Las Vegas - Poker Advice Requested

Just wondering what the latest scoop is on good places to play poker in LAS. I've always been a low limit (1-3 or 1-5, whichever is spread) 7 card stud player but might want to make the switch to low limit Texas Holdem. A friend suggests Mandalay Bay as a good poker room (nice atmosphere and plenty of tourists ripe for the fleecing :D ). Do Flyertalkers concur?

Are any of the poker rooms in LAS non-smoking? Back in my college days I would go to ACY occasionally and loved the non-smoking poker room at the Tropicana.

Also wonder if any comps are possible from poker play? I'm doubting it since poker is probably a loss leader for the casinos but since I know the Trop in ACY used to have a poker club and that I've been comped meals for several hours low limit poker play in Tunica, MS it's worth a shot at least...

I like the Mirage Poker Room. Non smoking. You might be able to get them to give a buffet coupon for low-limit play. :)

A good majority of the poker rooms on the Strip are non-smoking.

I've only played at The Mirage poker room, but it was a fantastic place to play low-limit ($3-$6). Good mix of fish and sharks.

Well for once I can provide info to this board.

Try these two sites for details of poker rooms.

http://www.allvegaspoker.com/
or
http://www.pokerupdate.com/lasvegas.htm

I posted this review of the Flamingo Poker room a while back:

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=359922

If you're looking for advice, I've really taken to a bit provided by my friends who play quite a bit more than I do, and that is you should play the most expensive game you can comfortably afford. For me, this usually means 5-10 Hold-em. I started out playing quite a bit of 2-4 and 3-6, but found that my itch just to be in the pot at such low stakes ended up decreasing my bankroll much more than my play in the higher stakes games. You're more likely to throw your money away chasing cards at the lower stakes, and more likely to think when you're up against a $20 raise or $30 re-raise in the later rounds in a 5-10 game.

Good luck!

Just wondering what the latest scoop is on good places to play poker in LAS. I've always been a low limit (1-3 or 1-5, whichever is spread) 7 card stud player but might want to make the switch to low limit Texas Holdem. A friend suggests Mandalay Bay as a good poker room (nice atmosphere and plenty of tourists ripe for the fleecing :D ). Do Flyertalkers concur?

Are any of the poker rooms in LAS non-smoking? Back in my college days I would go to ACY occasionally and loved the non-smoking poker room at the Tropicana.

Also wonder if any comps are possible from poker play? I'm doubting it since poker is probably a loss leader for the casinos but since I know the Trop in ACY used to have a poker club and that I've been comped meals for several hours low limit poker play in Tunica, MS it's worth a shot at least...

Not sure about on-strip, (us locals avoid like the plague) but off strip the Orleans poker room is 100% smoke free. They also have daily and nigthtly tournaments too.

Hope this helps

Thanks to all who posted advice and some great links to a few other websites. I stayed at the MGM Grand so I didn't really want to trek all the way up the strip to the Mirage. Wound up playing poker at Excalibur and Luxor (first time playing in a tournament).

Though the rest of the place just oozes contrived tackyness, I liked the poker room at Exaclibur. Did great playing 2-6 TXHE there. Not so well playing 1-3 TXHE in the same room. Kind of reinforces UA835's comments above that higher limit games are actually "better"/more beatable. Both games attracted mainly tourists in the 21-35 age range but with a few locals in the same age range thrown in for good measure.

Was there on Monday 12/20 and apparently all NFL season long, players actively playing in poker games during Monday Night Football at the Excal's poker room can enter a free guess the score by quarter contest. I think that prizes started around $400 for the 1st quarter and went up from there (no one won the pot for either 3rd or 4th quarter and that money was rolled into the week 17 pool). Hopefully they'll do this promo again for the 2005 football season.

Excalibur sets up a free mini-buffet in their poker room around 5:00pm for players. I found the food to be a little bit overpriced! :D

The $25 buy-in tournament at Luxor was an interesting experience. For now I think I will stick with cash games but try and improve by Holdem skills to be able to play the tournament version of the game with more confidence. I was maybe about the 15th person overall to bust out of the tournament.

Though the rest of the place just oozes contrived tackyness, I liked the poker room at Exaclibur. Did great playing 2-6 TXHE there.

Thanks for the info on Excalibur. Someone else recently told me that's where they play almost exclusively. Can you approximate how many tables they have? I assume they have a range of games higher than 2-6?

Thanks for the info on Excalibur. Someone else recently told me that's where they play almost exclusively. Can you approximate how many tables they have? I assume they have a range of games higher than 2-6?

I'm guessing they have about 15 tables total, give or take. The Monday night I played there every table was in use thanks to the Monday Night Football contest bringing in a lot of players. Tuesday maybe only 2/3 of the tables were open. Both nights they were spreading 1-3, 2-6, and no limit TXHE in addition to 1-5 seven card stud. I think there might have been a 5-10 THXE going on Monday too but I can't remember for certain.

Oh and FYI both the 1-3 and 2-6 games are played with only a single blind.

I find the poker to be better in Los Angeles.

M8

I'm guessing they have about 15 tables total, give or take. The Monday night I played there every table was in use thanks to the Monday Night Football contest bringing in a lot of players. Tuesday maybe only 2/3 of the tables were open. Both nights they were spreading 1-3, 2-6, and no limit TXHE in addition to 1-5 seven card stud. I think there might have been a 5-10 THXE going on Monday too but I can't remember for certain.

Oh and FYI both the 1-3 and 2-6 games are played with only a single blind.

Thanks!

You only find the lower limits at Excalibur. Excal, Luxor and Mandalay Bay are all the same group and their games seem to be tiered - the very low limits at Excal, a little higher (2-4 and 4-8) at Luxor and 3-6 (I think) and 6-12 at Mandalay Bay.

Luxor's room was recently voted "BEST IN VEGAS" by the local paper. They have great dealers and attract a very good crowd. It's a good balance between tourists and locals. They also have GREAT promotions, particularly if you're going to be there for a few days (go into the room and read about the promotions on the counter - there's something for everyone.) They also have tournaments 4 times a day on weekends (buy ins from $25-55 depending on the tourney) and every day at noon during the week for $25 (I don't know about the afternoon and evening tourney.) It's not the nicest looking room, but it's non-smoking and I think it has the best low limit games in town.

The Mirage room is also nice, but the dealer's aren't very friendly. The least friendly dealers are at Mandalay Bay (they aren't allowed to talk to players at all.) Mandalay Bay's room is cramped, though it's nice looking. If you want a higher limit game or want some variant game, the Bellagio is the place to go.

In terms of downtown, Binion's isn't bad (but isn't great) and is the place everyone has heard of.

For my money, when I'm in Vegas, I'll play in a lot of different rooms, but play the most hours at the Luxor poker room.

A few years back I played 4/8 at exalibur, and anytime you lose with pocket aces they'd give you $$$ by letting you spin a wheel which has different $ amounts on it. Whatever the wheel lands on they pay you the $$$. I'm not sure if they still have that wheel to spin. Now whenever I'm in LAS, I play at the Mirage or Bellagio, or I'll go play the palms NL game if i'm there on a weekend. The palms 500 buy in NL game is pretty soft on the weekends.

A few years back I played 4/8 at exalibur, and anytime you lose with pocket aces they'd give you $$$ by letting you spin a wheel which has different $ amounts on it. Whatever the wheel lands on they pay you the $$$. I'm not sure if they still have that wheel to spin. Now whenever I'm in LAS, I play at the Mirage or Bellagio, or I'll go play the palms NL game if i'm there on a weekend. The palms 500 buy in NL game is pretty soft on the weekends.

Excalibur still had the wheel spin deal on my late December trip there. Only for the 2-6 and higher games though; not for 1-3. Once I graduate to stakes as rich as 500 buy-in NL (and that won't be happening for a long time!) the Palms game does sound like a lot of fun. Isn't that where Britney hangs out when she's looking for a husband for the night? :D

For me, it's Bellagio 4-8 or Mirage 6-12. The 6-12 games at Mirage are expensive enough to keep most of the insane clown posse out <grin>.

Also, neither of these rooms engages in the half-kill, bad beat jackpot, Keno-overlaid-on-poker nonsense that most of the other rooms do. It's pure hold'em, not hold'em with a backdrop of Lotto.

Also, neither of these rooms engages in the half-kill, bad beat jackpot, Keno-overlaid-on-poker nonsense that most of the other rooms do. It's pure hold'em, not hold'em with a backdrop of Lotto.

DenverBrian ... wow, an ICP reference on FlyerTalk ... I'm amazed!

I'm actually a fan of the 'Bad Beat' jackpot. Most of my live Hold Em play is in the Detroit Casinos, and it is not unusual to see a Bad Beat jackpot in the $40K+ range. I don't mind having a shot at this (and every player at the table gets a cut when it is hit) for a $1 donation for $20+ pots. If I'm winning enough pots over the course of the evening for it to cost me more than $10, it's the least of my worries.

Bad Beat is such a big deal in 'The D' that every player at the table will scold you if you have something extraneous on the felt (drink, napkin, etc - which negates the jackpot.) Many also bemoan the filling of an empty seat, as it means that the cut for everyone at the Bad Beat table is less.

It's the $6 Detroit rake at 5-10 which gets my blood boiling.