[DarrenB]

Hi,

I'll be visiting Las Vegas next week and I will be staying for 1 week and I need some advice on nice Casinos/Card rooms that offer a nice poker experience and that will fit my needs and give me some stories to talk about during my next home game... and hopefully also win a large amount of money!

My background is:
Play mostly online at NL Holdem $1/$2 cash games and some sit'n'gos.
Play home games several times per year.
Have played a couple of times at my local casino (Europe).
My playing style online is pretty LAG but live I'm TAG to TP.

I'm looking for games that:
Don't have alot of maniacs and beginners. I like to know that raising with AA means something (I know its the wrong way of thinking but that just fits my style).
Friendly and polite people that doesn't take poker too seriously and also dealers that are friendly and that has patiance with the fact that I'm a beginner in Casino perspective.
I'd like to play NL Holdem cash games of $2/$4, $3/$6 and $5/$10.
...and also if there are any good tournaments with buy-ins around $100-$300.

I will stay at the Hilton but they don't seem to have any poker games.

Any advices are apreceated and any additional tips on how to behave when in Vegas, will also be very helpful... like what's the best day for playing, what should I look out for, what shouldn't I do and what's the best tactic for typical Vegas based poker?!

Thank you!
//D

[Mason]

These are the top 6 poker rooms IMHO - great atmosphere. There are many others but for me these are the best places to play. :p:p
:p:p
Bellagio - 2/5 NL :p:p
Wynne - 1/3 NL:p:p
:pMandalay Bay:p- 2/4 NL & 1/2 NL:p:p
MGM - 2/5 NL & 1/2 NL:p:p
Venitian - 2/5NL & 1/2:p:p
Mirage - 1/2 NL & 2/5 NL:p:p
:p:p

Weekends are best because there are more tourists in town. On Monday and Tuesday the games are a bit tougher. The 1/2 NL games are always good. If you like tournaments you should try the Caesars Mega Stacks.:p:p
:p:p

Good Luck!:p:p
:p:p
M:p:p

[jamby]

All the card rooms have decent $1/2 or $1/3 no limit games, but you're not always going to find that your pre flop raise with AA means something even at the nicer card rooms playing at those limits.

Mason's list is a good one, although I thought the Venetian spread $1/3 and not $1/2 the last time I was there. Also add Golden Nugget for a very nice card room wtih good action and Caesar's for both the experience of their gorgeous card room, decent low limit play and nice tourneys. I like the small card rooms at Treasure Island and Stratosphere for especially 'touristy' play too.

Darren - I'm there next week and staying at the Hilton as well. Are you by chance an Informatica convention attendee?

[mike33]

Originally Posted by DarrenB

I like to know that raising with AA means something

Friendly and polite people that doesn't take poker too seriously

These two things hardly ever go together IMO. The problem is that at 1/2 & 1/3 PF raises to 6x-10x times the BB are common and not really given the respect they may deserve. Most players at this level will call a raise no matter how high if they decide they like their hole cards.

In the long run, this is good for you because you'll get called by K7, QJ, A8, etc. when your holding AA or by K9, A4, J2, etc when you've got KQ. It can suck in the short run, though, and that may ruin your trip bankroll.

You also can't usually push players around at this level when you miss the flop. If they've got a pair, they just might call you down no matter how small. I had a guy last night that was so close to calling my half-pot ($55) river bet with his pocket deuces because he didn't want to give them up after chasing trips and missing, but he really believed I was bluffing (I wasn't). It's funny, but it's also not...

Anyway, I'm rambling and not really helping your thread and you can learn all this better in the HoCG books if you don't know already, especially the part on playing weak games.

Good luck in Vegas! ...you too, Jamby

[DarrenB]

Originally Posted by jamby

All the card rooms have decent $1/2 or $1/3 no limit games, but you're not always going to find that your pre flop raise with AA means something even at the nicer card rooms playing at those limits.

Mason's list is a good one, although I thought the Venetian spread $1/3 and not $1/2 the last time I was there. Also add Golden Nugget for a very nice card room wtih good action and Caesar's for both the experience of their gorgeous card room, decent low limit play and nice tourneys. I like the small card rooms at Treasure Island and Stratosphere for especially 'touristy' play too.

Darren - I'm there next week and staying at the Hilton as well. Are you by chance an Informatica convention attendee?

YES I AM! What are the odds?! ...oh maybe not that high since many conventions always end up in Vegas!

I'll PM you with my contact details and maybe we can get in touch...

//D

[DarrenB]

Originally Posted by mike33

These two things hardly ever go together IMO. The problem is that at 1/2 & 1/3 PF raises to 6x-10x times the BB are common and not really given the respect they may deserve. Most players at this level will call a raise no matter how high if they decide they like their hole cards.

In the long run, this is good for you because you'll get called by K7, QJ, A8, etc. when your holding AA or by K9, A4, J2, etc when you've got KQ. It can suck in the short run, though, and that may ruin your trip bankroll.

You also can't usually push players around at this level when you miss the flop. If they've got a pair, they just might call you down no matter how small. I had a guy last night that was so close to calling my half-pot ($55) river bet with his pocket deuces because he didn't want to give them up after chasing trips and missing, but he really believed I was bluffing (I wasn't). It's funny, but it's also not...

Anyway, I'm rambling and not really helping your thread and you can learn all this better in the HoCG books if you don't know already, especially the part on playing weak games.

Good luck in Vegas! ...you too, Jamby

Actually your advice was great! This is just what I need to get a feeling for the game. Here in Sweden our casinos are not that full of tourists so the games are a little tougher so this means I'll be in Shark mode, waiting for the fish.

[ontheuptick]

go to Las Vegas Poker Rooms Reviews, Tournaments, No-Limit Holdem

It's far and away the best site for reading reviews on cardrooms. Here's what I've gathered from my time over there:

For the best tournaments: Venetian, hands down. Especially if you're looking for the above $150 tourneys, Venetian is easily the best.

Cash games: Venetian is great there as well. It's a lot of people's favorite room. TI has a great atmosphere and spreads a $500 max buy 1-3 that is sometimes pretty lose.

On the Bellagio, some like it, some hate it. It's to stuffy and the attitude that permeates that room is "I'm better than all of you, and I know it", from the players, dealers, staff, etc. That turns a lot of people off. But, if you're planning on playing 3/6 or 5/10, you probably better check it out.

Based on your location and what you're looking for, you should probably check out the Venetian first. Great cardroom and close to the Hilton (relative to some other rooms).

[BlondWidow]

Personally, Venetian is my favorite room. We generally play cash (the $1/2 game there) and it's always good. Plenty of donks, plenty of good players too. The dealers are friendly and helpful as well as the floor staff, and drink service is good.

If you want to try something a little on the donktastic side, swing by O'Shea's for their "Strip Poker". They have 2 or 3 tables right inside the place, and it's open air, so there is a lot of people watching to do of passers-by on the strip. Harlequin convinced me that it would be fun to play there as he diverted me from Caesars. (O'Shea's might just be the complete opposite of Caesars, now that I think about it. lol.) Anyway, the place if full of people who are drinking and having a good time. They are more than willing to give you action, so just play your best game and bet when you have it! The only thing to look out for may be a local or two or other people (like HQ and me, for instance) who were there to go fishing. It's fairly easy to pick them out and play them a bit differently. Anyway, it was a fun night when we played there. And the players are definitely of the not-too-serious variety.

Other rooms I like are MGM Grand - lots of money to be won there, Caesars, Flamingo (not for the room, but for the players) and MIrage. We played Bellagio and everyone was friendly and we had a good time, but Venetian has a much nicer set-up as far as I'm concerned. Sahara has a fun tournament a couple times a day. It's around $40 if I'm not mistaken.

Have a great time!

[bmwguy525]

Caesar's has a great great $1/2NL game if you want to play NL. Unfortunately even though this is one of my favorite rooms in Vegas there's not a lot of limit action. If you're looking for a $5/10 game it'll be hard to find, but check out the Mirage. I know they'll have a steady $10/20 game, but $5/10 is a tough game to find at most places. For $6/12 check the Venetian, for $8/16 play at the Wynn, or if you have to, the Bellagio. All of these are top notch rooms that you won't be disappointed in.

[shadow520]

Agreed that limit games higher than 4/8 are getting hard to find. Bellagio spreads a couple tables of 8/16 I know. Ceasars has 6/12 sometimes. I prefer limit for cash games, but stick to 6/12 and up to keep the suckouts to a minimum.

I'll be in Vegas in a couple weeks and I plan on trying MGM for some fishy NL action. I enjoyed the 1/2 NL at Venitian when I was there in Jan, had 3 tourists (from my home area, actually) that gave plenty of action. I managed to find the rock at the table fairly early and only lost a little to him when my AK ran into his AA with an A on the flop (I folded on the turn and he showed!).