New York CIty Poker Room Reviews -- Times Square Area

[Ed. note: This is the seventh in an ongoing series of reviews of the major New York City Poker Rooms. Due to the quasi-legality of these games, no room will be mentioned by name or specific address. While I realize these restrictions limit the usefulness of the reviews, I also respect that most of these rooms are trying to operate without drawing much attention to themselves. Anyone interested in learning more specifics about any club should contact me directly.]

A few weeks ago, I was alerted by one of my readers to a brand new poker club that opened up in midtown Manhattan, near Times Square. Unfortunately, due to the demands of my schedule and a regrettable mishap regarding the address of the club, I wasn't able to check out the place until this past Monday. But check it out I did, and now I'm here to present my review.

I accompanied Above Malibu's own BkynPlague to the new club, who had been with me on the aborted first mission to locate it. I've sat at many a table with BkynPlague, not just in NYC, but also in Atlantic City and Los Angeles. He's a good egg and a good poker player and is the perfect kind of person with whom to spend an evening playing cards - good-natured, friendly, funny, and intelligent.

We met in front of the building at 7pm on a Monday night. People in suits were streaming up and down Eighth Avenue and even in and out of the building that was the object of our evening. After a few phone calls, we walked into the building and proceeded to the third floor. The door to the club, marked simply "3N", was right across the hall from the elevator. No hunting necessary -- a good sign.

We rang the bell, and were immediately buzzed into a room with red walls, but no poker players. The fact that there was someone there at 7pm was another good sign, but where was everyone? I heard the unmistakable "click" of a door to our left also being unlocked, and two plus two quickly became four as we pushed our way into the main room of the club.

By New York standards, the place was cavernous. Two games were in full swing in front of a large dry erase board, but something seemed a little off. It wasn't the mint green walls; it wasn't the large, computer-generated print-outs advertising the ongoing Saturday freerolls ($1,000) or the Wednesday night 3-6* game that would treat all players to a free dinner prepared by "Anna"; it wasn't the overly round breasts of the waitress flittering amongst the tables serving soft drinks. It was something else -- something BkynPlague finally was able to put into words.

"It feels like a VFW hall."

That was *exactly* it. I should back up, though, because I think that statement is a bit unfair to the club. New Yorkers are not used to working with lots of space. We pack ourselves into overcrowded subway cars and 300 square foot studios on a daily basis. We literally rub elbows with our neighbors while sipping lattes at the local cafe. When presented with large spaces, we have a bit of a brain fart, and I think that's what happened to BkynPlague and I. We simply couldn't fathom such a large space, especially since most other rooms in NYC feel more cramped, in the true New York style.

This club was large enough for twelve holdem tables, and there was still plenty of empty space, including an odd, square boxed off area in the back. More on that in a moment. A long counter was on our immediate right, which essentially functioned as door security and cage rolled into one. The man behind the counter told us there were two 1/2 60/300 NLHE games going, with seats available for both of us.

I'll skip over details of the play. I was only there for an hour, long enough to get a feel for things and make $40. Time charges were the NYC standard $4 per half hour. My table make-up was pretty soft; there were clearly a few players who were a bit tighter and a few who were a bit looser, but nobody was really making any "moves" at pots. I showed down a stone-cold bluff with Montana (92o) hoping to generate some action for later hands, but I think I just wasn't there long enough for it to really pay off. If nothing else, the table was *very* chatty, which I much prefer over the stony-faced rock gardens that are typical of many tables in Atlantic City. There was even some discussion about "what to do with the space in the back" (meaning that 'boxed off' section I describe). Prevailing opinion was to set it up as a boxing ring and let players resolve their disputes at the card table by lacing up.

It seemed to me that there's a standard "dress code" for the dealers at the club, which is very similar in style to the dress of dealers at the Borgata. Either that, or all of those guys shop at the same store. I guess the idea is to give the appearance of professionalism to the dealers, but it wasn't working. That's not to say that the dealers were bad, just that the uniform didn't really add much to the equation.

One of the players at my table, Lamont, also seemed to work in some capacity for the club. Towards 8pm, he began soliciting interest in a $20+10 rebuy NLHE tournament. (Really? $20+10? Ick. That's quite a bit of juice for a $20 tournament.) It seemed that few of the cash players were all that interested in a tournament. There was some discussion of bumping the buy-in to $30 or even $100, but few players bit before I left and as a result I think the tournament was scuttled.

Here's the final report card:

Location: Like the last club I reviewed, this one could not be any more central than it is, located almost on the doorstep of the Port Authority Bus Terminal, and literally a stone's throw from Times Square. Any number of subway lines will drop you within a five minute walk of the club.

Hours: I'm not sure of the exact hours of the club, but I think they may be 1pm-4am daily. Yes, that's right, the club opens at 1pm for all you degenerates out there that have nowhere to be on a weekday afternoon. Signs in the club advertised no time charges for play from 1pm to 6pm, obviously an effort to build a viable afternoon playerbase.

Club Atmosphere: Once you get over the size, the place isn't bad. I'd consider it "average" atmosphere. Something felt a bit sterile about it, but you're there to play cards, right? It didn't detract from the experience, at least, unlike some other rooms I've been to in NYC.

Quality of Play: Wholly average, the type of play that typifies 1/2 NLHE in NYC and, really, just about any baby no-limit game you're likely to find anywhere. Point is, don't be concerned about "sharks"; neither BkynPlague or I saw any.

Tournament Structure: Unknown.

Cash Games: Hey -- all you people that constantly email me asking where you can find a live 3-6 game in NYC. Are you paying attention? Good. This club had signs advertising a 3-6 game on Wednesday nights, complete with free food prepared by someone named "Anna". Now, maybe Anna makes some scrumptious feasts, and maybe she makes the high starch, high fat, low taste fare that typified my student days in Russia. Who cares. The point is, THIS IS WHERE YOU CAN FIND A 3-6 GAME. Don't blame me if they stop spreading it because you didn't get your ass down there to sustain the game.

Other than that, there was the mandatory 1-2 NLHE and an interest list for 5-5. I imagine a few other games might be spread on odd days, but the 1-2 NLHE game is spread every day.

Playerbase: Two almost-full tables at 7pm on a Monday says good things about the size of the playerbase, especially given the newness of the club. The owners are also running freerolls every Saturday ($1,000) in an effort to draw more players in. I suspect the club will do ok.

Worth Your Time? Yes. I should point out one thing, however. With the addition of this club, there are now three clubs within a 5 to 10 minute walk of each other. One of them is leagues below the other two, but it will be interesting to see how much they compete for players.