker tables, and most have 3. I am not sure what type of poker they play there.

Potentially, it could be a lucrative and exciting place to play poker, especially if one is any good. Presumably it is not a game that is widely understood in that part of the world. Of course, the lack of many players could also translate into little consistent action - either way I would be very interested to know your assessment if you do wind up playing any poker in Cairo.

[stigmata]

These are all good points psycho, and I utterly agree. In my "defense":

1) I have been before
2) I am there for 2 weeks and will be doing alot
3) My other half is at a conference, and will be working for a couple of evenings
4) I will have these spare evenings to do something else
5) I don't mind spending a couple of nights relaxing in a nearby hotel
6) I have never played B&M so this is quite an exciting experience for me -- there are no cardrooms round here
7) I'm sure you have been on holiday and relaxed for an evening or two in the hotel, away from it all. As much as I love arabic countries, sometimes you do need to get away from it all being a westener.

etc... need to consider the context here, before shoving opinions out there.

And adhoc - I will be sure to post a trip report on this thread!

good luck finding a game in Cairo, I'm in Beirut and am unable to find a game. There is a rather impressive Casino just outside Beirut, but they don't have poker. Even if there are tables at these hotels in cairo, i would speculate that it is unlikely that they have games with any consistency. I have a friend who may still be in Cairo, and i'll email him and have him inquire. I'll post again in a couple days. If you do find a game, be sure to let us know how it goes. i'm in the middle east periodically for months at a time, and would be very interested in your experiance if we can find you a game in cairo. i only play B&M, and am experiancing poker withdrawl here.

[Nightwish]

Don't they have a fatwa or something against casinos out there?

[art_vandelay]

While I haven't played poker in Cairo I did frequent the casinos there while on a trip and it was an extremely interesting experience. Many of the really wealthy people from the Gulf go to Cairo to gamble. I was playing blackjack next to Arabs in full dress betting thousands of dollars a hand while I sheepishly pushed my $5 bet forward. One thing, make sure you have UK pounds or other hard curriencies on you. The casinos won't take Egyptian pounds.

you may find the poker advertised there is a variation of carribean poker . a friend in england sold three casinos in egypt a variation of this game as is often found in these places they dont differenciate one from the other.more often than not the poker table will have the cold buffet sitting on it best of luck

Back from vacation and have checked my casino guide so I can be a little more specific.Unfortunatly its not that newer copy,however Casino Shehrazade at the Mena House Oberoi Hotel.Pyramid Road,Giza,Cairo Tel 2 383-3444 or 383-3222.It reads Cardroom 9 Poker tables tournaments only and the usual casino games.You should be able to take it from here.lol