Although I was joking, what if you played “Bomb Pot” poker? Every hand everyone that wanted in pays $5. Then people could come and go and not worry about posting blinds or buying buttons. Rake $10 right off the top.
Position issues would be the same as blackjack but nobody would care.
So in TX we aren't allowed to take a rake from the pots, we can only charge hourly seat rental fees. It not only sucks because you make less than the rake model, but it's also more apparent to the players. When you rake, the winners of pots are the ones paying the rake, but it's not really felt/seen all that much by the players.
When you charge hourly fees, EVERYONE pays their share, including the fun, recreational player who just busted for $300 and now has to pay a bill of $60 as well.
As far as bomb pots go. You'd be going from people paying $3 in blinds every round to each player "bleeding" $45 every round at a 9-handed table. Also, pot sizes post-flop would be larger, thus increasing bet sizes post-flop compared with seeing cheap flops in a regular sb/bb setup. This is more likely to break your players more quickly and make the game play larger.
We do have some "bomb pot only" PLO games out here in Austin and they're ALWAYS absolute rock gardens and aren't worth playing unfortunately.
I've linked to this book a dozen times now but it's well worth the read, especially as a host.
https://www.amazon.com/Cardrooms-Everything-Better-Analysis-Improvement/dp/1880685647
The thing they focus on is to have proper balance between luck and skill. If you have all luck you lose the grinders, the more skill based the quicker you lose your room due to lack of fish. They mention many of the things Anthony has in his video like don't allow deep stacks, don't allow straddles as well as some variants which mess up the math for the GTO wizards.
They also speak of stupid promotions that only benefit the good players, don't allow RIT and other things that benefit (mostly) the grinders.
I had heard he had written this, but hadn't had the opportunity to pick it up yet.
are you ever going to put that computer together?
It is, those are just empty boxes.
Anthony, have you considered opening up your own card room? You have the ides, forethought and (some) experience. I know you don't like working for the man - but how about being the man?:
...or are you afraid of the PCF criticism when we see your chips.
I believe I have the knowledge to create a fun room that could do well, with my focus being on marketing and cash game and tournament design/structures.
However, I do not have the experience on the operational side as far as scheduling and managing an entire staff of dealers, etc. so would need someone in that role.
In addition, I had posted about this a little bit ago right before I got hired by Austin Social Lounge, but had been looking to see if there was interest in others partnering with me on a room.
At the end of the day, you're looking at at least 6-figures, if not 7-figures, to do it right.
And unfortunately on the chip side, Paulson won't sell to Texas Card Clubs, so I'd have to go with lesser options.
Wow. Good in depth reflection on marketing poker rooms. Unfortunately most people can't think any further than whats happening next week.
I was really taken back when you were talking about the Manager changing promotions mid month and on the fly. The Texas Gaming Commission must be super lax and chill. We have to get ALL promotions ok'd with the Commission before the month and we have to follow the rules those rules to a tee. Period. The state gaming commissions i am familiar with would be all over that shit. Most likely the casino would receive a stiff fine and be looking at the possibility of shutting down the casinos ability to run further promotions if continued. Crazy.
There is no Gaming Board in TX because gambling is illegal here. We operate within a loophole in the law, you can gamble in a private place, not accessible to the public. So we're private members-only social clubs.
Having a more regulated environment would be welcome to curtail a lot of the bad actors and to provide a better streamlined system of expectations and legality to the whole setup.
@Anthony Martino
Dumb question maybe, but are cardrooms in TX allowed to serve beer / liquor? Is there any requirement they also have to serve food if alcohol is served?
(Ie - in VA for example, any place that serves alcohol also has to serve food and food must make up a min of 20% of their total sales)
Do you think food is a revenue draw in the card room model?
The TABC (Texas Alcohol & Beverage Commission) oversees that, and yes, some rooms have licenses to serve. I'm not sure if there are specific revenue requirements that are entailed there, but food & beverage is certainly a decent moneymaker if done right.
Most rooms have not offered until recently, however. The room I worked at had a beautiful restaurant, bar and kitchen. TCH Social has one at their new location and their food is really good AND reasonably priced.
The Lodge is getting close to finishing their own restaurant and bar as well.
Since players are going to eat anyway, might as well have that money coming into your room rather than going to DoorDash.
