Oct
23
Poker Room Review - Turning Stone
October 23, 2007 |
It is hard to believe that I had yet to make a trip out to Turning Stone to play some poker but I finally got my chance a few weeks ago. Making the trip from New England was not too onerous, although once “upstate” you clearly get an appreciation for how much NY is not like NY (the city that is). There is not much to look at while making the trip out towards Utica/Oneida with the exception of the historic Erie canal.
The casino is pretty much out in the middle of nowhere. Maybe that is by design? Once we arrived, it did not take long to find the poker room. Upon entering the room, I was impressed. The layout and decor of the 30+ table room was welcoming and comfortable. There was a fair number of players engaged in a variety of games spread; yet the level of noise was not unreasonable. After a short 10 minute wait (on a Saturday night) we were good to go and sitting at a $200 max table. This was the first oddity of Turning Stone. Usually, NL games are spread by 1/2 NL, 2/5NL etc.. here they are referred to by the max buy-in. Not sure why that is the case…I was not intrigued enough to ask.
After sitting down and waiting to be dealt in, the second oddity was encountered. We were informed that we did not have our Poker Club ticket for the day. I had asked a few folks and got differing answers but the bottom line is that if you want to play you need to go to the cage and purchase a $2 poker club ticket. This is a daily membership that is required to play and from what I can figure has something to do with the laws in NY state and the way the poker room is run somewhat separate from the casino. No tickie no playie.
After about 15 minutes of play oddity #3 (which I knew about prior) was encountered. No alcohol. Yes the casino is essentially dry (while you can bring your own in). This is what opens the door for the large number of under 21 year olds that are visibly present. I am not sure how I feel about this. I generally do not drink when I play, but I do count on those around me drinking heavily. I was not too happy with the playing field leveled in that regard. As for the youth…I was warned about crazy play and there was no shortage of it. They might as well have keyboards and mice installed at each seat; because the play was extremely aggressive (ala internet) in both cash and tournament play. I had one kid make a few $100+ bluffs on 4th and 5th street that were just puzzling and defied comprehension. You could say the same for the first time I called; but after the 1st pot I raked on this kid’s horrific bluff I was onto his game. After he reached into his pocket for the 4th time he finally had enough and left the table. I remember my college days and I am fairly certain I did not have the disposable income these kids are throwing around. To be polite, I was sure to ask him to thank his mother and father for the donation.
The real reason why we were out there was to play in the special tournaments offered in October. I played in the deep stack turbo which was a 10,000 starting stack 30 minute level tourney. Not sure I’d call this a turbo but compared to the other tournaments 50 minute levels it was. The tournament was run exceptionally well and held in a large (not huge) room in the event center. The tournament structure was great. The levels were increased slowly which despite the 30 minute levels provided a lot of poker play. The structure was one of the best that I have sat through. The tournament did not become an all in fest early, like many do where the blinds race up quickly. The play was solid for the most part with some of the suicidal internet youth I encountered during cash play sprinkled throughout. The number of participants was not as high as I would have liked, approx 139 entered into the $340 tourney. This was a small disappointment. Not sure why the numbers were not there but this may have something to do with the lack of population density in upstate NY.
My expectations, which were not set too low, were definitely surpassed. All of the dealers were courteous and friendly. I did not hesitate throwing tokes their way as they surely earned them and to their benefit, they get to keep them. I am always positive about poker rooms that do not pool their tips and allow good dealers to keep the fruit of the efforts. Overall, I enjoyed the Turning Stone poker experience and while I may not make the trip every week, I would certainly make the trip out there for any string of special poker tournaments they may offer in the future.
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