Oh, where do I even start with the comedy show masquerading as a poker tournament?
Picture this: the luxurious casino floor, the clinking of chips, the tension in the air... and then, the Keystone Cops of poker dealing. It was like watching a slapstick comedy unfold right in front of me—only less coordinated and somehow more outrageous.
First off, let's talk about the dealers. Did someone say, "Experience required"? Because these dealers apparently missed that memo. I'm convinced they were chosen from what got left over after all the good table game dealers were assigned out, or alternatively a local improv comedy troupe rather than a group of seasoned poker dealers. There was more head-scratching than at a lice convention, especially when it came to splitting pots. Multi-pot hands apparently aren't taught week one training.
And then, the pièce de résistance: enforcement of the rules. Or should I say, the *lack* of enforcement?
At one point, I felt compelled to step in and explain that, no, I hadn't acted yet (pre-flop BB). So it wasn't proper to just skip forward merrily to the flop. I was obviously irritated I wasn't allowed to raise, but SB jokingly also pointed out she didn't even collect the raise in the action from me either so... I folded out of turn as I felt it unfair to the players.
Players openly questioned each other's moves while the dealers looked on like tourists witnessing street theater, unsure whether to intervene or grab popcorn.
Now, outside the bad staff assignments, the dealers were genuinely good people, they just were in a role they were not fit for so I put that on management. Another thing I put on management is the setup and structure of the tournament which I can only class as purer than the piles getting dropped by the Angus foraging outside in the neighboring fields of the casino.
This was advertised (here) as a $100 (+10 staff bonus) tournament with slow(er) paced levels. In reality, it was $125 (+$50) to be even with the field on hand one. It was Saturday on a Holiday weekend, so Casino was buzzing by the 4pm deal and I guess a slow simmer tourney was just too much high rake to loose on their cash games for the Director of Gaming.
The players were a mixed bag, as always. Locals were friendly. Half were conversationalist who were there to play poker, a couple more novice players, and a few noisy brutishly aggressive players, naturally with late buy-ins.
LEVEL TWO introduced antes. The rebuy chip could just double you up on hand one for 40% of the initial buy in. In addition to the arms race pushed by the organizers, you could also add-on for the same at Level Four.
So no real room for playing poker. It was structured to be sparks and firecrackers and over quick while adding Mac fleece to the house's pockets.
Due to the structure, we ended up with multiple all-ins before Level three, with one guy at about 8x initial stack for a size hand. This sort of thing does happen naturally, but the fact BB was already at 8x starting blinds due to antes really puts the pressure on double up or die.
In short, if you're looking for a poker tournament that doubles as a comedy act, by all means, check out it out. Just don't expect a legit game unless holding on to your chips is more luck than skill. Craps was offering more skill-based play for the stakes and payouts. Next time, I'll just play poker at home—with my dog as dealer. Pretty sure she’d do a better job.
And remember: what happens here, stays here… because no one understands what just happened anyway!