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Thursday, June 26, 2008

Charity Poker Room Review: Poker Palace in Ann Arbor

Poker Palace
3530 Jackson Rd
Ann Arbor, MI 48103
7 Days a week 5PM –2AM
23 of 25 Chips

As promised in June’s issue, here’s the very first charity poker room review! The Poker Palace in Ann Arbor scored 23 of a possible 25 poker chips! Way to go guys! The five categories are listed at the left with a possible five chips in each category.

I went to play in the tournament on the very first Monday when the Poker Palace switched from 4 days a week to 7. There were three cash tables that had been full since 5PM. Here’s the rundown of each category.


#1 Games
The Poker Palace offers a $25 buy-in unlimited $10 rebuy through the first break. Cash Tables: $1/$2, $2/$5, $3/$6, & $5/$10 Limit Holdem. Five games offered—5 chips!





#2 Tournament
This is a fun rebuy tourney. It starts right on time and uses good combination of Robert’s Rules of Poker & WSOP rules. Alternates can get in until the first break 1 1/2 hours in by posting both the big and small blinds when they sit down. The blind structure is pretty aggressive, increasing every 15 minutes. To do well in this tourney, you need to catch some cards or you’ll get blinded out. 70% of the buy-ins and rebuys go into the prize pool. 1 place paid for every 7 tourney entrants. 4 chips—down one due to the 15 minute blinds.



#3 Atmosphere
The Poker Palace is inside Bel-Mark Lanes behind a huge glass wall. The place is smoke-free, well lit, lots of parking, ATM inside the building. Two flat-screen TV’s in either side of the room. The dealers and regulars have a great rapport. Chips are sold by the charity volunteers through a window—very nice set-up. 5-Chips in this category!




#4 Equipment
The chips at the Poker Palace have a gold old-English “D” (Tigers-style) stamped on them. The tables are all felted poker tables with black rails and drink holders. The cash chips are different colors than the tourney chips. Cards are new. 4 chips for equipment—nice stuff!!



#5 Staff
This is where the Poker Palace really shines! The dealers are professionally dressed in tux shirts, bow ties and black pants. They are fast, friendly and accurate on the cash and tournament tables. Randy, the room manager has been overseeing card rooms for around 10 years. Great for consistent rulings in disputes. Waitresses are prompt and smiling. 5 chips for a great staff.

The Poker Palace is a fun poker room—recommended!

Tuesday, June 24, 2008

Omaha H/L - Tonight - 9PM - Be There or Be Square!!

Hi Michigan Poker Fans!

UMichiganPoker.com is hosting a $5 + $0.50 buy-in Omaha H/L tournament on Poker Stars tonight. Here are the vital stats:

When: June 24 at 9PM
Where: Poker Stars
What: Omaha High/Low
How Much: $5 + $0.50 (cheap!!)
Who: Michigan Poker Players - YOU!
Why: Just for Fun
Super Secret Super Strong Password: goblue

To find the tournament, log in to Poker Stars. From the main lobby, click on the "Tourney" tab. Then click on the "Private" tab. Scroll down to 9PM (21:00) and look for a tourney with UMichiganPoker in the title. It's usually right under the Negraneau private tourney. It will look something like this:

21:00 90244777 UMichiganPoker Omaha

Hope to see you there!

Michele

Monday, June 9, 2008

UMichiganPoker.com is going to start rating Charity Poker Rooms on the 1 to 5 Chip Scale!!!


UMichiganpoker.com is going to start rating charity poker rooms around the state! Check the web site and blog for ratings, and my opinion of different poker rooms! You will be able to throw your two cents into the ring—leave some comments on the blog!!



The more chips, the better with a max of 25. The 1-5 chip rating will be given in each of the following categories:



Games Offered: This one’s really simple, one chip for each different game offered beyond the tournament.



Tournament: The fun factor has a lot to do with this category, as does blind structure, percent payout, house rules and rule enforcement.



Atmosphere: Well lit, clean, easy to find poker room with non-smoking available. Televisions with sporting events on, music, easy access to food & beverages also influence this category.



Equipment: Is the equipment casino quality, or something found in the local super-store?



Staff: Professional, knowledgeable and friendly! Cash game dealers are accurate and quick pulling rakes. Tournament dealers are fast, friendly and familiar with the rules. Extra chips for fast, friendly wait staff!





We'll take some photos of the poker room and give some sort of commentary on each room. Keep checking back and let us know what you think too!!!