Bay Area Card Rooms

[DaNoob]

I'm in San Jose on business for the next couple of weeks and am thinking about getting into a low limit ring game or $20-$50 tourney or two. Any rec's on good card rooms in the area?

[sierra 1]

Go no farther then Bay 101 In SJ and has everything. Good luck.

[DaNoob]

I heard that from a friend, but wanted to confirm. Are the games there usually pretty soft or should I expect to find pretty tough competition (at lower limits)?

[DanS]

The competition is some of the crappiest you'll ever come across. However, you're going to pay $10-15/hr to play ($3 on the button), so the drop is kinda steep. $3-6 is beatable, I'd suggest 6-12 if you can afford it. The player base is a bit more aware, but stills sucks badly.

Dan

P.S. Garden City is an older place about 5 miles from Bay 101, but the games are a bit wilder and better. Can't go wrong either way.

[bad beetz]

IMHO (I'm not actually sure what that means, but it seems to preface opinions, which I'm about to give) Garden city games are way better than Bay 101. I'm basing this off the assumption that I'd played 60 hours at GC and 6 hours at Bay 101, the 60 hours at GC were ludicrously loose/stupid (passive's just not good enough a word) and the Bay 101 session was the most difficult $6/$12 I've ever played in (it was harder than mirage $10/$20 I played in a month ago).

forshizzle dizzle.

[DaNoob]

maneezy,

Do you oft confront the same problems at loose/wild $6/$12 games as you do with the online micro limit games, like losing to the 53o with AKs because every jackass and his mother pay to see the river. And, what kind of bankroll do you need to sit down at a $6/$12 table and thrive?

[Jeffage]

Don't you want people chasing your better hands down with 53o? If they hit, it's just a loan. Basically you need to adapt to wild games and you will get the money. For a session of 6-12, I'd buy in 300 and have another 300 in reserve. For a few-day a week playing roll, I'd rec. 4k to be safe, maybe more if the games are REAL wild.

Jeff

[DanS]

Hey Jeffage,
Agreed. The best part about these games is that since you will have position more often than they will and they're so passive postflop, they'll extract the minimum from you even when you hit. Part of adapting to the games here is learning when to put on the brakes against these sorts of passive opponents.

I generally buy-in $400 for these games, but your suggestion of 300 x 2 is a pretty reasonable standard too. I'll force bad beetz and haakee to chime in on this thread if they don't see it themselves tomorrow.

Dan

[J.A.Sucker]

Either San Jo card room is great for 6/12 (which I would also recommend over 3/6, whose steep drop may make the game unbeatable). Bay 101 is a big, bright room, whereas GC is a scuzzy, dark place, where I swear you can still see smoke swirling above the tables, though smoking has been banned for several years. It's kind of like going into a side-alley poker game, and is pretty cool. That said, I haven't been over there for awhile, and I imagine that Bay's taking a bit of their business. If you like small buy-in tournies, GC may be a better bet, as I recall them having several tournies, though I'd call them for details, and Bay 101 has recently hired Matt Savage as their tourney director, so maybe the tourney scene will improve now that he's there.

As for playing the 6/12, I can assure you that those games are VERY beatable, and good (at either casino) 24/7. You really don't need much of a bankroll at all to play those games, IMO. I started playing those games when I was broke and first came to the Bay Area for grad school with a 3K bankroll (overall). If I lost it, it was gone... and I only had one bad run that jeopardized it (though I stayed in action). I would always just buy a rack (200) and if I lost a hundred, I'd buy another. If you want to just buy 2 racks to begin with, that's a fine plan, too. I like having chips in front of me.

As for playing the game, the strategy is a basically "loose games" strategy taken to the max. This is as much because of the structure as for the players. You need to be extremely TIGHT in EP (especially the SB) and extremely LOOSE in LP (especially the button). The blinds are 1 chip/ 3 chip, and thus it bascially plays like there is no SB. If you're in the SB, I'd almost never complete the 2 chips, unless I had a pocket pair or hand like AQo/AJs. If I had big, suited cards or a big pair (AQs or > JJ), then raise. I'd call every pocket pair, and check-fold if I missed my set (or overpair). Fold everything else. If it's raised, then play normal, which is to say similarly tight.

On the button, the $3 drop is LIVE, so loosen up a lot. If it's a single bet with a couple of limpers, any 2 suited cards are playable to see if you hit a flush draw. Further, hands like 7-8o can also become playable if you're willing to dump if the flop comes something like K-7-2 and somebody bets. Further, people play A-any so you should be willing to pound them for doing so when you have a hand like A9s and you flop an A. If they 3 bet you on an A hi flop, then you can slow down. The structure also makes it easier to steal the blinds, since it's so damned cheap to do so. I realize that people won't really ever fold, but if it's folded to you and you have any sort of hand, I'd pop it, and bet the flop when the inevitably check to you. The SB will often call that 2 chips and that is equity for your steal, which usually occurs on the flop, in my experience. Position is the sh!t in this game, just remember that and you'll be fine. For playing for a week, 1500 is more than ample, IMO. Good luck!

Remember, these are just my opinions, and I'm Just Another Sucker. [img]/forums/images/icons/grin.gif[/img]

[bad beetz]

1. yes.

2. I have lost $800 in a crazy $6/$12 game just peddling nuts.

3. I always buy in for two racks, hakee and I believe it gives you special powers.