Pokerati Game at the Hard Rock: $1/$2 NLH/PLO

The Best Low-Stakes Action in Vegas!

OK, that subhed might be geographically presumptuous and/or mathematically hard to prove. But hey, that\’s how it goes in PLO! So allow me to do a little live poker pimping …

As twitter followers know, I\’ve been hosting a new-ish game at the Hard Rock here in Las Vegas. 1/2 no-limit hold\’em/pot-limit omaha. While there are plenty of 4-8 mixed games around town, there are, perhaps surprisingly, few if any low-stakes half-and-half games — and none where players have the option of running it twice. So in an effort to create what Dan personally wants to play top-quality action that serious amateurs, local grinders, and late-night drunks can\’t find elsewhere in LV, you can now help your poker evolve by playing:

What: The Pokerati Game: 1/2 NLH/PLO (round of each)
When: Thursdays 7pm-? or upon request
Where: Hard Rock Poker Lounge
Buy-in: $100 min/$400 max
Who plays: Nitty locals, Euro-tourists, Action Junkies, Poker media geeks, loose-aggressive douchebags, off-duty Vegas dealers, disciples of Isildur1

We know you all know hold\’em, but if Omaha\’s not yet your game, check out this video of how gloriously painful PLO can be:

That comes from F Train\’s assessment of poker\’s #2 game. And across the pond, where they play it more frequently, our ole Betfair pal Marcus Bateman has his own strategy thoughts on the situational EV of running it twice.

If you haven\’t played hold\’em with four hole cards before, you pussy should totally try it! And if you think you\’ve got an advantage in the Omaha rounds because you read parts of Super/System 2 … come school \’em on what it\’s like to flop the nuts and easily be a 32 percent favorite to win the hand, lol!

\"\"OK, I kinda jest. There\’s more to the Pokerati Game … Omaha is only half of it, and I can personally attest, even without the results yet to prove it, skill development goes way deeper than just learning to peek at your hole cards without using two hands.

In an effort to make this game as good as it can be, over the past six months, with the help of Hard Rock poker director Troy Evans, we\’ve been ironing out the wrinkles … and I think we\’ve got it almost all figured out.

We\’ve wrestled with: What constitutes pot with X number of limpers? Automatic or optional run-it-twice? Should the Hard Rock rake more for additional turns and rivers? (No.) Allow straddling? (Yes.) And what should be the min and max buy-ins to make it attractive to low-stakes grinders, cautious newbies, and fuggitall gamblers alike? … and what about late-night rebuys?

Stuff like that … Stay tuned, as I\’ll post all the details once I type them up.

Again, the Hard Rock now runs 1/2 NLH/PLO at 7 pm on Thursdays. Even if it\’s not going, feel free to ask the desk to start a list for \”the Pokerati Game\”. Once a few people sign up, these tables tend to fill up. (And we\’re working on ways players elsewhere can learn about any interest list taking shape.)

I\’m also interested in hearing feedback — on the game itself; leave taunting my actual play to someone who isn\’t trying to get better — and I hope some of you can make it out so I can take your money … or at least half of it in hands where one or both of us gets it in bad.