Big Money added tournament series at Isleta Casino & Resort.

Through June 30 2009 every Tuesday and Thursday Isleta is hosting Turbo Takedown Tourneys, sponsored by Full Throttle. $100 gets you 10,000 in chips with 30 minute rounds. It's larger than their usual tourneys (with the exception of the WSOP qualifier series Isleta holds annually during May and June).

Isleta adds $1,000 to these twice-weekly tournaments and offers to the winner a $150 buy-in to the “big” tournament on July 2. They offer the winner of the July 2 tournament a choice of a trip to Disneyland, a cruise, or a trip to Vegas, in addition to the cash. Isleta is generously adding $2,000 to that tournament. These tournaments fill up quick so I'd recommend getting to the casino an hour early (at least) and reserving your spot. I had to be a part of this action.

There were five tables last night and many of the regulars were there along with a few faces I hadn't seen before. The usual cash games were on – 2/4 & 2/6 limit Hold Em, but by far the primary interest was in the tournament.

I started out well, boosting my stack of 10,000 up to about 16,000 by the third round. Maintained pretty well, although bounced up and down a bit until I was dealt cowboys in the fourth round. Tripled the bet, everyone folded but one gentleman. He re-raised another 1,500 chips, I called. Flop comes, 8 A 9. First to act and wanting to feel him out, I made a min bet. He pushed all in. I folded and threw my kings down. He showed rockets and complimented me on my fold. Still, my stack was damaged and never made it back. I fought hard and made it to 12th before I busted out with 44.

I'm still pretty new at poker; have only been playing for about a year. I'm constantly learning and want to continue doing so. I love the game, love the fact that it's an equal opportunity game. Gender, sex, ethnicity and age don't matter. It's challenging and it's fun. I've had my share of cashes here in the casinos of New Mexico and hope to expand my success.

*Note from Jacksn8: This post marks the first contribution from my blogmate Gina. Here's to continued posts to make this blog a success. Thank You!

New Mexico Players at the WSOP

With the WSOP more than half over, here are the stats to the number of known player that have entered a WSOP event, how many cashes have occurred and how much money NM players have earned so far! I have also compared it to our four corners neighbors.

STATS JUNKIE ALERT! TECHNICAL ANALYSIS TO BEGIN!

Country/State	Players	Bracelets	Cashes	Winnings
Arizona	666	0	107	$1,852,716
Colorado	561	0	67	$751,203
New Mexico	78	0	11	$415,632
Utah	141	0	19	$81,200

One thing that jumps out is though we have sent the fewest players of any of the 4-corners states, we do not have the lowest cash winnings. Not only that, but see the breakdowns below:

	$ per entry	$ per cashout	$ per State Pop.
Arizona	$2,781.86	$17,315.10	$0.29
Colorado	$1,339.04	$11,211.99	$0.15
New Mexico	$5,328.62	$37,784.73	$0.21
Utah	$575.89	$4,273.68	$0.03

As shown above, New Mexicans are showing a remarkable efficiency compared to their neighbors. More money per entered player and per average cashout. The reason Arizona wins in dollars earned per person in their state and not in the other categories has to be due to one or two unusually large single payouts.

New Mexican poker players have much to be proud about! Keep up the good work. I will redo a chart after the whole series is complete.

It can happen...the big time!

When many think of New Mexico, successful poker players is not the first thing that comes to mind, but.......!


On the Game Show Network, WPT coverage at the Bellagio features a player on the final table named Shane Schleger. It listed in the crawl that he got his start playing 'low stakes' in New Mexico. So, I ask any of the readers out in NM, can you give me a good story of your play with this man? Oh, and here is a pic to refresh your memory.

Don't forget...ongoing WSOP sub qualifier tourneys at Isleta as we speak!

Weekly Bad Beat Jackpot Update 08/21/07

Below is the updated Bad Beat Jackpots as of today. The biggest jackpot for each game is highlighted in red. The Omaha Bad-Beat was hit last week at Sandia, but their base jackpot is still high. (Jackpots with round figures are due to poker rooms giving only estimates, not exact figures)

Casino                        Hold 'Em      Omaha      Stud

Sandia (Albq. metro)          $ 43,555     $17,000    $4,419

Isleta (Albq. metro)          $139,788     $ 2,796    $  730

Route 66 (Albq. metro)        $ 23,321

Santa Ana (Rio Rancho)        $ 11,500     $ 8,500

Cities of Gold (Pojoaque)     $  9,200

Sky City Casino (Acoma)               NO BAD BEAT JACKPOTS

Inn of the Mountain Gods              NO BAD BEAT JACKPOTS
(Mescalero)

The worst bad beat story .....

The One That Got Away

Teusday, August 7th - Up for grabs at Isleta Casino Resort is over $120,000 in jackpot money for a bad beat situation. As told by a regular, here is how it went down:

"On the board are three Aces. One player has revealed pocket kings. (Full house Aces full of Kings) The second player reveals pocket Queens. (Full house Aces full of Queens) But there is one player left and this guy shows An Ace with a rag. (Four of a kind Aces) Everyone at the table groans. The final guy does not have a qualifying hand because both his hole cards do not play. So all he gets is a little over $50 in the pot."

Reportedly, the table was about ready to kill this guy, a crumudgeonly type who has earned the nickname "No-Tip" Tony. In the scenario above, to make sure the bad beat jackpot qualified, he would have had to fold and let the two full houses play alone. This would have guaranteed him a cut of the 25% that the "non-players" at the table would receive. (At least $4,000) Now Tony is a regular player familiar with the house rules. It seems crazy that in a momentary lapse of reason he would blow the opportunity to make a few thousand.

Reality or Illusion?

Upon further investigation I found some extra details that both explain and make more painful the truth. Apparently Tony was all-in and the two players holding aces full had a side pot going. Accordingly, they had to show their hands first to determine the winner of the side pot. With that finished, Tony was asked to reveal his cards. Apparently, according to bad beat rules, all cards have to be resolved at the same time to create a bad beat. Since there was first a side pot round where the bad beat cards were revealed without all cards being shown, it disqualifies
the bad beat. So, no matter what, it was never to happen. One of the most incredible grand illusions that might ever happen occurred.

The jackpot keeps climbing. Updated bad beat jackpot numbers for all poker houses in New Mexico will appear in a couple days.

Alcohol Availability

One thing that many tourists to New Mexico casinos marvel at is the inability to consume alcohol at the gaming tables and slots. While this is prevelant, it is not 100% true. Two poker rooms in New Mexico do allow alcohol consumption at the poker tables. Those two casinos are:

* Isleta Casino Resort
* Route 66 Casino

Some people don't like to play where alcohol consumption is allowed. Personally, I am more than happy to allow someone else to be intoxicated while playing a game of critical strategy desicions. With few exceptions, people who drink at the table play worse and make it posssible for others to take their money. So, while the drrinkers have a good time, profits can be made perhaps easier than at the poker rooms that are alcohol free.

Just one more tip of many that will come from this website. Keep checking in for more tournament and bad beat updates as well as other helpful information.

Weekly Bad Beat Jackpot Update

Below is the updated Bad Beat Jackpots as of today. The biggest jackpot for each game is highlighted in red.

Casino                        Hold 'Em      Omaha      Stud

Sandia (Albq. metro)          $ 35,906     $39,453    $4,419

Isleta (Albq. metro)          $125,779     $ 2,796    $  730

Route 66 (Albq. metro)        $ 17,572

Santa Ana (Rio Rancho)        $ 12,450     $ 8,203

Cities of Gold (Pojoaque)     $  8,300

Sky City Casino (Acoma)               NO BAD BEAT JACKPOTS

Inn of the Mountain Gods              NO BAD BEAT JACKPOTS
(Mescalero)

Isleta Casino Poker Room - Tournament Frenzy

To the south of Albuquerque's city limits lies The Isleta Casino & Resort, New Mexico's first reservation casino. Ever since its early days, poker has been a part of the action. The poker room is located at the far north end of the casino, next to the lounge and showroom. Although its poker room is not one of the bigger ones, it makes up for it by providing lots of action. Isleta is also the most smoker-friendly room in New Mexico with smoking allowed

Tournament Action

Every poker room in New Mexico tries to find its niche, and for Isleta it is constant tournament action. Every day of the week there are at least two tournaments and on weekends it rises to three. A link to their September schedule is here. Most all tournaments have a rebuy structure which keeps people playing and builds the winning pots. This can also create some unusual action and crazy results. The only no-rebuy tournaments offered are on Saturday and Sunday at 10AM. For those players who excel at tournament style play, one can get far or win in one tournament and finish just in time for the next one.

Personal blog notes

I went both Saturday and Sunday for the 10AM no-rebuy tournaments. Saturday, I performed like most times, and finished in the dead middle of the pack (16th of 33). I posted my best finish ever on Sunday as I came in 3rd place in a field of 23. One other note: I find the tournament structure at Isleta to be turbo in nature. They don' t raise the limits quickly, but at the tournaments I attended the starting chips were 800 and the blinds were 50/100. This made everyone have to act in more of a panic mode. I am happy for my 3rd place finish though, and look forward to more weekend tourneys at Isleta.

Friday's Weekly Poker Tournament Update

Isleta Casino Resort - Tuesday 9/5 and Thursday 9/7 @7PM, Qualifiers for the $30K Marathon Tournaments held on November 28th and 30th. No-Limit Hold 'Em $60 Buy-In with rebuy available in first hour.

Sandia Resort & Casino - Sunday 9/3 and Monday 9/4 @7PM No-Limit Hold 'Em $100 Buy-In (No rebuy) $1000 added. 1st place in each tournament will also receive a free ticket for a cruise to the Mexican Riviera.

Santa Ana Star Casino - Saturday 9/2 @11AM No-Limit Hold 'Em $30 Buy-In + $5 Fee No Rebuy

Route 66 Casino - Saturday 9/2 @1PM No-Limit Omaha Hi-Lo $20 Buy-In + $5 Entry Fee $200 Added (No Rebuy) Limited to the first 80 players.

Mission Statement

#1 This blog will dedicate itself to providing current and accurate information about happenings in the poker rooms of New Mexico.

#2 This blog will provide important information in a clear yet entertaining way.

#3 This blog will update every Friday with the following week's large poker tournament schedules.

#4 This blog wants to hear from you! Email me!

#5 This blog hopes you will enjoy returning here on a regular basis!

Route 66 Casino review - Building a good reputation

To the west of Albuquerque, some 20 miles from the city limits, rises one of New Mexico's newer casinos, Route 66. From the outside, its visual appeal is not as great as it other metro rivals, but one thing is clear from the outset, it attracts a large number of truckers. Route 66 Casino has created ample parking for semis and with its convenient location off the well traveled I-40, this strategy is part of their success.

So, one might at first think, "Oh no! The building looks plain and it is full of truckers. This place won't be nice." When in actuality, the interior is quite nice and up to the standards of the other competing casinos. What makes Route 66 Casino an even better situation are two things:

#1 A poker room was apparently never part of the original structure, so it has been added on recently. What this means is a dedicated space set apart from all the clatter of the slot machines and an interior design that was meant to welcome the poker players. A full service bar is located at the outside edge of the playing tables. Smoking and alcohol consumption is only allowed in the outer edge. The room has a giant mural on all the walls and the mahogany tones of the furnishings lets you know that this was the intent. Poker. Period.

#2 The place is full of truckers! Most truckers like to gamble, but it has been my experience so far that they are dead money. I was actually tipped off to this when playing a tournament at Isleta Casino Resort. The tip was not wrong. During the late morning to evening, any 2/4 or 2/6 spread table has at least 3 truckers per 10 people playing. I have yet to see one trucker who matches up to the regulars. Most come for the fun and entertainment factor, and have the bankroll to keep running to the cashiers' window for more. Yum yum!

Tournaments - Morning tourneys being at 10AM on M,W,F and 9AM on T, Th. Both are $20 buy-ins with $200 added on M,W,F and $500 added on T,Th. Evening tourneys are M-Th at 7PM with a $25 buy-in. One Omaha Hi-Low tourney is scheduled for Saturdays at 1PM with a $20+5 buy-in. $200 is added to the pot. All tournaments at Route 66 Casino are no-rebuy. Personally, I love this fact. I'd rather pay a higher entry on a no-rebuy tourney than have to suffer rebuying at a lower amount. Fewer fishes and more intense play is the order of the day.

All in all a good poker experience is waiting at Route 66 Casino, now one of my favorites.