Bally's General Poker Room Info
(credit to MikeT for overview suggestions)
Location
The Bally's Poker Room is on the 6th floor - same level as the ballrooms and a new 24 eatery has been built.
The Games
They have 2/4 limit and 1/3 no limit during the week and on weekends along with some 2/5 on occasion. As with other rooms, if there is enough interest in a specific game, a table will be opened. There are approximately 10 tables always open, 20 tables total, as well as the "oceanview" which is used for tournaments (4 tables, right next to the bar/sportsbook area). There is a $100+$20 tournament every Friday at 9 pm which has a lot of regulars and generally averages 50 people - I hit this tourney twice a month so I know the most about it. There's also a $40+10 tourney each day (Mon.-Fri.) at 1 pm. Also, these tourneys are $10,000 in chips (which compares to the 3 pm Caesar's tourney at $100+20 with $5000 in chips and antes starting on the 3rd round). All other tourneys can be found directly on their website, www.ballysac.com as well as our favorite AC Poker website :)
The Players
During the week, like any casino, you will run into the same regulars day after day. Weekends tend to bring good players as well as the drunk donks, so it's luck of the draw like anywhere else. If you are a decent player, you can avoid Donk Damage :)
The Rake and Bad Beat
Bally's does offer a bad beat jackpot. The minimum qualifying hand must be quads in the hole, you must use both hole cards in the hand, and the pot must be over $20 to qualify. As long as you were dealt in at that table when the bad beat hits, you will be paid. The losing hand will receive 30%, the winner receives 20% and the eligible players in the room split the other 50%. As for the rake, the casino takes 10% of the pot up to $4 and $1 for any pot over $20 for the bad beat. **this is my clearest explanation thus far on the Bad Beat Jackpot**
Comps
Bally's comps are decent for the poker room - 50c/$1 per hour of play, and they have special bonuses for Rewards Points during the week for quads or better. They also seem to be running quarterly invitational tourneys based on 60 hours of play in a month's time.
Personal Notes
I've come to find Bally's as my "home" poker room for a variety of reasons - the dealers are friendly, the other players are generally pleasant (there are always exceptions), and the room staff is exceptionally friendly. Depending on my personal budget for the night, I can hit a 2/4 or 1/3 table without too long of a wait. Beverage service depends on the night - if it's extremely busy and there's not a second server on the shift, you will have a long wait. The servers are long-timers and know what they are doing, so please be kind to them :) You can also get snacks at the tables (but not during the tournament, just beverages).
Everyone has their preferences for rooms and atmosphere - I'm an above-average player but not good enough for the true big leagues, so although I do enjoy the Borgata and Caesar's on occasion, I am not looking for a high-intensity game every time I play. If I were in "pro-training", it might be a different story, and hopefully will be someday ;)
Location
The Bally's Poker Room is on the 6th floor - same level as the ballrooms and a new 24 eatery has been built.
The Games
They have 2/4 limit and 1/3 no limit during the week and on weekends along with some 2/5 on occasion. As with other rooms, if there is enough interest in a specific game, a table will be opened. There are approximately 10 tables always open, 20 tables total, as well as the "oceanview" which is used for tournaments (4 tables, right next to the bar/sportsbook area). There is a $100+$20 tournament every Friday at 9 pm which has a lot of regulars and generally averages 50 people - I hit this tourney twice a month so I know the most about it. There's also a $40+10 tourney each day (Mon.-Fri.) at 1 pm. Also, these tourneys are $10,000 in chips (which compares to the 3 pm Caesar's tourney at $100+20 with $5000 in chips and antes starting on the 3rd round). All other tourneys can be found directly on their website, www.ballysac.com as well as our favorite AC Poker website :)
The Players
During the week, like any casino, you will run into the same regulars day after day. Weekends tend to bring good players as well as the drunk donks, so it's luck of the draw like anywhere else. If you are a decent player, you can avoid Donk Damage :)
The Rake and Bad Beat
Bally's does offer a bad beat jackpot. The minimum qualifying hand must be quads in the hole, you must use both hole cards in the hand, and the pot must be over $20 to qualify. As long as you were dealt in at that table when the bad beat hits, you will be paid. The losing hand will receive 30%, the winner receives 20% and the eligible players in the room split the other 50%. As for the rake, the casino takes 10% of the pot up to $4 and $1 for any pot over $20 for the bad beat. **this is my clearest explanation thus far on the Bad Beat Jackpot**
Comps
Bally's comps are decent for the poker room - 50c/$1 per hour of play, and they have special bonuses for Rewards Points during the week for quads or better. They also seem to be running quarterly invitational tourneys based on 60 hours of play in a month's time.
Personal Notes
I've come to find Bally's as my "home" poker room for a variety of reasons - the dealers are friendly, the other players are generally pleasant (there are always exceptions), and the room staff is exceptionally friendly. Depending on my personal budget for the night, I can hit a 2/4 or 1/3 table without too long of a wait. Beverage service depends on the night - if it's extremely busy and there's not a second server on the shift, you will have a long wait. The servers are long-timers and know what they are doing, so please be kind to them :) You can also get snacks at the tables (but not during the tournament, just beverages).
Everyone has their preferences for rooms and atmosphere - I'm an above-average player but not good enough for the true big leagues, so although I do enjoy the Borgata and Caesar's on occasion, I am not looking for a high-intensity game every time I play. If I were in "pro-training", it might be a different story, and hopefully will be someday ;)
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Creighton Rabs on -
I have to agree with a lot of what Kim said. This past Sunday, I made my first trip to an AC casino at Bally's. I hit the poker room there, and the staff - from the dealers to the pit bosses - were very helpful and patient with a newbie like me. Suffice to say, I actually did pretty well for my first time out (even hit quad 5's on one hand). I would recommend the 2/4 Limit ($40 buy-in) for newer players. There is also the 1/3 NL ($80 or $100 minimum) a 2/5 (can't remember if it was limit or no-limit) and another no-limit (can't recall the blinds, but I think it was a $200 buy-in).
On Sundays, there is a 40+10 "speed" tourney, with blinds increasing every 12 minutes. I didn't do so good in the tourney that day (made it to about Round 5 or 6, but didn't have too many good hands), but it was a good learning experience. The one downside was that while this past tourney was on, there was a poker airing on NBC that was on the TV which was a little distracting. Other than that, it was a decent experience (though, in all honesty, where I really made my money that day was at one of the slots and on the Texas Hold'Em Bonus table).
I may check out a couple of the other poker rooms depending on the minimums, but right now, I'd say Bally's is a place I would return to in the future (I don't go to AC that often).
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Permalink Reply by Lee Berkovits on
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A couple of quick updates/corrections.
Bally's also has a 1/1 NLHE game - $40 minumum and $100 max buy in. There is also a 1-5-10 stud game most days. Lately, the 2/5 NLHE game has also been more frequent. :)
Also, you don't have to be dealt in to qualify for the bad beat jackpot - just don't have a missed blind button! So, time the breaks for right after the button, and you'll get your share if the BBJ hits.
Thursday nights - it's double comps/double tier credits from 6pm to midnight. Great news for anyone looking to upgrade their card to platinum, Diamond, or 7 Star (yes, it can be and has been done.)
Lee
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