I spent the weekend playing 3 different rooms, and thought I would report on a few hands, as well as some of the differences in the rooms.
Thursday
I decided to head to Doc's Sports Retreat, mostly because I wanted to watch the afternoon game 5 of the Tigers/Rangers series, and the environment is much more conducive to watch sports here, than my usual hangout of Northville Downs.
As usual I called ahead, and when I arrived in the room, there was only 1 table going, but I was at the top of the list. After 15 minutes of waiting, I got called to the game, and a few minutes after that, a second table got started (and eventually a 3rd got going around 7pm).
This is going to be a gross generalization, but the people at Doc's are some of the most unlikable I have run into. Many are easily agitated, shout at other players, angle shoot, and in general act like major league douchebags. Many of the examples can be attributed to a few certain regular players, so they may not be representative of the player pool as a whole. For example, there is a line on the felt that looks exactly like a betting line, however, it doesn't function as a betting line. Therefore, players can in one forward motion reach out a handful of red $5 chips, and in the end merely call a $5 bet by just releasing 1 chip. More than one time, I saw a player make sure to get the attention of the dealer and say "call" to the $2 pre-flop blind, and then following that lay out 7-10 red chips. I don't think he was playing an angle in this case, but I'm sure this is something he has done dozens of times if not more, and he must think it is really cute.
On to one very interesting hand that I played, that will certainly out me if you were at the table as it was pretty memorable. Regular from the previous paragraph straddles UTG for 5. I pick up As8s in MP and raise to 25. There were two players I believed were likely to call, the SB (had a stack of 800+ when I got there, has since dwindled down to 300, making several crazy bluffs, where he was beaten by dubious final hands), and the UTG. Ordinarily, I may muck this hand, or limp, but believing I would have position led me to opening, though it's not necessarily such a good play. As expected, both of them call. Flop is 5s5x3s. Both players check, and I bet 45 (I have 250 when the hand started and both players cover). SB almost immediately says "All-in", but doesn't move his chips to the pot. UTG apparently doesn't realize this and puts out a stack of 125, with the intention to raise. When informed of the action, he looks troubled and eventually folds.
At this point I am leaning towards a call. I have his range at this point on almost any two cards, as well as spade semi-bluffs. Of course this range includes some 5's, but it also includes almost every other random hand in the book. I am about 90% for sure calling for my last 175, and he starts talking to me, saying "You can't fold now." I start to think it's a reverse tell, and I say "You're right, I can't fold.", and push my chips in the middle. He say's "Bluff, good call." I tell him that I'm not very strong. The board runs out 4x5x, and I can tell he doesn't want to show. I know I am good and roll my cards over and he mucks, and my ace high takes down the pot of $550, which is a huge surprise to the entire table. This kind of a call/read also tends to put players on notice to not mess with me, since I am willing to call down light.
After having a few beers (Happy Hour, $2.75 for a tall Sam Adams), I decide to rack up and spend time with the wife. In the end I made over 300 in a 3+ hour session.
The room in general is nice. A bit small and cramped, but you get to watch most major sporting events on a large screen, there are good beer specials, and they take care of the players. During the time I was there they brought out free spinach dip, free pizza on 2 separate occasions, sliders, and chicken wings. Dealers are decent, though a bit too chummy with the regulars. The main downside to me of the room is that you sometimes have to wait a while to get a seat, as they are limited to 3 games, and most of the time only have 1-2 going. This is despite me calling ahead 100% of the time.
Friday
With the day off on Friday, I headed over to Northville Downs. The primary reason was that in addition to playing, I also wanted to bet on some horses. The place was very crowded for 12:30pm on a Friday, with 2 games already running and a full list for a 3rd game. They had to wait for another dealer to arrive at 1pm before the 3rd game started. The mix of players was your standard mix, maybe even easier than normal. I had good control over the table, opening more than my fair share of pots, and taking pots down without a showdown.
The day got off to a good start when I played a very big hand within the first orbit. After 2 limps (weak player, and a tight passive regular - TPR), I raised to 12 with JdTd. The really bad player after me called (playing $85-$90), , weak player called and the TPR (playing $140) called as well. Flop was 9d8d8x. I bet 35, the bad player called, and TPR called. Turn was a 3x. Check to me, I check (could/should have bet here), weak player shoved for 40ish. TPR calls, and I call. River is a Qx, giving me the nut straight. TPR checks, I shove and he quickly calls his last 50ish showing AdQd. I take the pot as the bad player had A8.
Unfortunately, that was my high point. I doubled up the TPR when I raised a few limpers with 9h8h. Flop came 3 ways KxJh3h. Both players were playing $100 deep, so I decided to check behind after being checked to, since I didn't feel I was getting any folds. Turn was a 6h, filling my flush. Check to me again and I bet 30. Both the weak player and TPR called. River was a blank. Weak player checked, and TPR shoved for 50ish. I called, knowing there was a chance I was beaten, weak player folded and TPR showed KhTh.
The room in general is a lot like people have described in this thread. It is dark, a bit seedy feeling, and during the horse racing season, there are a TON of flies. They try to manage it by putting fly tape up, but when it was warm in September, it was unmanageable. They do have free WIFI now, which is a nice touch for those that like to play on their phones a lot (me). The food is meh at best, and the beer selection is non-existent (Bud and Bud Light). Friday and Saturday's during horse racing season are crazy busy, since they have live racing on those nights. You get a ton of players who love to bet horses trying their luck at cards.
The people in general are pleasant. I am a semi-regular in the room, so most people know me, even if they don't know me by name. There was some arguing at my table between two guys who weren't willing to back down, but that generally is atypical of the normal day there. Due to its proximity to my house (in Milford), the horse racing, the bad players, and my general comfort with the area, it's my go-to room and has gotten probably 90% of my play in the past year.
Saturday
My buddy sold me one of his extra MSU/UM tickets. I am an MSU alum, so I am familiar with the area. I arrived to tailgate at about 8am, and pretty much attacked the alcohol until gametime. It was a fun game, albeit sloppy with the wind. At least the right team won, again...... and I won a few hundred in side bets on the game.
After the game, I knew I wouldn't be able to get out of the parking garage in good order, so I decided to walk the total opposite direction to Trippers, as I knew the poker room was affiliated with Northville Downs. On the way to the room, I found the call ahead number and called them 5-10 minutes before I arrived. When I got there, there were 2 tables going, and 4-5 players on the list for a 3rd game. I asked them if they were going to start another game, and they said "Not until we get 3 more players." ??? So I sat down and watched football. I haven't been to Trippers since I was in college, which was in the late 90's, so I don't remember the layout that well. The room is in an area that looked like it used to be a billiards area. There are a lot of large projection TV's, as well as smaller TV's to watch football/sports. They also have a full kitchen since they are a restaurant. I can't speak to the beer prices as I was trying to finish sobering up. I ordered cheese bread while I was playing, and it was decent but not great.
It took nearly 30 minutes for them to start a new game, which was frustrating. I bought in for the $200 max, but when scanning the table, only one other player bought in for more than $100. It was basically a short stack fest. Combine that with my earlier drinking, my desire to get something going quickly (knowing I had a 2.1 mile walk back to my car, as well as wanting to get back to watch the Tigers game that night), and you had a recipe for impatience. I started playing like a super LAG, and for the most part it was working. I had chipped up about $50, when my turning point hand came up. A few limps, and I raised to 15 with AJs. Folds around to the player right before me, who shoved for $75. I didn't feel he would limp a big hand behind other limpers, despite my aggression to that point, so I decided to call. The board ran out 5 cards between 4 and T, and he turned over 33 to drag the pot.
After that point, I failed to adjust, and continued to hammer away at the table. The table started adjusting to me though, and they kept making hands just marginally better than me. By the time I had had enough, I was down about a buy-in, and decided that it would like squeezing grapefruit's to get that money back.
By contrast to Doc's though, the players were all total sweethearts, and not very good at poker. If I had the patience that day, I'm sure it could have been a profitable session, but I quite frankly played impatient and bad for the table environment. It was a session I probably shouldn't even have played for my mindset. The disappointing factor was how many short stackers there were, and it seemed to be the norm. In the 2+ hours I played, several people came and went, but none of the new players ever came with a full stack.
One interesting feature of the room is that the tables are apparently smaller (I didn't measure). They only played 8 handed max at all of their tables, and made it seem that this was normal. I tend to enjoy short handed more, so it wasn't a problem for me. But I can see your normal live player having a fit when 2-3 seats are open at a time. Overall, a decent room, but I would like to get a larger sample size to see if the short stacking was just a phenomenon I experienced, or is the norm there.
