MGM National Harbor Resort & Casino (Oxon Hill, MD); FAQ in OP
This thread is for discussion specifically related to the MGM National Harbor Resort & Casino (MGMNH). Any discussion t
Easy solution: tip $1 less
Anyone buying in that big just plays 2/5 or 5/T
The $30 pots at 1/3 tables are just rake traps. You need to table change to a better table or play bigger.
The extra rake probably takes an extra $40-$60 off the table an hour.
At $10 a hand (with dealer tip) and 30 hands an hour - that's $200-$300 off the table an hour. I'm sure someone could count it if they are card dead and bored.
At that rate you are better just playing the time raked games or omaha. I won't play 1/3 anymore unless the table or promo is really good. Most of the tables are really good though so you should have no problem finding one but I have been signing up for multiple lists now incase I get a lousy table.
The $30 pots at 1/3 tables are just rake traps. You need to table change to a better table or play bigger. The extra rake probably takes an extra $40-$60 off the table an hour. At $10 a hand (with dealer tip) and 30 hands an hour - that's $200-$300 off the table an hour. I'm sure someone could count it if they are card dead and bored. At that rate you are better just playi
Extra rake compared to what? I still think 1-3 is beatable given the play level (though I don't have $6+3 in any rooms on my tracker) but there's no way $10 is the average rake of a 1-3 hand for 30 hands an hour.
If you're playing in a 1-3 game where every single pot reaches $60, AND goes postflop, AND you get 30 hands per hour, that's a great game. I don't believe there's much close to that in real life live poker.
Fwiw I do tend to play 2-5, 5-T in my rooms the step up in size is too much for me (and the play standard goes from 3-4 nitty maybe fishy regs, 1-2 excellent regs and rest complete fish to 5-6 crushers and 1-3 COMPLETE whales, variance super high).
But I don't think that 1-3 with a 500 cap where average raise size is 15 is that much less beatable than 2-5 with a 1k cap where average raise size is 1k, when the play standard is a little bit of a step up too.
Just for the record, MGMNH was opened in 2016 and inflation has been about 33% since then. I do think casinos are a bit slow on killing the lowest stake game due to inflation, but we are still years away from 2/5 needing to be the standard.
The games are already very high BB cap games, i see no reason to make them even bigger.
As for the rake increase, sure its bad but its more of a +$1 because the other $1 is getting put into rakeback. Crazy how we all agree rake is bad but when I talk about rakeback, half the thread freaks out that im a nit. If you want to play in a lower rake environment, then do your homework on the promos.
Inflation may have been that high but wage growth has not been.
Killing 1-3 any time soon means a lot less people playing poker
As the resident rakeback grouser, let me say that i quite like the monday breaking benjamins promo. It even accomplishes their goal, i usually go for 6 hours, instead id probably try and stay for 8.
The standard rake was around $6-$7 for the past 10 years and now it's $9
If you're playing in a 1-3 game where every single pot reaches $60, AND goes postflop, AND you get 30 hands per hour, that's a great game. I don't believe there's much close to that in real life live poker.
It's not worth playing unless the pot gets to $60 on average every hand. You will always be able to find a game where the pot hits that on average every hand from my experience. You just need 1 action player
The rake at Nat Harbor is $6, not $9.
You seem confused about the difference between rake and a promo drop.
"Rake, " "pedantry, " and "confused" are all words with specific meanings.
They're clearly referring to amount of money coming off the table each round, which is really the most relevant stat here.
Then both he and you are stupid for calling it "rake, " especially since the promo drop is EV neutral.
Do someone need to explain to you what "EV" means? Or even just what the word "neutral" means?
You know your family secretly hates you right.
They're clearly referring to amount of money coming off the table each round, which is really the most relevant stat here.
Ime, about half are playing because of that extra $3 coming off the table. Iow, the are there chasing the promos.
Everyone hates the promotional drop until they hit a high hand.
(Note: I know some hate it even when they get some of their money back, I am just being glib. But if you really hate it so much, if you ever win any of it, tip it all to your dealer. 😀 )
Then both he and you are stupid for calling it "rake, " especially since the promo drop is EV neutral.
Do someone need to explain to you what "EV" means Or even just what the word "neutral" means
Promo drop is actually generally not EV neutral considering casinos can take an admin fee in most jurisdictions.
Even if they didn't, it would also only be EV neutral if you only played at times when the promos were in play, which isn't the case for most (hence them being there on say Mondays).
For most people, it represents money coming out of the available amount they can win, and also, considering most people don't play enough hours to reach the "long run", many players who play poker would rather have that extra c. 5% of a pot available to win each time.
The main argument in favour of it is what is said above, that it attracts a certain types of players that may not play otherwise. I generally don't care and I'm actually batting above expectation in high hands etc (hit 4 last year for $1750, definitely won less than 1750 hands at $1 a hand), though $3 is pretty obnoxious.
I recall being at National Harbor two years back on a trip, ran into quad 3s that lost to quad Jacks. All cards did play. I go, "Oh cool is that a bad beat?" and the dealer said it was not. The rule was it must be quad 7's or better must be beaten. So a quads over quads hand with all cards working I would believe is a typical bad beat hand, but alas it was not there.
I realize MGMNH gets busy for the DMV area, has decent dealers, but something irks me about the way the room is managed. I now see why timed hourly rate in Texas is preferred by many players.
I recall being at National Harbor two years back on a trip, ran into quad 3s that lost to quad Jacks. All cards did play. I go, "Oh cool is that a bad beat?" and the dealer said it was not. The rule was it must be quad 7's or better must be beaten. So a quads over quads hand with all cards working I would believe is a typical bad beat hand, but alas it was not there. I re
Having a min quads qualifier is very common. In fact I suspect that the any quads beat rooms are far fewer. Locally it has been 5's beat for almost 20 yrs IIRC, def over 15 and maybe even longer. Have seen J's in some places.
So what you believe is typical is in this case not typical.
As to time vs. pot rake in TX. Time MIGHT be legal. It has never been fully adjudicated. But pot rake is almost universally recognized as illegal in TX. Also time favors the LAG style that regs tend to prefer (and LP that bad recs prefer.)
At Four Winds SB only bad beat is quads over quads with both hole card playing - str flushes don't count. It gets hit about every 3 years. Current is $389,614.35 which has been frozen since 1/20/25. they say all promo money now goes to the promo fund but who knows if that is true or not.
I recall being at National Harbor two years back on a trip, ran into quad 3s that lost to quad Jacks. All cards did play. I go, "Oh cool is that a bad beat?" and the dealer said it was not. The rule was it must be quad 7's or better must be beaten. So a quads over quads hand with all cards working I would believe is a typical bad beat hand, but alas it was not there. I re
Cool story, bro
Then both he and you are stupid for calling it "rake, " especially since the promo drop is EV neutral.
Do someone need to explain to you what "EV" means Or even just what the word "neutral" means
if I am allowed to be pedantic as well, the promo is negative EV because the casino takes your money, shakes it in a bag and then returns it at a random time. It then becomes negative EV because of the social norm of tipping the dealer even though they aren't doing anything that needs to be rewarded when they happen to be present at the time you get some of your money back. And if you don't tip the dealer well which is a very grey area, lord have mercy on your soul.
I like dealers at MGM and I try to be fair at them because they have to earn a living. However, the way they are compensated is opaque and arbitrary and it drives me a bit batty.
I recall being at National Harbor two years back on a trip, ran into quad 3s that lost to quad Jacks. All cards did play. I go, "Oh cool is that a bad beat?" and the dealer said it was not. The rule was it must be quad 7's or better must be beaten. So a quads over quads hand with all cards working I would believe is a typical bad beat hand, but alas it was not there. I re
It has effective monopoly of operations in a very affluent area. Maryland Live is good competition, but is bit far if you are in the DC area. Austin, Texas has more competition so their prices are better for the players.
Very superficially - because I don't have a lot of info to go by-I like the new director of the room. Old gripes like the wifi not working have stopped being issues for a long time now. Maybe he's benefiting from casino wide work though so who knows?
At the very least, he doesn't antagonize the players posting feedback here, so he has that going for him.
