www.CostaRicaTicas.com

Guys,

planning my long awaited return to cr after 6 years will be spending 6 nights in san jose from the 7 of august....any current poker info? do the games in the del rey still run? any other games recommended? Not going to spend all my time playing poker...or maybe i am;)

much appreciated

cln20 plays and he can fill you in on the updated poker games ....give him a pm ....if he sees this post he should respond

As of April, there was still a cash game at Del Rey (late night). During the day, Horseshoe starts their game around 3-4. They have some promotions to get guys in early. The games are pretty loose, but if you're patient and don't do anything dumb, you can do well.

They run $1/2 and/or $2/5, depending on players.

Thanx guys for the quick response...really looking fwd to this trip...drinking women and poker!:) in no particular order! will post my reports when back....staying at the del rey for 5 nights and the presidente for 2. See u guys soon!

wow... no poke-her jokes?

I assume these are no limit. Are the any low roller games available. I ain't going all in sweetheart.

Yes, they are all NL. It's a waste of time playing a low stakes limit game, too many fishermen. There is nothing lower than 1/2 in the gulch (I actually prefer $0.50/1.00 myself, that's what I play online. I wish it would be available.). The Fiesta Casino (Plaza Herradura) on the highway to the airport has lower stakes and also higher stakes games available. It's about $15 taxi ride from the gulch. They also have tournies.

Thanks Orange. It looks like I'll stick to craps at Colonial. Do you know anything about the horseshoe's craps game?

orange thanx for the help...i remember my last visit my first live poker game ever was in the horseshoe...got cleaned out and went back to my room with 2 domincans to console me...

i have been living in lagos nigeria for the last few years this is my last two weeks before i go home to london....there is one poker room here run by the lebanese community blinds are 5-10 dollars with one table running everynight from 8pm onwards professionally run alot of fish and lots of money in play.....but been living in the bush for the last 2 weeks electrictiy running water for 6 hours a day followed around by cops everywhere...its time for san jose beers on me if anyone around!!!!

Do you make any money helping people move $35 million into their bank accounts for the King of Nigeria?

Just keep an eye on the dealers, they sometimes screw up the payouts. It may be on purpose or they just may not be very good at math. A 7:6 payout is hard to calculate on a 1000 colon bet. I think they would pay you 1000, basically screwing you out of another 17%. Always bet in the correct multiples on 4,5,6, and 8,9,10, especially if you play in colones or they will jack you for a few colones each payout. If you're player, you should know what I mean.

on a 4 or 10, you want to bet a multiple of 5, payout is 9:5 (unless you buy it, then 2:1)
on a 5 or 9, you wanna bet a multiple of 5, payout is 7:5.
on a 6 or 8, you should be a multiple of 6, payout is 7:6

I didn't know they had one.

I remember when i was young my uncle had a shirt that said liqour in the front..poke her in the rear..he used to tell me his monger stories when i was a teen .His company would take many of the crew to monger destinations..he said hes been to san jose..man i wish i could work for a company like that..he s a union sheet metal guy from Detroit...funniest shit ever.."shit son...i d just stack them little brown asses up and pound em"..one on top the other..He called em LBFM....."Little Brown Fuckin Machines" LOL

Damn I cant believe I just now saw this. There is some good action to be had in SJ.

Del Rey - My favorite place to play now. Super comfy chairs, have the sporting events on TV, and a good mix of local players and of course the tourists that drop in. Plus Bob will sometimes chip in and buy everyone those good popcorn shrimp. Plus you get to see all the girls walking by. When I was living in CR I would literally spend hours in there. Not uncommon for me to play from 4pm to 3am. Typically is 1-2 NL, however, if the right people are there, 2-5 will happen as well. But to be truthful, the 1-2 plays bigger. I mean, standard raise is 3x the BB, but that game making it 15 preflop was the norm.

Horseshoe - Used to play there a lot, but a lot of mis-management it seems. I still go occasionally, but its not as comfortable of a game, and usually has 2 or 3 house players on the table, or even one of the owners of the game. This is just my observation. But at that casino I've felt like I've been up against not only one player, but two or three. I have also seen outright collusion there between players. Even when this was brought up, nothing was done and I was made to feel like I was the bad guy.
However, I've seen Horseshoe with some major players at the table. I walked in there one night and there was a 2-5 going on with easily 20k on the table. They may have bigger action there.

Colonial - Nice environment, but didnt play there much. Game usually got started later and didnt move as fast as the other games. One night I sat there and counted how many hands got dealt to me in an hour. It was only 11. Thats way too slow for me. From my experience, everyone there is a local grinder, not too many tourists, and probably a tougher table than DR or Horseshoe. Also I didnt like when players won a big hand they would hit and run. Scoop a big pot and they're gone.

Palma Real - Played there a few times, but not likely to go back. Whenever I went the place was pretty empty, plus the fact that its quite a ways from the gulch. Mostly a Tico crowd, and players are super tight.

Clarion - I used to play here a lot on previous trips, but havent stepped inside in a while. I guess the hotel was having problems and from what I've heard, they usually have a 2-5 going on Thursdays, but on all other days the games dont really get off the ground. They used to have some tournaments there as well, but dont know if those are still running.


Hope this helps, and good luck at the tables.

hey cln20 I met a guy at the crt meeting and he played many hours of poker on his last trip and he was sharing some of his poker stories and he was telling me about a guy who was tearing it up....I knew it was you !!!! he said he was up but gave it back and I shared that I felt that there was house players in the games and a few guys grinding it out daily.....which is why I stay away when on vacation at the places you listed. Glad to hear you are doing well as I enjoy your updates ....I like guys who tell it the way it is ...win or lose. Thanks

met this dude one time at the nuevo johnson, he would winter over in CR from his job in construction up north....anyway, he told me he was a house player at one of the casinos and they would spot him dinner and like 20 bucks if he would show up at starting time and play a minimum number of hours...

he played conservatively and would just sort of chill out each winter in CR living on the 20 bucks a day and the free meal.

said he would sometimes win modest amounts from the passing tourists that played more loosely.


anyway, thanks for the report/summary on the different casinos!

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