10 December 2010

First Day Live

Decided to go play at the new California Grand Casino. They used to be located in a real small casino across the street. It was always crowded. Chairs and people bumping into one another. Waitresses maneuvering around tables with inadequate space. I never gave it much thought.

They started construction on a new room back in 2008 and it was completed very early this year. I checked the new place out about a year ago while my wife and I were going to dinner. I liked it. Roomy, flatscreen TVs on every wall, good food, good dealers, chip runners and very well-upkept chips and cards. I also liked that all teh tables had automatic shufflers. Given the pace, I estimate about 40 hands per hour as a good estimate.

They offer $3/6, $6/$12 and $15/$30 LHE. I didn't check out the NLHE, but it seemed to be standard fare: NL200 and NL400. They also run Limit O/8 and occasionally 7-Stud. As added bonuses there are two Badbeat Jackpots: The Super which requires Quad 8s to get beat and the $5K which pays out to losers who only manage getting their AAAJJ beaten by a clown on 22 hitting runners. In addition to this, there is a $100 High Hand Jackpot which pays off every 4 hours for Holdem and Royal Flush Jackpots for both HE and Omaha with each royal suit jackpot at whatever it is. As little as $50 and I saw two suits up to $300 each.

So, being a first-timer I got in on their new player bonus. Buy-in for $20 and get $50 in chips. I decided I wanted to play the $3/$6 LHE, because Bay Area poker is rife with more donkeys than the Quarter Mill on PokerStars on Sundays. It has always been this way. Retirees, unemployed ballcap kids, business owners ducking out for the day and the occasional decent player looking to capitalize. I bought in for $100 and sat down at my table with $130 with a few more Benjamins as close-in support. It didn't take long to start sorting the good players from the bad. There was one kid who rolled up a huge stack based on playing any two and having the dealer reward him. I managed to roll my $130 up to $330 in about an hour and a half, but lost most of it back. I was contemplating forfeiting the $30 [you have to agree to play for 2 hours to keep the degens from buyng in and cashing out....] I dunno. For some reason, I expect to hit the occasional 12 or 15 outer at least as often as the droolers hit their gutshots and runner runner flushes. But that's just me. I had a real problem-child in seat 2 [I was in seat 10 the whole session]. He liked bluffing habitually. I liked letting him bluff. On numerous occasions he'd have A high and I'd have some crap like two pair. But if I bet out or raised him, he was folding faster than the French Army listening to German Marching Songs.

Long story short. My fullhouses, straights, flushes and sets [and quite a few two pairs] let me finish up $70 plus the free $30, for a nice tidy profit. All figured I ran at 4.49 BB/100. Profit [incl Bonus]: $100.00

I'm planning on playing 3 times per week. I'll be short-rolled until I can build it up, but this was a nice start.

No comments: