Ok ... so I'm driving across the US, slowly making my way to Vegas to play in a couple of the WSOP tournaments. You can read about my journeys on my other blogs (insert shameless promotion here) ... as soon as I start them. Anyway, I'm making good use of various poker room finder apps on my phone, and stopping at various rooms along the way. One of those stops was in Minneapolis, MN - Canterbury Park. Like many poker rooms, this one is in a race track; the casino part being added on later after various legislation was lobbied and passed.
The poker room is mixed in with the other table games, and it's weird. Not mixed together, but the blackjack and 4-card games blend at the edges with the poker tables. It's a very casual, loosely managed room. I observed the dealers at the blackjack tables - they were very loose with how they handled chips, and the floor bosses were very ... umm ... trusting of it all. The floor bosses did start to observe at higher money amounts - which, for the room, was around $100 - so I suppose the risk was relatively small.
Side note about Minneapolis gambling - there's a cap at $300 per bet. None of the table games have a higher maximum bet allowed, and no tournaments have a larger buy-in (aside from the rake add-on).
Oh ... and NL poker isn't allowed, either. So the room is stocked full of limit games and tournaments (some big, some small). But, they have one good tournament - one they start whenever they get enough players - so I signed up, bought into a 3-6 limit game, and waited for my name to be called.
The limit game ... boy was that weird. I haven't played limit in a LONG time, and it was like walking into the past. I waited for strong cards, all but ignoring my position. If I had position and connected with a dry board, I'd check behind the flop and check-raise the turn (everyone in early position bet the turn if the flop had been checked). That usually got me one more bet; check-fold was the typical river play I saw, unless s/he connected on the river.
Any connection on the river.
I saw people calling the river AFTER being check-raised on the turn when all they had was a river middle pair. Shocked me the first time, when I turned over a set of 7's ... but then when I saw that play WIN some pots (people check-raising draws, etc.), I understood why people were calling. I made some money on that table, being called to my tournament just as people started to take note of my play and stopped giving me action.
I saw people calling the river AFTER being check-raised on the turn when all they had was a river middle pair. Shocked me the first time, when I turned over a set of 7's ... but then when I saw that play WIN some pots (people check-raising draws, etc.), I understood why people were calling. I made some money on that table, being called to my tournament just as people started to take note of my play and stopped giving me action.
One side note - remember how I said loosely run? Floor people asked to get chips for players or the table: they just take the cash and go get chips. No makers, nothing. All trust, all very loose. Dangerous, in my view ... but I suppose not, given the amounts were relatively small ($20-$100). But it was surprising to see in a casino venue.
Ok ... here's the tournament, and it's the only reason to ever play at this casino (imho):
$300 + 30 buy-in. Single table, starts when 7 people sign-up. Maximum 9 people (they can buy-in after the start). It's a rebuy; you can add on another $150 +15 whenever your stack drops below $150, and you can rebuy if felted for $300 + 30 (you must rebuy from the felt BEFORE the next hand is dealt).
Now, the twist. The blind are 1-3, and the tournament lasts just two hours. After hour 1, it turns into a 2-3 game (why? I dunno). At the end of two hours, you cash out whatever you have in your stack. I asked the floorman about all this, and he bluntly said it was the only way they could get around MN law and have a pseudo-NL game. Fair enough ... if a casino wants to nakedly try and circumvent the law just to give me the game I want, then more power to them! In fact, it makes a hit-and-run that much easier, too! The game can go beyond two hours - if agreed to by all players in advance - with the rake add-on being adjusted accordingly (yes, that's basically a $15/hour time rake ... disgusting). Dealer tipping is after the "tournament."
I played my first hand, calling from the small blind with a weak Ace. No one else had called, and there was no chop allowed. I paired my Ace on the flop, bet out, and got a call. My flop bet was an overbet (accidental), so I slowed down on the turn. The BB bet behind me - small for the pot - and I called. The river brought a blank, but I was unsure, so I decided to check-call (up to a point). The BB bet, and I called. He had second pair on the flop; I took down the pot. He was not happy at all, and he didn't understand my hesitation on the last two turns given I had top pair. I think he thought I was bluffing the flop at the Ace - makes sense, given my accidental overbet there. Me, I was just worried about my kicker. Anyway, he had lost well over a third of his stack during this exchange, his river bet being $55.
So the game continued. I floated on a $400+ stack for a while, not seeing any playable hands for quite some time. I took down a couple small pots in position, but nothing more. Then I got into it again w/ Mr. Middle Pair. I flopped a set, and he called me down with a gutshot. He got there on the river (money went in on the turn), and I was disgusted. There was only about 30 minutes left in the "tournament" so I decided not to rebuy. Meh ... I made a hundred on the limit tables earlier, so it was a very minor loss.
Just thought I'd share this room and my experiences ... it's a strange room indeed, but it's the closest you'll come to NL poker in MN.
Enjoy!!
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