I am optimistic that Encore's Poker Room has vastly improved, by leaps & bounds, from where it first was upon reopening post-COVID. And it-seems to still be heading in the right direction. But we are all still recovering & somewhat distrustful, after having the rug yanked from under our feet!! When Encore first opened, with 70+ tables distributed throughout the entire loft area, all around the perimeter & within the separate, private high limit room, we felt we had been blessed with the most beautiful, accommodating, "done right" card room in the country...maybe in the whole world. Licensed masseuses contracted for the high limit area (not just during tournaments as was standard in CT poker rooms)...a grill/kitchen & bar/drink station exclusively serving poker players from our custom menu & adequately staffed with poker room designated wait staff...a fully operational cage open 24/7 with chip runners...well run tournaments. Other than an ever increasing rake amount, no poker rates on hotel rooms & a few dealers who needed retraining before allowing them to deal the higher limit time games, that room was definitely miles ahead of what most New England players were used to, coming up through CT poker!! And the shocking disappointment of the post pandemic shell of a card room, after waiting years for live casino poker to open again, was utterly offensive & pitiful...as if we wouldn't notice a difference??? I literally refused to come back when they were open only bankers hours & closed on weekends! So the extended hours...and additional tables are a welcome improvement!! They are managing the waitlists, even on holiday weekends, fairly well now. They are spreading more and more different games and pushing classes of dealers through school to be ready to add even more hours and more tables eventually...maybe a little too fast in some instances. And yes, the half @#$% cage still sucks because if your get coolered & lose your stack, and didn't realize you should keep extra black chips in your pockets in case the cage upstairs is on break/closed & there is a 45 min line at the cage next to the craps tables, there is nothing more tilting than getting picked up before you can get back to your seat after buying more chips!! Perhaps they need to give players more than TEN mins to return to their seat after going all in until they give us a fully staffed cage in the poker room. My only other specific complaint...I realize that there are considerations being made with regards to dealer rotations, EO requests and overtime needs, so sometimes a table will need to be closed & players moved. But I would just like to request that management try to recognize that the players who got to the room the earliest & started games for you should be given consideration & seniority to be allowed to remain at their table & force the newer players to break their game and fill in seats at the longer running game, if the older game prefers not to break. I get it if it's the end of the night and tables are breaking & moving from the 1/3 room into the PLO room to allow cleaning staff to start working in one room. But the other day, we were 6 handed on Table 19 and forced to break, but not into the other room...we were all given seats at games in the 1/3 room! The players wanted to stay at T 19, even if we had to play short but we were told we were not being given options, but rather we were being ordered to break & find seats in other games. It can take a good hour or more not to just learn how everyone at your new table plays, but to develop your own table image. And if we are already having to race against the clock because the room closes by 5:30...now we find the whole flow of the game shifts against you as you are running out of time! When the poker room was just in the center where the PLO section is spread. I remember one night we got down to 4 or 5 handed playing 2/5, but we weee mandatory straddling, so it was shorthanded but more like 5/5/10, so none of us wanted yo break & fill in the other two 2/5 games. And the floor said, "if you don't want a full table, we will never make you break your game, you can play as short as you want." And that makes sense for the casino, even if we got half rake, it still makes the casino more money than breaking 3 games down into 2 games. But I'm not even saying you have to let us play short...if there are reasons you need to let dealers go home or whatnot and need to break a game, just try to allow the players who have been playing the longest, and thus earned the right to remain and have the other short game break and come join our game & send a player or two to one of the other tables. Yes, it might mean having to switch out one table for ours & reassign a dealer rotation...but when it's something that can affect a player's win rate, I would hope that management would agree that it makes sense to keep the players who support the room the most, happy and feeling appreciated.
Encore Boston Harbor
- Phone:
- (857) 770-3090
- Poker Tables:
- 24 Tables
- Hours:
- Open Now (All Day)
- Minimum Age:
- 21
Announcements from Encore Boston Harbor
EBH Poker is Open 24 Hours Every Day! Alcoholic beverages are complimentary while playing poker.
10/25 NL runs on Wednesdays at 3pm and Saturdays at 3pm.
October Promotions
High Hand Promotions:
No High Hand Oct 1st
Sundays 12 p.m.- 12 a.m.
$7,200 High Hand Promotion
$300 Every 30 Minutes
Tuesdays 12 p.m.- 10 p.m.
$10,000 High Hand Promotion
$500 Every 30 Minutes
Wednesdays 1 p.m.- 10 p.m.
$9,000 High Hand Promotion
$500 Every 30 Minutes
Thursdays 12 p.m.- 10 p.m.
$10,000 High Hand Promotion
$500 Every 30 Minutes
October Poker Tournament Schedule:
Mondays $240 10k Guaranteed. Registration Opens at 3 p.m. Tournament Start 4:15 p.m. Late Registration until 7:15 p.m.
Wednesday $240 10k Guaranteed. Registration Opens at 9 a.m. Tournament Start 10:15 a.m. Late Registration until 12:05 p.m.
Fridays $360 15k Guaranteed. Registration Opens at 9 a.m. Tournament Start 10:15 a.m. Late Registration until 12:05 p.m.
New Monthly Tournament
Begins October 1st $600 Sunday 30k Guaranteed Registration Opens at 9 a.m. Tournament Starts at 10:15 a.m. Late Registration until 2:35 p.m.
BAD BEAT JACKPOT $29,986.60
Recent Encore Boston Harbor Reviews
Rake is insane I agree but it makes no sense to ask for Wynn to drop it given the monopoly here. Room is clean and... Read More
Clarification: The RAKE is 10% max of $10. The other $2 is for the BAD BEAT promo which runs 24/7. Good competition... Read More
The rake is insane but the $1/3 games play like a $2/5 game with tons of action. I have been doing very very well... Read More
I don't know how they are constantly filling up these low stakes tables, please stop playing here. $12 rake on a 1/3... Read More
I read review from this BK1248 guy and seem to remember that person he mentioned. I'm so sorry about that $1000 you... Read More
I went there, rake was $10, what a joke. Room seemed nice tho. There was a Foxwoods regular there, big kid with red... Read More
Encore is a very nice casino with a good poker room. The rake is very thick so they get their cut and more. A... Read More
This would have been a five star poker room if they returned to the operation they had before covid. Covid is over... Read More
It clearly obvious the management has clear disregard for the patrons of the poker. I see a clear pattern of... Read More
The room is beautiful and while they lost 60% of their tables post-Covid, the sweet spot would be about 35 tables on... Read More
Nice staffs. 5 star place. Clean and safe. Basically everything you need is inside the building. Fun environment.... Read More
My take is calling it a poker room is a stretch, regardless I'm not convinced that poker is big on Encore's list of... Read More
A recent review says Encore has high rake because they want to attract high caliber players. This is laughable and... Read More
A recent reviewer indicated: 1. Encore can charge any rake they want. Not true, the rake is regulated by the Mass.... Read More
Encore can charge whatever rake they want to, It's their business. It is my opinion and I suspect that their rake is... Read More
Rake is insane and they only get away with it because it’s a monopoly for Boston. My brother and I both have had... Read More
It's got to be top 5 worst poker rooms in the country, if not the worst. Place looks nice but it's run terrible. ... Read More
I have very mixed feelings on Encore Boston. On the plus side, the equipment is top notch. They have some of the best... Read More
Highest rake in the country. EARTH TO YOU IDIOTS WHO PLAY HERE YOU CAN NOT BEAT THIS RAKE IT IS MATHEMATICALLY... Read More
Ok, rake is high... we know. I enjoy the layout of the room, and the Mgt has handled every incident that I have... Read More