Anyone ever play poker at a casino and win? (1 Viewer)

[Julian Reville]

I've never been to Vegas or any other town that has casinos and I was wondering if they have poker games, or just blackjack, slots, roulette. I'm assuming any poker players there would probably be pretty good.

 

[Christopher P]

They do have poker tables at most if not all casinos. I've been to Vegas a few times, and many of the small tribal casinos around here. Often they are in separate rooms, marked "High Stakes" above the door, with a badass dude and a velvet rope guarding the door (OK I might be exaggerating a bit) I always assume that the guys that play poker are serious gamers, and not tourists or people just out for the evening for a little fun.

A few years back my grandma won $20,000 playing slots (She won it on one play too) at a casino...so despite common belief, big payoffs do happen.

Chris

 

[Brad Porter]

Actually, playing poker at the casinos can be quite lucrative if you play tight (only bet when you've got a quality hand). There's no shortage of people who'll sit down at the table with no idea of when to fold. When I last visited Vegas there was a group of auto salesmen who were on a trip to the race driving school and they practically gave me $300 in one hour with their sloppy play. They'd call every single bet I would throw. I just had to wait until I had good cards. Fortunately I had a good streak of cards and they never wised up.

The key question for you to answer is are you the kind of person who would be taking money or giving money under these circumstances. The other thing to remember is that there are plenty more tables to play at in Vegas if you feel that the competition is too good where you are.

Brad

 

[Julian Reville]

Thanks guys,
"High Stakes" is something I only play on the computer.
So far I'm up 2 million, starting with 5 thousand, over a 1 week period.
Yes, I play tight, with very specific criteria for each deal, in order to minimize losses. But it's hard to resist betting out on a full house, only to be beat out by another full house. :frowning:
If I ever get a vacation, I'd like to try my hand at some low stakes poker, but I live a LONG way from Vegas.
Julian

 

[Jim_F]

I mostly play poker when I'm in Vegas. I'm not very good, but I usually end up close to even. I don't think the really good players bother with the $1 min/$5 max tables which I frequent. Sometimes I'll have somebody sit down and act like a hotshot, raising on nothing, thinking they can bluff 10 times in a row. That's when I make some money...

Poker's not a big money maker for the casino, so many don't have a regular poker room. Flamingo has an OK room, Mirage has a very good room. I understand Bellagio is excellent, with a chance to see celebrities at the high stakes tables while us regular folks do our nickle and dime thing.

Poker can also be found in Atlantic City. I've played at Taj Mahal, but I liked Bally better.

 

[Julian Reville]

How DO the casinos make money off of poker? Is there a "ante" that goes just to the casino? And does the casino provide the dealer? I can't imagine they would take the chance of letting the players deal.

 

[Danny R]

I found most of this info off a Poker FAQ:
Yes, the dealer is provided. Often a tip is given as well to these folks, which the house might take a cut.
Casino's have set charges. The money taken by the house is called the "drop", since it is dropped down a slot in the table at the end of each hand. The house will choose one of three ways to charge you to play.
A simple "time charge" is common in higher limit games and at some small games: seats are rented by the half hour, at rates ranging from $4 to $10 or so, depending on the stakes. This method charges all players equally.
Other cardrooms will "rake" a percentage of the final pot, up to some maximum, before awarding it to the winning player. The usual rake is either 5% or 10%, capped at $3 or $4. If the pot is raked, the dealer will remove chips from the pot as it grows, setting them aside until the hand is over and they are dropped into a slot in the table. This method favors the tight player who enters few pots but wins a large fraction of them.
A simpler method is to collect a fixed amount at the start of each hand; one player, usually the one with the dealer button, pays the entire amount of the drop. Depending on house rules, this "button charge" of $2-$4 may or may not play as a bet. If the chips do play as a bet, this method also favors the tighter players, but not nearly as much as the rake does.
Regardless of the mechanism, a cardroom will try to drop about $80-$120 per hour at a $3-$6 table. The exact amount is most dependent on the local cost of doing business: Nevada is low, California and Atlantic City are high. Since there are 7-10 players at the table, expect to pay somewhere from $7 to $14 per hour just to sit down. Add $2-$4 per hour for dealer tips and you see why most low-limit players are long-run losers.
But it depends on the poker game. Some private games you might actually have the dealer as a player, who is a professional who matches the amount of money you put in and attempts to win it from you. (you have to buy into a game with a fixed amount of money... you can't just keep pulling money from your wallet during betting)

 

[Julian Reville]

Wow, that's a lot of info and the FAQ is awesome. Thanks, time for some reading.