I have been playing in Tx Cardroom's over 6 yrs now and this is first review. I'm sad to say it will not be a good one.
Where to begin. So one of the first things I learned about SA Lodge is that they do not refund your time. 5 days before the Lodge took over from Rounders I bought $1,000 in time and was told I could cash it out later if I wanted to.
Well after the Lodge opened I realized that wasn't the case. I was simply told (emphatically) "No, we do not do that here." She actually sounded insulted that I even asked.
The Cardroom is a multi million dollar business and the fact they won't refund my $900 in time is pretty surprising to me (to say the least).
Next, I was told that I get clocked in and my time starts as soon as I get sent to a table. So as I'm walking to the cage to get my chips (because the dealers do not have chips at the table) I am being charged time the whole time. Great.
Next, as I am at the table playing one of the players asks for a deck change. I noticed he has been sitting there playing for about an hr and he was losing so he wanted a new deck of cards. I haven't seen him before so I'm assuming he was a new player. So the dealer asks the floor to bring a new deck.
Well the floor person comes over to the table and explains that "A player can only request a deck change once every 8 hrs. The cards are what they are (in a very sarcastic tone)".
I was floored by this comment. The player is probably a brand new player and is experiencing this Cardroom for the first time. And not only do you deny his deck change request, you embarrass him by making a comment like that in front of the whole table.
Needless to say the player busted 30 mins later and I'm pretty sure he's never coming back.
Finally, if you decide to play there just understand the $1/2 is a $300 capped game. Meaning you cannot buy in for more than $300 at any point while you are playing. Some players like the cap but I know a lot of Texas players do not. So just be aware of what you can buyin for before you play.
A player at my table got stacked for $500 in one hand. Then he wanted to buyin for another $500 but he was not able to because the cap is $300.
The player got @#$% off and left and pretty sure he's never coming back lol.
Overall, the experience wasn't great but I do believe they can make some changes and make it a great place to play. I wish them the best of luck.
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Hi Doug A, thanks for your thoughtful review. I will respond to all your points here.
#1. Refund for prepaid time. Some members prepaid for time at a discount (e.g. pay $1,000 for $1,200 in time). This presents an obvious issue when it comes to refunding time because members can get a refund for more than they paid. I'm afraid you were simply misinformed when told you could cash it out later -- and I'm sorry for that.
#2. Being charged for time before arriving at your table. We agree this is unacceptable and have made an adjustment. Players will now check in with QR codes *once they get to the table* so your time will not be ticking down while waiting in line. Additionally, all members who play at the club between July 16th and 23rd will get a free hour to make up for any wasted time.
#3. Our policy of one deck change per player every 8 hours is there to prevent wasting time. You can imagine how out of hand it could get if a player repeatedly asked for deck changes. A sarcastic tone from the floor person is not acceptable, however.
#4. Capped $1/$2. This is one of the top issues for us at the moment. We want to be able to offer a capped and a deep stack game because some members prefer capped. Our plan was to cap the $1/$2 game and push the deep stack players to $1/$3. We are implementing promotions and initiatives to get the $1/$3 game running regularly. We'll see how that goes and reevaluate if necessary.
We are committed to the long run and understand there must be a deep stacked game to play. Ideally we can find a way to provide that option while also serving our members who prefer capped games.
