I just got back from a week in Vegas and played some $2-$4 hold 'em at several casinos and thought I would post my impressions.
Riviera - usually the entire poker room was just one $2-$4 limit table and one $1-$2 NL. Noisy (near slot machines) and smokey. The players were generally poor - 8 to the flop, playing any 2 cards, but the game went slowly as players thought about every move.
Treasure Island - room off of a hallway, so you don't get the noise of the slots, but just some traffic of people walking by. There are a few flat screen TVs with sports on. They will also comp you $2 per hour you play, good for discounts on any of the food places in the casino.
Bally's - the poker area is part of the rest of the casino - next to a bar, behind some gaming tables, and not too far from noisy slot machines. There was always a list of people to play, so there were always several tables going.
Binions - This is the BEST location for $2-$4 that I found on the strip. The poker room is beautiful - in the back of the casino so you don't get any of the noise from the casino. There isn't anything to distract you - it is easy to focus on your poker. The tables are top notch - just a clean green table - no writing or decorations - very classy. The pictures of the World Series main event winners are on the wall. The players are a bit better than the other places, still this was by far my favorite place for a $2-$4 game.
Full Version: Vegas $2-$4 Limit Hold 'em
Ahhhh, Binions... gotta love it!
I played there about 7 years ago, on my first poker trip to Vegas.
They had a 2/4/8 game going... if I recall. Blinds were 1/2, bet on the flop was 2, turn was 4 and river was 8.
I bought in for $40 and cashed out with like $500....
I was up to $200 when the comedian from the club got done with his gig and decided to throw some money around. He was TRASHED. I called every hand he played, he raised every hand and bet every street.
After a while everyone else started calling so implied odds were HUGE.
I'd fold postflop if anyone other than the comedian was in the hand but if I got ANY part of the flop I'd call.
Pretty much the entire table got wiped out between me and him.
He actually was up over $500 in an hour.
In about 45 minutes my $200 was $600, then 15 minutes later was down to $500 and I decided the swings were too big and it was too risky. Nice $460 profit tho!
I played there about 7 years ago, on my first poker trip to Vegas.
They had a 2/4/8 game going... if I recall. Blinds were 1/2, bet on the flop was 2, turn was 4 and river was 8.
I bought in for $40 and cashed out with like $500....
I was up to $200 when the comedian from the club got done with his gig and decided to throw some money around. He was TRASHED. I called every hand he played, he raised every hand and bet every street.
After a while everyone else started calling so implied odds were HUGE.
I'd fold postflop if anyone other than the comedian was in the hand but if I got ANY part of the flop I'd call.
Pretty much the entire table got wiped out between me and him.
He actually was up over $500 in an hour.
In about 45 minutes my $200 was $600, then 15 minutes later was down to $500 and I decided the swings were too big and it was too risky. Nice $460 profit tho!
The rake in $2/$4 usually makes it tough but I also like playing at the Luxor, Monte Carlo, and Excalibur. Excalibur actually offers a hold'em class at 11am every morning. At noon the tables are full of fish just waiting to give me their money.
Heheh, I told the story about Excalibur before....
There was a waiting list for the 1/2 NL tables and I heard someone say, "the lessons just got done"... I asked, "hey can I sit there?"
Floor manager gave me a funny look and said, "yeah but be nice, they are new".
So I sat down, bought in for $60. First hand I'm dealt AA 1 off of UTG, ends up being a FIVE WAY CAPPED PREFLOP! I flop the set with A 10 4, check, just smooth call, 5 people see the turn.
I check the turn (6), same guy bets, 3 callers, I raise, he reraises (dammit) but still TWO of the other fish call! There's NOTHING on the flop or turn, 4 offsuit cards and no real straight draw... I figure I might as well reraise there... I do, he caps.. the other 2 call!
River is a 10 PERFECT card. I bet (I never check the likely best hand on the river, EVER)... he raises, one guy calls, other folds, I raise, he caps, other guy calls.
The agressive dude had A10, the other guy had JJ, I have my aces full and pull a HUGE pot.
So next hand I ask, "can I straddle"? Everyone is like "WHAT is that??!" Dealer explains it... 5 limpers to my straddle... I RAISE... and EVERYONE folds. HHHAHAHAAHAHAHAH
Next hand I raise my BB with some sort of rags, 4 of us see the flop, I flop 2nd pair, bet out, 2 callers... turn 2 pair, bet out, callers... river no change, I bet, call call. Rake another one.
A couple hands later I get KK, end up taking 3 people to the river on a capped preflop and turn...
I was up something like $130 or so in ONE ORBIT of the table. Then they called my 1/2/NL seat.
I almost stayed but decided to move. Good move since I cashed out with around $560 about 2 hours later.
Good day!
There was a waiting list for the 1/2 NL tables and I heard someone say, "the lessons just got done"... I asked, "hey can I sit there?"
Floor manager gave me a funny look and said, "yeah but be nice, they are new".
So I sat down, bought in for $60. First hand I'm dealt AA 1 off of UTG, ends up being a FIVE WAY CAPPED PREFLOP! I flop the set with A 10 4, check, just smooth call, 5 people see the turn.
I check the turn (6), same guy bets, 3 callers, I raise, he reraises (dammit) but still TWO of the other fish call! There's NOTHING on the flop or turn, 4 offsuit cards and no real straight draw... I figure I might as well reraise there... I do, he caps.. the other 2 call!
River is a 10 PERFECT card. I bet (I never check the likely best hand on the river, EVER)... he raises, one guy calls, other folds, I raise, he caps, other guy calls.
The agressive dude had A10, the other guy had JJ, I have my aces full and pull a HUGE pot.
So next hand I ask, "can I straddle"? Everyone is like "WHAT is that??!" Dealer explains it... 5 limpers to my straddle... I RAISE... and EVERYONE folds. HHHAHAHAAHAHAHAH
Next hand I raise my BB with some sort of rags, 4 of us see the flop, I flop 2nd pair, bet out, 2 callers... turn 2 pair, bet out, callers... river no change, I bet, call call. Rake another one.
A couple hands later I get KK, end up taking 3 people to the river on a capped preflop and turn...
I was up something like $130 or so in ONE ORBIT of the table. Then they called my 1/2/NL seat.
I almost stayed but decided to move. Good move since I cashed out with around $560 about 2 hours later.
Good day!
Seems like you had a pretty good run of cards there. My strategy on those kind of tables is more of a tight aggressive. Folding marginal to decent hands and betting the **** out of monsters. You would think the table would pick up on it and when I reraise fold, but I guess they feel pot commited so they continue to call.
So what is the best strategy for those kind of tables? Bully or tight aggressive. I am always afraid of getting sucked out on if I play marginal hands because some of those dudes play to the river regardless.....
So what is the best strategy for those kind of tables? Bully or tight aggressive. I am always afraid of getting sucked out on if I play marginal hands because some of those dudes play to the river regardless.....
Well, it's $2 to see a flop most the time, $4 at most...
Implied odds are huge if you hit.
I play pretty much anything suited, anything connected, and big cards.
But I also am good enough to lay it down if I know I'm beat.
Implied odds are huge if you hit.
I play pretty much anything suited, anything connected, and big cards.
But I also am good enough to lay it down if I know I'm beat.
QUOTE (opie @ Monday, August 7th, 2006, 10:30 PM) 
I just got back from a week in Vegas and played some $2-$4 hold 'em at several casinos and thought I would post my impressions.
Riviera - usually the entire poker room was just one $2-$4 limit table and one $1-$2 NL. Noisy (near slot machines) and smokey. The players were generally poor - 8 to the flop, playing any 2 cards, but the game went slowly as players thought about every move.
Treasure Island - room off of a hallway, so you don't get the noise of the slots, but just some traffic of people walking by. There are a few flat screen TVs with sports on. They will also comp you $2 per hour you play, good for discounts on any of the food places in the casino.
Bally's - the poker area is part of the rest of the casino - next to a bar, behind some gaming tables, and not too far from noisy slot machines. There was always a list of people to play, so there were always several tables going.
Binions - This is the BEST location for $2-$4 that I found on the strip. The poker room is beautiful - in the back of the casino so you don't get any of the noise from the casino. There isn't anything to distract you - it is easy to focus on your poker. The tables are top notch - just a clean green table - no writing or decorations - very classy. The pictures of the World Series main event winners are on the wall. The players are a bit better than the other places, still this was by far my favorite place for a $2-$4 game.
Riviera - usually the entire poker room was just one $2-$4 limit table and one $1-$2 NL. Noisy (near slot machines) and smokey. The players were generally poor - 8 to the flop, playing any 2 cards, but the game went slowly as players thought about every move.
Treasure Island - room off of a hallway, so you don't get the noise of the slots, but just some traffic of people walking by. There are a few flat screen TVs with sports on. They will also comp you $2 per hour you play, good for discounts on any of the food places in the casino.
Bally's - the poker area is part of the rest of the casino - next to a bar, behind some gaming tables, and not too far from noisy slot machines. There was always a list of people to play, so there were always several tables going.
Binions - This is the BEST location for $2-$4 that I found on the strip. The poker room is beautiful - in the back of the casino so you don't get any of the noise from the casino. There isn't anything to distract you - it is easy to focus on your poker. The tables are top notch - just a clean green table - no writing or decorations - very classy. The pictures of the World Series main event winners are on the wall. The players are a bit better than the other places, still this was by far my favorite place for a $2-$4 game.
MGM grand. 2/4 limit is what I played for my first time in vegas and live poker. The first day I dropped 60 bucks really fast as I was nervous cause I had never played live poker before. The next day was completely different. After settling down I went with patience. Taking advantage of a few drunks and and stuff I ended up 300 bucks from my 80 buy in... after about 10 hours. was a great time for my first trip..
Going back to mandalay bay in march for my next trip... gonna play the 1/2 NL tables this time. I hate that I have no place to play in south florida. I tried it here but its only like 1/2 limit and I don't know how to actually make money here. I guess the rake is too high? I tried a 150 dollar tourney but didn't last long. First live tourney.. maybe if i try again i'll experience what i did in vegas and cash. would be nice.
QUOTE (JeremyG @ Tuesday, August 8th, 2006, 8:44 AM)
Ahhhh, Binions... gotta love it!
I played there about 7 years ago, on my first poker trip to Vegas.
They had a 2/4/8 game going... if I recall. Blinds were 1/2, bet on the flop was 2, turn was 4 and river was 8.
I bought in for $40 and cashed out with like $500....
I was up to $200 when the comedian from the club got done with his gig and decided to throw some money around. He was TRASHED. I called every hand he played, he raised every hand and bet every street.
After a while everyone else started calling so implied odds were HUGE.
I'd fold postflop if anyone other than the comedian was in the hand but if I got ANY part of the flop I'd call.
Pretty much the entire table got wiped out between me and him.
He actually was up over $500 in an hour.
In about 45 minutes my $200 was $600, then 15 minutes later was down to $500 and I decided the swings were too big and it was too risky. Nice $460 profit tho!
Thats awesome. i had a similar situation. There was some Nascar thing going on there and two completely trashed guys came to our table.. they threw his friend out eventually, and this guy got mad so he kept raising and raising without even looking at his hand. He dropped 200 bucks before leaving the table. I guess if you are patient and make good decisions you could consistantly make money off of people like this. sucks to live in southflorida with no good cash games
I played there about 7 years ago, on my first poker trip to Vegas.
They had a 2/4/8 game going... if I recall. Blinds were 1/2, bet on the flop was 2, turn was 4 and river was 8.
I bought in for $40 and cashed out with like $500....
I was up to $200 when the comedian from the club got done with his gig and decided to throw some money around. He was TRASHED. I called every hand he played, he raised every hand and bet every street.
After a while everyone else started calling so implied odds were HUGE.
I'd fold postflop if anyone other than the comedian was in the hand but if I got ANY part of the flop I'd call.
Pretty much the entire table got wiped out between me and him.
He actually was up over $500 in an hour.
In about 45 minutes my $200 was $600, then 15 minutes later was down to $500 and I decided the swings were too big and it was too risky. Nice $460 profit tho!
I sat at a $2-4 limit game at Binions that had a $200 pot. The dealer said it was the biggest pot he had ever seen at this limit. Jacks won it. I stuck around to make my $200 over the net hour or so and left to get some sleep. Good times in Vegas.
Thanks for the information! I'm going to Vegas in april and was wondering what poker room I should check out. I imagine 2/4 is the lowest limit games I will find? I've got experience with online play but have never sat down at a live table and wouldn't mind playing 1/2 limit so I can get used to live play before I go on 2/4 limit.
Dre
Dre
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