hdjones
2005-08-04 18:30:36 UTC
Winstar casino has been open now for about 13 weeks, one quarter of a year, so
it seemed an appropriate time for a review.
First, this room is changing daily, it has drastically improved since opening,
and more is, evidently, to come--60 tables are promised sometime in the fall.
Right now, the poker room is open daily from 10AM-4AM. There are up to 20 or so
tables spreading
No Limit:
1/2 ($100 minimum buy in/$200 max bi)
2/5 ($200/$500)
5/10 ($500/$1000)
Limit:
4/8 ($40 min bi)
5/10 ($50 min bi)
6/12 (?)
10/20 ($300 min bi)
20/40 (?)
All Texas Holdem. More games are promised when the new room with the 60 tables
opens.
There is a bad beat jackpot (recently changed to Aces over Kings FH for minimum
hand), you must play both cards in your hand, and follow the house rules.
Each Tuesday $100 is paid whenever Aces are cracked.
On Monday and Wednesday (I believe) the house splashes the pot with $50 on
tables randomly selected by a player drawing a ping pong ball.
These little benefits make Winstar seem more generous than it is. The rake
remains $6, though the casino asserts that the rake is $5 and an extra dollar is
taken for the state and player benefits. Sure. This, of course, is absolutely
draconian for the lower limit games.
I was critical of the dealing when this room opened, and expected, with time, a
better performance. The room has drastically improved, and, right now, the
quality of dealing is equal to most professionally run poker rooms.
Overall, the room is well run. Without liquor there are few disputes, few
shouting matches, and few thrown out.
The availability of a particular game at a particular time depends on how many
people want it.
They are presently preparing for an August tournament (the $50,000 Red River
Shootout) with statellite one-table tournaments ($150 bi, winner gets a $1000
seat in the main tournament, and the $150 bi back, everyone gets a drawing for a
truck). The main tournament is limited to 135 places, so, despite the fact the
house is taking $200 (they swear $100 is going to the dealers) people are
playing. Last I looked more than half the spots were already taken, and I
expect all the spots to be taken from satellite play, despite the huge house
rake (they'll rake the main tournament again, of course). Unfortunately, the
satellite winner does not own the seat, that person is the only person who can
use it, which leaves a bad taste in my mouth, but they're making the rules.
If you play higher limit poker, or only want to play a few hours a day, this is
not a bad experience.
I like the no drinking, surprisingly. I very rarely drink at the table myself
(except for medicinal purposes), and thought I might not like this rule (call me
a mercenary), but I don't think lack of booze has affected the level of play, at
all.
Since I drive home to Dallas, and only spend 8-12 hours at most playing each
day, I ldon't mind the room closing down for 6 hours, getting a game at 10AM can
be a pain, and might involve a wait, but I play mostly 2/5 no limit, so like
everyone starting off with the same number of chips every day.
When the Choctaw Casino opens up poker Real Soon Now in Durant, OK, this room
will get some competition for the best poker market in the country, the
Dallas-Fort Worth area, and I suspect things will get even better.
jonesagain on pokerstars
Fortiter ille facit, qui miser esse potest
_______________________________________________________________
Watch Lists, Block Lists, Favorites - http://www.recpoker.com
it seemed an appropriate time for a review.
First, this room is changing daily, it has drastically improved since opening,
and more is, evidently, to come--60 tables are promised sometime in the fall.
Right now, the poker room is open daily from 10AM-4AM. There are up to 20 or so
tables spreading
No Limit:
1/2 ($100 minimum buy in/$200 max bi)
2/5 ($200/$500)
5/10 ($500/$1000)
Limit:
4/8 ($40 min bi)
5/10 ($50 min bi)
6/12 (?)
10/20 ($300 min bi)
20/40 (?)
All Texas Holdem. More games are promised when the new room with the 60 tables
opens.
There is a bad beat jackpot (recently changed to Aces over Kings FH for minimum
hand), you must play both cards in your hand, and follow the house rules.
Each Tuesday $100 is paid whenever Aces are cracked.
On Monday and Wednesday (I believe) the house splashes the pot with $50 on
tables randomly selected by a player drawing a ping pong ball.
These little benefits make Winstar seem more generous than it is. The rake
remains $6, though the casino asserts that the rake is $5 and an extra dollar is
taken for the state and player benefits. Sure. This, of course, is absolutely
draconian for the lower limit games.
I was critical of the dealing when this room opened, and expected, with time, a
better performance. The room has drastically improved, and, right now, the
quality of dealing is equal to most professionally run poker rooms.
Overall, the room is well run. Without liquor there are few disputes, few
shouting matches, and few thrown out.
The availability of a particular game at a particular time depends on how many
people want it.
They are presently preparing for an August tournament (the $50,000 Red River
Shootout) with statellite one-table tournaments ($150 bi, winner gets a $1000
seat in the main tournament, and the $150 bi back, everyone gets a drawing for a
truck). The main tournament is limited to 135 places, so, despite the fact the
house is taking $200 (they swear $100 is going to the dealers) people are
playing. Last I looked more than half the spots were already taken, and I
expect all the spots to be taken from satellite play, despite the huge house
rake (they'll rake the main tournament again, of course). Unfortunately, the
satellite winner does not own the seat, that person is the only person who can
use it, which leaves a bad taste in my mouth, but they're making the rules.
If you play higher limit poker, or only want to play a few hours a day, this is
not a bad experience.
I like the no drinking, surprisingly. I very rarely drink at the table myself
(except for medicinal purposes), and thought I might not like this rule (call me
a mercenary), but I don't think lack of booze has affected the level of play, at
all.
Since I drive home to Dallas, and only spend 8-12 hours at most playing each
day, I ldon't mind the room closing down for 6 hours, getting a game at 10AM can
be a pain, and might involve a wait, but I play mostly 2/5 no limit, so like
everyone starting off with the same number of chips every day.
When the Choctaw Casino opens up poker Real Soon Now in Durant, OK, this room
will get some competition for the best poker market in the country, the
Dallas-Fort Worth area, and I suspect things will get even better.
jonesagain on pokerstars
Fortiter ille facit, qui miser esse potest
_______________________________________________________________
Watch Lists, Block Lists, Favorites - http://www.recpoker.com