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

Didn't the same thing ever happen to you in the 20/40 kill pots? That's why I always say "raise" while putting out my chips.

Yes but it's a higher frequency now and it could take a long time to train myself not to do it, especially since every other limit game I play is still 4 chip/8 chip. It's a win if it gets LHE going more regularly but I'm not convinced it will as there are some players who don't want to play smaller than 40/80 and other players who now face a huge jump from 8-16.

I think what hurt the games the most was going from 9 handed to 8 handed even though I personally prefer short handed games. An 8 handed table plays more hands with 6 or fewer players and bad players lose faster which, while good in the short run for winning players, is bad in the long run if it drives bad players from the games.

It's anyone's guess but here are mine:

Was it the same players as the 40/80 game? Did it attract some players back? I notice it's not going tonight yet.

Has anyone suggested to management that they might want to go back to 9?

I haven't because I'm confident it will go sporadically regardless and if it gets to a point where LHE pros leave town that means for me the sporadic games will be better when they do go. I'm happy to play mix when they don't. So for selfish reasons I don't favor the change, even though I think it would help the game be more sustainable.

I disagree with the idea bad players are hurt disproportionately by 8 handed vs 9 handed. Bad players are almost always bad because they play too many hands, that hurts them less short-handed and hurts them more 9 handed. 9 handed gives rocks bigger edges, because they enter the pot with even stronger relative hands, especially in early position.

8 handed also makes games more sustainable. First, they are more enjoyable games, with less folding and more comfortable seating. But also it mates it easier to start must move games. If floor needs a full list to start a must move that means they can start one at 16 total players instead of 18. Obviously they do start must moves short, but it’s still one more played to get it going and 8 handed helps acclimatize players to play short more which helps must moves start shorter.

My take on the 30/60 is it’s a bad idea. First, the volume of chips and odd chip counts for bets slows the game down. The reality is more players want to play 40 than 20, splitting the difference pleases neither party. I would have simply removed the kill from both games so they play faster, friendlier and a little smaller, and see if it grew both pools.

I have little faith the 60 will ever run. I also think they should raise the time charge $2/down to make both jackpot games. The players you wanna play with the most love jackpots and jackpots slightly improve the playing field for them.

The worst players' biggest mistake is playing too passive. There are loose passive fish and tight passive fish: both will get crushed in short handed games and both will lose in full ring games, but they will both lose less per hour in full ring games than in short handed games, both because playing passive is less bad in multi way pots which are more common in full ring games, and because fewer hands are played per hour.

I grant there are also loose aggressive fish (I resemble one myself sometimes), especially as the stakes increase, and that short handed games favor these players over full ring games, but overly passive players are a godsend when they do show up and provide easy money making opportunities with low swings. When the games were 9 handed, they showed up more often.

Whenever I play I almost always verbalize "raise" because I was trained by the angle shooting nits at CAZ. In my home game people laugh at me for doing it because its a home game and intent is all that matters to them.

Put out a call without realizing its been three-bet? Just say you were mistaken and take back your chips, no one cares in a home game. If someone is actually angling other players, they just never get invited back.

Turn out has been great. Most of the tournaments doubled those numbers.

Yeah it’s been amazing. And it is the perfect time of year to to give people a warmup before WSOP. Sounds like it will be a yearly thing based on the success. I’ll post my review and suggestions at the end (sending them to a manager also).

I'm glad to have been too conservative with my estimates and look forward to seeing how many show up today. It's been an awesome series and something many of us have wanted to see for a long time.

King Of Mix Feedback

Tracking Hands – Buttons great idea. Add # on them since each dealer was doing it differently, left to right, left to right then right to left. Always one color, either color, 3x2, 6x1, etc.

Payouts – Too top heavy? Only 10% paid? Too many chops in the events.

Structure great! Maybe make levels longer at final table (or on 2nd day) for championship event. Maybe all events should come back for final table if getting 100+ entries. The event I played started at 1pm, and I busted out at 4:30am in 3rd place.

Trophy & Chair – Great unique promotion of the event, making it stand out from the regular tourneys. Made it feel more ‘special’.

More events:
• Don’t have championship event be last event. The Championship Event Day 1 was on Friday. If people traveled to AZ for it, have a smaller event on both Sat and Sun to take advantage of them being in town for the weekend more than likely.
• Possibly have two PLO events, one at $400/$500 (this could be a weekend day event to get huge #s) and one at $1k.
• One TORSE and one HORSE.
• 10 game series would be logical next step. Friday – Following Sunday, 1 event per day.

Add Limit Hold’em! No need to have a NLH event in the middle of the week, give the LHE players something! Preferably 6 max.

Grats on the subtle brag

For my own sake, do you any of you peeps sit in 8/16 while waiting for the 30/60 to start?

Yes some 30/60 players sit in 8/16.

I do on occasion, but usually make the poor decision to play 20/40 mix instead.

We had a game about a month ago (Sunday evening I believe) where 4 of the 6 players were 30 players and they were refusing to start a must move 30 game.

Brandon Mitchell won the AZ state poker championship this year and the first place prize was more than $525, 000!!!
https://www.cardplayer.com/poker-news/br...

I need to travel to Phoenix this week. I can't stay at Talking Stick because it's too flippin' expensive, especially this time of year. Any reccos for a decent place nearby that allows me to keep both arms and legs?

Also, I need to be able to get over to I-17, maybe around Indian School. All the new loop freeways aren't going to help. Am I pretty much stuck with east-west surface streets?

The Hampton Inn right across the street is much cheaper. If you're heading to I-17 / Indian School, the best way is probably Lincoln Dr/Glendale Rd all the way across town then down the 17.

Thanks. It was last week, but I'll try to remember for the next time it comes up.

Sorry, is there a list/link of what games are currently/typically spread? I didn’t see any on the last few pages ott or on the website. I’m particularly interested in PLO DBBP.

There’s a chance I will be down for the WMO during Super Bowl week.

4 game mix is super stud, dramaha, big O and 5 card double board omaha

As for question 2 do your own research. Us locals aren’t exactly renting cars in Phoenix every month to know what the going rate and taxes is. Mapping out a couple likely routes on Uber a few times and then seeing what a rental would cost is pretty easy. Sorry for not doing all the work for you.

I prefer Uber or Lyft, traffic in Phoenix is horrible.