Rivers Casino (Portsmouth, VA)
Rivers Casino in Portsmouth, VA.
3630 Victory Blvd, Portsmouth, VA 23701
The casino is open 24/7; the poker room is open from 10am-2am daily. 24 Tables with a separate high limit room.
No Limit Hold 'Em
$1/3, $100 min $500 max.
$2/5, $200 min $1000 max
$5/10, $500 min $2500 max
There's been talk of higher limits, but I haven't seen a list.
PLO -
Various. They run various PLO4, PLO5, and Big O games throughout. I will update when I see their list again.
Limit
I've seen a $3/6 limit game pop up, but haven't paid it quite much attention. Will update when I see it again.
General
NLHE games are 9-handed.
There are betting lines on all tables.
UTG straddles are permitted. Mississippi straddles are illegal.
Running it twice and rabbit hunting are not permitted.
Bomb pots are not permitted.
Rake
10% to $6 max.
$1 at $10, $1 at $30 for BBJ.
No flop, no drop.
Bad Beat Jackpot & Promos
Both hole cards must be used (presumably for both players).
Qualifying hands: Quad 10s beat.
40%/20%/40% - loser/winner/table
$500 to players who make a royal flush using both hold cards and a pot minimum of $10.
Parking
Parking is free.
Comps
$1/hr, updated daily at midnight (allegedly).
Tournaments
Currently not running as the room says they are dealing with a dealer shortage. They are also planning on hosting tournaments in their upcoming event center/convention center.
Food/drink
Drink service is available, as there are cocktail waitresses roaming the floor. Food is currently not permitted in the room, but there are five restaurants on the property.
- 1. Mian - Asian
- 2. Slice Pizzeria - pizza
- 3. Crossing Cafe - modern American
- 4. Admiral's - seafood and steakhouse
- 5. Starbucks - coffee
3 Replies
Let me start by saying the staff are extremely friendly and make me feel very welcomed. The management does great hustling to fill tables and making me feel comfortable. I truly love playing in the room. The dealers are very friendly as well and the overall atmosphere is welcoming and great. But there are things that drive me crazy, some of which you mentioned.
5. Not sure about other rooms and not applicable to the 1/3 NLH, but some players are away from the table more than they are at the ta
I'm in the area temporarily and have visited the room a small handful of times so far. I agree that staff has generally been friendly. The room is comfortable and well appointed. A very nice space to spend time in. Based on my experiences so far (all Friday/weekend nights), it's hard to go a full evening without spending time at a very good table. Table time where the game was dry and nitty was quite limited. I haven't had a losing session yet. Honestly, great game selection is my #1 criterion for poker venues so in some ways the conversation ends there. (Well, after being safe enough not to get rolled on the way out. No concerns at all there. Handful of police cars scattered near entrances/exits to building and throughout the lot.)
My most recent visit was the first in any of the larger games, and ran into the problem described in (5): Multiple players up from the table for extended time, simultaneously, while the list is 8+ deep (the 2-2-5 Big O game). When I raised this to the dealer, asking "These guys have been gone a while, how much longer until they get picked up?" the response was "I don't know how long they've been gone, I just sat down here".
I tried to stifle an eye roll and replied along the lines of, "Yes, I know. That's the point. How long are they allowed to be away from the table before they get picked up?" The dealer did not have an answer.
Several other players at the table chimed in; one said "Yeah, they haven't been here since I got to the table, so that's an hour at least." We eventually got a floor (maybe he was even the room manager?) to the table and I asked him about it. He replied that he would look into it, and bustled off, but didn't give me an answer to the question "How long before they get picked up?" and didn't come back with any response/resolution in the next half hour I was there, at which point I decided to call it a night since it was getting late-ish and they didn't care to fill the game back up.
It was clear that one, maybe both players were well known in the room, so there may have been some "Who is this guy" (me) vs "Folks we see all the time & know by name" (walking players) factor. Though there were also at least two regs at the table who were interested in adding some new blood too instead of continuing to have dead seats, so who knows.
I will say I have gotten the feeling that regs liked by the staff will get favorable treatment (such as ignoring my questions about picking them up) & perks, though I'm not super worried it would extend to a floor decision strictly about a game ruling.
Was out there 2 weeks ago. Can confirm good action with players not knowing basics.
Poker Room has been open 24/7 for a while now.
