Is there a poker room at the Venetian, if so what games do they play?
Answer 1:
There is a rather small room there (about 10 tables) with very little action, at least during the day–usually one or two 1-5 seven card stud games going when I have looked. Maybe more on weekend nights, but I don’t know.
Answer 2:
I’ve stayed at the Venetian many times and would not recommend the poker area–never saw many games there at any time. However, if you are staying there, you can walk across the street and play at the Mirage which is ok below 10/20 but iffy at 10/20 and above.
Answer 3:
Went to Venetian last night. It seems the casino executives have struck again. The poker room has been reduced by one third and still the room was not full. The way it’s laid out in the middle of the casino, you know its days are numbered. Same lay out as the MGM poker room which was taken out in December. Couldn’t happen to a nicer poker room, though. The rake is the highest in town and the personnel is rude.

Does anyone actually know if there is poker at Casino Rama in Ontairio yet? I know it was supposed to open a room in May but got postponed.

Answer 1:

I just phoned Casino Rama and was told that live poker may begin July 1st but that there is no firm date at this time.

Answer 2:

They won’t bring in poker till all the suckers go broke playing the other games first. This is the typical way they do things. Bust the suckers in the table games and slots. When things get tough bring in poker. Completion in the province would not hurt one bit rather then letting them sell out to foreign interests.

Answer 3:

They are SUPPOSE to bring Hold’em in on June 26 2900.

I’m headed to LA in a few weeks for some business and hope to get a chance to play a bit.
Question 1: Which card rooms (if any) spread pot-limit HE on a daily basis?
Question 2: What is the blind structure and rake?

Answer 1:

Right now, the only clubs that regularly spread PLHE are Hollywood Park and Commerce. The host from HP has apparently defected to the new Hustler, and they’re supposedly going to have PLHE there 3 days a week. HP spreads 5/10 blinds, $400 buyin 6 days a week, and 10/20, $1000 on Sundays. Time collection is $7 per down for the 5/10 and $9 for the 10/20. I only play regularly at HP. I think Commerce has a 10/20, but I’m not sure of the buying or rake.

Answer 2:

Yes, the 5/10 game usually runs every night, with a 10/20 game on Sunday which has been starting around 5. The Hustler opening is going to affect everyone’s games, so you might want to call before you come down.

Answer 3:

Commerce has had a 10/20 blind pot limit game going most of the times I’ve been there. 800 minimum buying. They also had a 100/200 blind no limit deuce to seven lowball game heads-up between Johnny Chan and O’Neal, but us mere mortals can’t play that.

Anyone who is concerned about collusion and online poker should consider playing games where the nuts usually win such as Omaha HiLo. People can talk and compare with others at the table all they desire and if they don’t have the nuts or a good draw to them then they should be getting out of the pot. If the flop doesn’t hit them, then they are out of your way. However, I suspect most of those in collusion are just like most Omaha HiLo players… they stay too long on hands and draw to 3rd and 4th nuts. So what if they may raise more because one of them may make the best hand? This kind of play is found in most low limit games anyway. My advice based on experience. Play Omaha HiLO on line. Collusion is reduced and there will always be a couple of people betting the river that have no business being there.

Answer 1:

I’m personally not worried about any online cheating, I think there is a better chance of catching people online than in a live game. At the same time, ANY hi-lo game offers more opportunities for collusion than a straight high “limit” game. If you were to play O8 with a partner, you could find numerous situations where you could put the squeeze on somebody, how’s this for a simple example: You are player A and your” partner” is player B. You hold Ah-2s-5s- 9s, and player B holds Kh-Qs-5c-3c. The board on the turn reads 3h-8h- 9h-7s. So the nuts here would be A-2 for low and an A high flush for high. Now player C holds 4h-5s-7c-8h for two pair, a straight draw, and a bad low which is the best hand for high at this point but has an extremely tough call to make, but still may.
What if this happens, player A bets and player B raises with his pair of three’s? Surely the two pair can no longer call, and the partners know that because player A has the key card-the A of hearts. Here’s a simpler one. Player A has nut low on the river, player B has nut flush for high, and player C is squeezed in the middle with second-second. Now on the river it goes bet-raise-call back to the guy with the nut low. If I had the nut low, I’d be worried about getting quarted here with another A-2. If your “partner” tells you he is going high you can re-raise with your A-2 and force the squeezed player C to put in a capped bet on the river!

Answer 2:

High-low split games provide much greater collusive opportunities than high-only games. There are several other specific examples that arise more commonly than the examples Daniel gave (but I don’t want to describe them because I don’t want to give anyone any ideas – I’m even a little uncomfortable that Daniel described the ones he did). While the ability to monitor play is important, I think that the low limits that currently reside online are possibly the greatest deterrent of all too collusive play. Those that feel these limits are worth their time to cheat probably don’t know how to do it very well and will either lose money trying, or will get caught in short order. If the limits keep climbing, however, it will be time to start worrying more.

Answer 3:

I think in the long run, the best way to eliminate cheating is to educate the public on the methods of the cheaters. The vast majority of players are honest, and the more eyes that are looking for cheating, the harder it will be for cheaters to get away with it. I also don’t think that there are any real secrets here. Cheaters in poker are often working in teams; the knowledge gets handed around within their circle, or they independently figure out a method that someone else has already invented.

Initially the shooter has to bet on the “Pass” line or the “Don’t Pass” line. They are sometimes called the “Win” and “Don’t Win” or “Right” and “Wrong” bets. The game is always played in rounds and these two bets are done at the outcome of one round. The shooter is sometimes replaced at the end of each round or when he loses a round getting a seven. The chance of dice is moved in a clockwise direction around the table as with every change of the shooter.

Each round has two stages specifically known as the “come-out” and “point”. To initially start the round, the shooter has to make one or more “come-out” rolls from the dice.

If the come-out roll is of 2, 3 or 12 he loses and is referred to as “craps”. Also the players who have betted on the Pass line lose. As is customary a come-out roll of 7 or 11 often called as the “natural” wins and the outcome is the payout for players betting on the “pass line” bets. The other outcome can be numbers such as point numbers: 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, and 10. If the shooter gets any one of these as outcome then this is called the “point” which means the number which must be rolled till getting a seven. The dealer then activates a button towards the “On” side and then moves it to a number which signifies the second stage of the round. If the shooter gets a seven before getting that number i.e. a “seven-out” then the Pass line loses and also the round ends.

If any player wants to join the game in between a game then he or she has to wait till the dealer sets the “ON” button. If the button is in “OFF” state then he has to wait as the table is in come out round. As a player joins it is regarded a new game and finally a new shooter is recognized and the same rules follow. Then the next thing to understand is the rolling of dice. The better combination one gets the better are the chances of winning. Although, they have to be understood thoroughly.

Since two dice are thrown the collective number of it is considered. The minimum can be 2 and maximum can be 12. Every roll has specific meaning. There are betting variants also. They depend upon the casino and the table.

• 11 is a point number: Rolling 11 as outcome makes the point 3:1 i.e. on Pass/Come odds bets (1:3 on Don’t Pass/Come odds) also all line bets are still even money. The house edge in this jumps dramatically to 9.75%
• 12 pays 3:1 on the field.
•  11 pays 2:1 on the field.
• Big 6/8 are unavailable: Big 6 or 8 are unavailable in small casinos as the payout for them is better and casino simply omit them so as to increase their edge in  casinos.