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Archive Sep 2007: love poker and tournaments!
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A trip to Downtown Fresno's Cardroom...very interesting
I play poker professionally and came across Club One, it wasn't quite what I expected. The place is run half like a big cardroom in LA and half a shady cardroom you would find with everyone who knows each other, and no rules. I spent almost two weeks at the Radisson and just played day and night, so I got a good taste of what the casino was like. The list of games was a decent variety...1/2 (wow, thats a low limit), 2/4, 3/6, 4/8, 6/12 w/kill, 15/30 w/kill, 5-200 spread limit? guess that means they don't offer no limit...and 3/6 Omaha. they had a pan game, blackjack, some weird three card game and pai gow.
My first concern was the floor men, they make some bad calls and they aren't consistent, do they really know the rules? Or does each floor man make different calls because they are not on the same page as one another? I even saw a floor man playing while he was working and not paying attention to the players or tables. They seemed very friendly though. I didn't really play anything lower than 3/6, but mainly i played the higher limit games.
I also had a chance to play a couple of tournaments and those seem like a giant crap shoot. The heavier set tournament director doesn't have a clue, and seems to be lost, and the tall one seems like a young kid and doesn't take things seriously. When people gamble with their money, they need a little bit of maturity. I liked the roomy tables.
As for the rest of the environment, the employees at the board taking names are very nice, there are a lot of good looking dealers, and most of the customers while they are playing talk about the only reason they play there is to see the "pretty" dealers, which was hilarious to me. But whatever brings in business. It seemed like the younger crowd of dealers were much better than the older crowd. I like a fast game and it helps when a dealer is verbal and has a good attitude. Some of the dealers seem oblivious. You don't have to be super fast, just run the game and protect my money thats all. I loved the comradery of the casino, and everyone was very friendly which is not something you see in the LA cardrooms. Its great the dealers play and give back to the casino, which I noticed.
Another negative was, while I played in the high limit area, a lady introduced herself to the guy next to me and she said she was a "casino hostess," I think her name was Meek? She scared me. Sounds harsh, but she caught me off guard because of her intro. I asked a guy in seat eight who seemed like a regular what she did, and he said she just walks around looking like she's doing something and talks to those she wants too. I had never heard of such a thing. Maybe I'm used to the cardrooms in LA. I did get free food at the 15/30 which was nice, but I had to pay for a coke? That's strange to me. The food all tasted the same and after 2 weeks, then what? I had tried everything on the menu.
The bar and restaurant was pleasant, and I noticed they had horse-racing, which I'm not fond of, but I guess thats a popular gamble. I don't play blackjack or pai gow, but that area seemed slow.
Lastly, when I first walked in, I went to the information desk and there was no one there, which seemed to defeat the purpose if I wanted information. When I finally found someone it was a woman who sat there and she was gossiping about something and was too preoccupied so I just talked to security, who lead me in the right direction. And who exactly was the Casino Manager? I know it wasn't the floor men, but I never saw him once in the entire time I played there.
Can't really think of much more to say? Sorry for the rambling, just wrote what came back to mind. I'm sure there is more, but I got your site address from a friend of mine in LA and I thought I should write a review. Since Club One is a small cardroom, maybe it could use some help to make it bigger and better. The Club had potential, and I'm sure if it was run better it would be more of an enjoyable experience. I would be happy to write some reports about the other casinos I've been too, but I don't know if this is a waste of time. If I hear something back maybe I can go from there. Hope this helps!
Great site.
My first concern was the floor men, they make some bad calls and they aren't consistent, do they really know the rules? Or does each floor man make different calls because they are not on the same page as one another? I even saw a floor man playing while he was working and not paying attention to the players or tables. They seemed very friendly though. I didn't really play anything lower than 3/6, but mainly i played the higher limit games.
I also had a chance to play a couple of tournaments and those seem like a giant crap shoot. The heavier set tournament director doesn't have a clue, and seems to be lost, and the tall one seems like a young kid and doesn't take things seriously. When people gamble with their money, they need a little bit of maturity. I liked the roomy tables.
As for the rest of the environment, the employees at the board taking names are very nice, there are a lot of good looking dealers, and most of the customers while they are playing talk about the only reason they play there is to see the "pretty" dealers, which was hilarious to me. But whatever brings in business. It seemed like the younger crowd of dealers were much better than the older crowd. I like a fast game and it helps when a dealer is verbal and has a good attitude. Some of the dealers seem oblivious. You don't have to be super fast, just run the game and protect my money thats all. I loved the comradery of the casino, and everyone was very friendly which is not something you see in the LA cardrooms. Its great the dealers play and give back to the casino, which I noticed.
Another negative was, while I played in the high limit area, a lady introduced herself to the guy next to me and she said she was a "casino hostess," I think her name was Meek? She scared me. Sounds harsh, but she caught me off guard because of her intro. I asked a guy in seat eight who seemed like a regular what she did, and he said she just walks around looking like she's doing something and talks to those she wants too. I had never heard of such a thing. Maybe I'm used to the cardrooms in LA. I did get free food at the 15/30 which was nice, but I had to pay for a coke? That's strange to me. The food all tasted the same and after 2 weeks, then what? I had tried everything on the menu.
The bar and restaurant was pleasant, and I noticed they had horse-racing, which I'm not fond of, but I guess thats a popular gamble. I don't play blackjack or pai gow, but that area seemed slow.
Lastly, when I first walked in, I went to the information desk and there was no one there, which seemed to defeat the purpose if I wanted information. When I finally found someone it was a woman who sat there and she was gossiping about something and was too preoccupied so I just talked to security, who lead me in the right direction. And who exactly was the Casino Manager? I know it wasn't the floor men, but I never saw him once in the entire time I played there.
Can't really think of much more to say? Sorry for the rambling, just wrote what came back to mind. I'm sure there is more, but I got your site address from a friend of mine in LA and I thought I should write a review. Since Club One is a small cardroom, maybe it could use some help to make it bigger and better. The Club had potential, and I'm sure if it was run better it would be more of an enjoyable experience. I would be happy to write some reports about the other casinos I've been too, but I don't know if this is a waste of time. If I hear something back maybe I can go from there. Hope this helps!
Great site.
