Hard Rock Trip Report

[jdwanchalk]

I was down in Florida for Spring Training and decided to visit the Hard Rock in Tampa. This is a casino that does allow 18 year olds.

In one word, the casino sucked. There is no sportsbook (or any sports betting allowed in Florida), no roulette, and there is a $100 max buy in on ALL poker cash tables.

I played 2/5 NLHE with the maximum $100 buy in. It was stupid to say the least.

I had AA a few hands in. A player ahead of me opened to $35. I went all in for my $100. He called and flipped over KK.

The flop comes A K x.

The turn is a K, giving him quads and me aces full of kings.

The river is a brick.

The Bad Beat Jackpot was $160,000. If the last ace came on the river I get 40k and the other player gets 80k, with the remainder of the Jackpot being split amongst the other players in the hand.

I was not even thinking about the BBJ when the hand was being played, but a few regs at the table started pounding the table and chanting "Ace! Ace! Ace!" when the turn K came. I thought they just wanted to see quads over quads, but obviously they were hoping for a few thousand for themselves.

The dealer spread the deck and sure enough the last ace was in there, no one else even folded it.

So, I not only lost with AA to KK, but in the most cruel way possible, and missed the BBJ by a card. I wasn't too upset though because it has happened to me close to 15 times including online play.

Perhaps the best part is that the BBJ at the Hard Rock USED to be lose with aces full of kings, but now it is quad tens.

Later on I was involved in a three way all in on the flop with the nut flush draw, two over cards, and a gut shot. I somehow managed to miss the turn and the river, despite no one else having a heart that I needed for the flush. Even a few players that folded said they didn't have a heart. Kind of ridiculous to brick there, but whatever. That was a $700 pot which is quite large for a $100 max game.

So, it was a pretty rough night. I played well, however, and minimized my losses, so I couldn't be upset.

I probably wouldn't go back there, but there wasn't really anywhere else to play and I figured I might as well.

Next stop will probably be either in Canada, Austria, or Italy.

[PokerNations]

From everything I've heard Florida is slowly making progress for gambling. The NL games you're playing now weren't possible awhile back, I think they had 1/2 LIMIT or something along those lines, I just recall it was lower stakes and buyins.

I've always hated those jackpot promotions because the casino is just getting extra rake they can make interest on or reinvest because it takes so long for someone to hit the jackpot. Plus, they're probably charging an "administrative fee" that is deducted from the jackpot for them to run it and pay out (i.e. double raking effectively)

Of course, it attracts fish like no tomorrow, so you have to weigh both sides to see which is better for you as a player in the long run.

Also, would this thread have been created if your Aces held up?

[jdwanchalk]

From everything I've heard Florida is slowly making progress for gambling. The NL games you're playing now weren't possible awhile back, I think they had 1/2 LIMIT or something along those lines, I just recall it was lower stakes and buyins.

I've always hated those jackpot promotions because the casino is just getting extra rake they can make interest on or reinvest because it takes so long for someone to hit the jackpot. Plus, they're probably charging an "administrative fee" that is deducted from the jackpot for them to run it and pay out (i.e. double raking effectively)

Of course, it attracts fish like no tomorrow, so you have to weigh both sides to see which is better for you as a player in the long run.

Also, would this thread have been created if your Aces held up?

Yes I would have made this thread had that hand not happened, as I have for the other places I have played.

There is no administrative fee at this casino for the Bad Beat Jackpot.

[pokeraussie]

When I first read the report, I thought you meant the ace was the next card in the deck. That would have been REALLY cruel!