The Arena Poker Room at Casino Arizona's Talking Stick Resort (Scottsdale, AZ) -- FAQ in OP

What games are in the 20/40 four game mix?

My wife and I are escaping to Scottsdale from Utah for a couple of days to get some sun

She's pretty chill so I'll probably be able to escape and play some cards at some stage
Do they run any PLO at talking stick?

PLO is usually only in larger mixed games. I think 5/10 is usually the lowest.

Lone Butte (Gila River Casino) gets PLO games, usually 2 games of 1/2 on Friday nights and either 1/2 or 2/3 on Saturdays. Sometimes they will pop up other days of the week.

I've been able to get some 5/10 plo going at lone butte. Convinced the DD private game to play at LB once a week to help get more players for the player pool.

Any decent hotel recommendations near Talking Stick? I am going to be in AZ for something else next month and thought about adding a few days to stay there and play but there are no rooms (and the ones that sold out were north of 400 a night). Anything reasonable but still decent nearby to stay for a few days?

Feb is high season in Scottsdale/Phoenix. Good luck finding any decent room rates. IDK how much they run in Feb, but there is a cheaper option right across the street from Talking Stick. I've stayed there in the summer (cheap rates) and thought it was perfectly OK. Might even have free b'fast. Can't remember the name, but it'll be obvious in Google Maps. Between Top Golf and Talking Stick. That said, it was probably pre-Covid when I last stayed over there, so it might have gone downhill since.

there is a Hampton Inn right across the parking lot and within walking distance. MLB spring training starts up and rooms get taken up quickly.

Look at Airbnb - there’s a condo complex close to TS (right across street from spring training complex, just west of TS). You can get a place for $200/night incl fees. It’s OK+, I stayed there last December.

Thanks for the tips guys, appreciate it.

Can anyone share opinions on how Talking Stick's 3/5 NLH compares to LA area 5/5 games? Player pool strength, side games, straddles, etc?

Bump

Big O
Superstud high/low with super pat option
Drawmaha high
4 card double board omaha

All fixed limit

Ugh!

I really hope I can get over there to play this on my upcoming trip out there. Sounds awesome .

What are comps in the poker room? Website says 500 points/hour but the redemption link is broken so no idea what this translates to?

Assume its a buck/hour like lone butte?

I see they have a special poker menu that has some decent priced food, expected it to be higher as its a resort.

Thanks.

Does anyone know what the “super pat option” is in the super stud high/low?

Instead of discarding, you keep your original five cards and don't get anymore for the rest of the hand. If you super pat, you have to act first on every street after.

Get excited. The room is hosting a mixed game series.

They should have made the Wednesday tournament limit hold em instead of no limit. I'd have taken off work for that and it would have been incredible. NLHE players get plenty of tournaments without occupying space on this schedule.

Yeah, no LHE anywhere. 6 max LHE would have been perfect.

I don't think pure LHE lends itself well to tournaments but it could have worked well in the mixed game event.

Limit holdem is just as good as any other form of limit poker for tournaments. Which, sadly, is not very good. Before the boom, almost all tournaments were limit holdem, just like now they are almost all NLH. But there will never be a limit tournament where the stacks stay deep through to the end. Even the $50K, back when it was just HORSE, was shallow before making the money. They would be paying 16 spots, and the average stack with 40 players left would be 15-20 big blinds. Lose two average pots, and you're busto. And this was 140ish entries and 5 days long, the greatest limit tournament structure in history.

All limit tournaments basically suck. Limit holdem no worse than the rest. Maybe slightly better even, as you tend to get in a lot more hands per hour as compared to stud or draw or Omaha.

Are you still trolling hookers in North Carolina?

I would assume so.

He probably gets them giggling if he's as good at that as he is at poker.

Arizona is a limit hold em hotbed. It's ridiculous not to have a limit hold em tournament especially when there's a spot it would have fit and they did a nlhe tournament instead.