This concludes the "If I Ran A Poker Room" series. It covers some more Cash Game stuff, as well as some other things that I forgot to mention earlier.
Promos: Even though many players hate the $1 Promo Drop from each pot, Promos are a great way to get recreational players into the room.
The promos that I would run would depend on what the other room are doing. I would want to run different Promos then they're running, or at least in a different way. Some possibilities are High Hand Bonuses (either a fix amount or progressive), AA cracked, Splash Pot, drawings for stuff, freerolls like Beat The Boss, and the dreaded Bad Beat Jackpot. The promos would probably be rotated for different months to keep things fresh and new.
I know many player bitch, whine, and moan about the BBJ, but they can be a great way to fill up a room. In Detroit, when one of the BBJs hits $100k, the room is packed all day long, with 2-3 hour waiting lists. I think the best way to have a BBJ is to have two different ones. The first one is a smaller one that's easier to hit, and it may even be a fixed amount like the Atlantis has. The second BBJ would be much harder to hit (like Quad 6 beaten). That would make it much larger to entice the recreational players into the room in hopes of hitting the lottery.
As for the Promo Drop, it would be $1 at $10. Depending on how much we take in, there might be another $1 when the pot gets bigger, say $50 or $60.
Posting: For those who don't know what Posting is, it's when you first arrive at a table, and have to post a BB to see your first hand. You also have the option to sit out a few hands, and wait for the Blinds to come to you. The idea behind it is that your Blinds are what you're charged to play an orbit at the table. This is why most players leave the table to cashout right before they have to play the Blinds again.
Posting is not popular with players, as many players would rather just wait for the Blinds. As a player, I really don't care either way. I go to a room to play poker, and not sit there waiting for the BBJ to hit.
Most rooms in Reno don't make players post, except in bigger games (I don't know what the difference is). However, I'm constantly seeing players abuse this by sitting down a few hands before the Blinds come to them, and letting the Blinds pass them before they play a hand so they get a free orbit. (Have I ever mentioned that this town is full of Super Nits?)
I would make all new players post in my poker room. I feel that a player should pay to play an orbit.
Comps: This would obviously depend on my bosses, but the standard $1/hr is a good place to start. The one thing that I would do differently than most room is change the comp rate depending on the time and day. I would pay up to $2/hr during slow times, like Tuesday 10am, and as low as $0.50/hr during peek times, like Saturday 10pm. This is one way, along with other promos, to get players in to the room during traditionally slower times.
Tournament players should also receive comps for playing in a tournament, even if it's just a small amount. The amount of the comp would depend on either the tournament buy-in, or the amount that goes to the house.
Website: It is amazing that most casinos have no clue that we are in the 21st century. Just look at their websites. They are all just giant billboards on the Information Superhighway. Website can be used for so much more information, like telling you what games are running (Borgata or Wynn), or even just tell you what the Bad Beat Jackpot is at today (Hollywood). EDIT: The Peppermill has added a page to it's website that has all their Lists.
Cards & Chips: The cards would be Jumbo Index because they are easier to see from the other side of the table. I've only seen one poker room use these (Turning Stone), and I don't understand why others don't use them. We used them in our Home Games back in Cleveland, and they were wonderful.
The chips would be almost anything but Paulsons, which is the most common chip used by casinos (the ones with the top hat and cane). They are wonderful for stacking, and do hold up very well. However, they can't be washed due to the clay that they are made with. Anyone who plays in casinos regularly knows how disgusting the poker chips can be after a while. Chipco makes very good chips, and are very easy to keep clean.
Lessons: Poker lessons given out by the casinos seem like they are rare these days. I know that Mountaineer used to do it once or twice a week, but I'm not aware of any room in Reno that has them.
I'm not saying that my room would have them, but I would look into it. And maybe not just for Hold'em, but also for other games like Omaha-8.
Cell Phones: I know the old geezers won't like this, but cell phones should be allowed at the table. After all, it is the 21st Century. They can be used as long as you're not in a hand, causing a distraction, or slowing down the game. If you're having a conversation, it would be encouraged that you step away from the table in order to prevent a distraction.
All the conspiracy talk concerning cheating is just silly. If a player is talking about the hand, then everyone at the table can hear it. If a player is texting about the hand he's in, then he's breaking the rules about using the phone while in the hand. Plus, just how much information about the Hand can he text to someone else to get help from that person? However, Bluetooth headphones would be banned. If you want to be on the phone, then you need to blatantly be on the phone.
PokerPro: These are the electronic tables that have sprung up in various smaller poker rooms across the country, including the Silver Legacy here in Reno. Overall, they have been a dismal failure.
I actually like them, and think they have a lot of potential. I feel they have just been used in the wrong way. Most rooms that have the machines are smaller rooms. The manager just turns on the machines, offers something basic like $.50/$1 NL or $2/$4 Limit, and hopes that someone will want to play. This is the wrong approach to these tables.
The PokerPro machines have the best potential to be used for things that a regular Live table is not suited. Mixed games would be wonderful on these. Just think of the Hands Per Hour you could play in PLO rather than with a Live Dealer. Speed Poker (say 10-20 seconds per decision) would be easy to do on the PokerPro tables. Other potential games would include a 6-Max or Heads-Up since a Live Room would never spread these.
The other great potential is Tournaments, especially Sit-N-Gos. In a Live Room, Sit-N-Gos are horrible because the room doesn't want to tie up a Dealer. This isn't a problem with the PokerPro machines. Plus, the extra Hands Per Hour would make a 20-minutes per Level structure seem like 30 or 40 minutes per Level.
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