Is this game beatable?

[LomU]

OK, so my local, and only casino has just opened up a poker room. Having never played live I head to the game as soon as I can find the time. They spread 2/4, 5/10, and 10/25 LHE. Games are very soft[6-8 to a flop,3-5 to a showdown], but the rake makes me think it's unbeatable, even with the awful players. Casino is in Auckland, New Zealand.

2/4 rake is every player dealt a hand has to pay $1 before a hand is dealt.

5/10 game rake is 10% up to a max. of $10.

I didn't ask about the 10/25 game as I don't have the roll for it.

Now being an online player, when the attendent told me this I said 'THAT'S ******* OUTRAGEOUS!!' and promptly left[asked me to leave]. However, upon further reflection, perhaps the 5/10 game is beatable? The 2/4 game seems unbeatable, perhaps I'm missing something? I have no idea how to calculate if the game is beatable or not.

PS. no tipping required, it's illegal.

first off - 10/25? never heard of it
other than that the whole thing is ludicrous. where is this casino as i don't even see how that is legal

[JJNJustin]

No way would either that 2/4 or 5/10 be beatable. You would be wasting your time and energy just to hope to break even or lose the minimum. Dont mess up your mind with that game.

-J

[NLSoldier]

wow that is brutal.

[steamboatin]

$10 per hand assuming it is a ten player table and maybe 30 hands per hour. So, $300 per hour is being raked and few 2-4 players sit with more than $100, so if my math is right, the rake breaks every player at the table in 3.5 hours.

There will be new money coming in so it isn't always obvious but I am certain the $2-4 is a terrible deal.

[LomU]

I'm in the process of emailing the local gaming inspector about this 2/4 game. The more I think about it, this rake structure has to be illegal.

www.partypoker.com

[CORed]

Regarding the 2/4 game: I think you could find a more entertaining ways to waste your money, such as slots, craps, roulette, setting fire to it, or acquiring a cocaine habit.

The 5/10 game sucks, but you might be able to make a small profit from it if you play well and the game is as soft as you describe. this game is equivalent to a 2/4 game with a $4 max rake. The variance will be pretty big. It's not worth playing in tems of $/hr, but it should be cheap to slightly profitable entertainment. The no tipping rule helps a little, and may be part of the reason the rakes are so high (though greed and lack of competition are most of it), as if there is no tipping, they must have to pay the dealers a decent wage.

[Black Aces 518]

That is just stunningly bad. I agree that the 2/4 is completely and totally -EV no matter what. We're talking Keno level. The 5/10 is possibly beatable barely, but god damn.

I love playing live over online, but there's no way I would agree to this.

I was thinking maybe this is an issue of currency value, or perhaps some strange Kiwi custom... At US$.70 per NZ$1, however, I am just left scratching my head.

In any event, the 2/4 is definitely unbeatable, and the 5/10 is brutal.

My guess is they will either change it or close their card room before too much time goes by.