The Riviera

Still without wheels, my poker room exploration is limited to public transportation and/or as far as I care to walk. Since I bruised my heel pretty good the night before I left for Vegas, I'm not up for a very long hike. I noticed in one of the many, many Vegas guides that the Riviera has thrice daily $44 poker tournaments, and since it's just next door, that seemed like the next logical target.

I headed out with every intent to play the 8pm tourney, but when I got there, a large sign said that all poker tournaments were canceled until June 1st. This seemed odd at first, that they would cancel them up until the major series' start down the street. Then I came to find out that the Riviera had a huge holiday pool tournament going on. Nearly 1000 5-man teams, every room sold, and all seven of the tables in this small room were in nearly full use for cash game play. They simply didn't need to hold any tournaments this weekend. Generally, tournaments bring very little income to the casino. They just hope to cover their costs, pay the dealers, help keep the room busy, and if it all possible lure a few cash game players. If the last objective is not met, most poker room managers consider tournaments a failure.

The casino itself is a bit rundown and sort of dismal. It seemed odd to me that what had been a huge sports book, was now occupied by the players club bozos. Note to management: if you are not committed to the sports bettors, turn this area into a decent sized poker room.

The current poker room is not very big, just 7 tables, but all were spreading 2/4 Limit, 1/2 or 2/5 No-Limit at this time. There were interest list for other games, but I asked a couple of the dealers and it didn't seem that anything else is ever spread. The dealers here were generally above par. I picked up a few style points from one dealer in particular and felt obliged to tip him at the end of his down even though he didn't push me a single pot. His pace was great, quick but not rushed, and I liked the way he kept the slow pokes going. I have been bothered recently by those who fail to post their blinds in games at my home club. I'm often well ahead of them and even two verbal prompts as I distribute the cards seem to fail often enough. At least a couple of times a night, I have a big blind give up his hand, even when warned not to fold. This particular dealer simply stopped before pitching the second card to any player who had not posted his blind. His pace was so steady, that the simple interruption brought the attention of the entire table. He never really had to say anything, simply catch eye contact, and ocassionally the players neighbor would do the work for him. I will try to mimic this effective procedure.

The room itself is non-smoking, but its a simple rope barrier carved out of the casino floor near an escalator by the center bar. Players dashed by the rope to puff quite frequently. No food was allowed at the table, so at some point, I copied their behavior for my own vice (this time it was summer rolls from the sushi bar). Drink service was better than average.

Unfortunately, my cash game play was not up to par. I folded several winners early trying to get a feel for the table. This proved to be a mistake, because at this 1/2 NL table, players came and went nearly every hand. The only decent sized pot that I missed out on went down like this. Five limpers to my big blind and I looked down at As Kd, so I made the bet $12. Three callers see a flop of Kh Qc Jc. I am out of position and decide to check-call on a dangerous board. Next to act makes it $15 and one other player calls to make a pot nearing $100 (and I have little more than that in my stack). The turn brings a scary 9c, so I check again. Next to act bets $50 and other guy calls, so I have to think my top pair/top kicker hand is already behind. I fold rather than committing to the pot. Last card is a small club. Whew, I think I dodged an expensive one. First guy checks this time, so I think his flush or possibly straight got rivered. Second guy bets out $100 and first guy insta-calls. The called player sheepishly shows K-8, no clubs. The caller mucks without showing. Damn! How could that be?

I went through a couple of dealer downs without anything remotely playable. I probably need to get involved more anyway, as I saw a lot of stacks move on bad calls to lucky boards for marginal holdings. No one seemed capable of folding. Still, even though I had another losing session, I felt comfortable and enjoyed myself in this room and will likely return if the opportunity exists.