Texas Held Em Poker in or near Puerto Plata

[DackJaniels]

Hi All,
I have visited the DR (Coral Marien in Costa Dorada) once and had a wonderful time so am returning on May 3rd for 2 weeks (3 days left!).

I have read about the Texas Hold Em game on a Thursday evening at Rocky's and was wondering if anyone could give me a little more info (Rocky perhaps?).

Is the game still being run on a Thursday and is it open to anyone? If so do I need to notify them early on or just turn up for the game? Also, what sort of game is it, Limit or No Limit, what blinds are played, do they increase as in a tourney or is it simply a normal table game where you can up and leave whenever?

Finally, I believe Costa Dorada (Coral Marien next to the Iberostar) is fairly close to Rocky's bar, does this require jsut a walk along the beach or is it easier to take a taxi?

Thanks in advance for your help, can't wait to see you soon.
Steve

 

[HOWMAR]

Steve, Here's the deal.

The game at Rocky's is now played on Tuesday and Friday nights at 8:00PM.
Rocky's Bar and Restaurant is located in Sosua, about 25 minutes from your hotel. I commute to the game from Puerto Plata with no problem by either guagua (public van) or publicos (public taxi). They pass by your hotel on the main road every few minutes. The fare going is 20/25 pesos. I get off at the Texaco Station in Sosua and are 1 block to Rocky's. A private hotel taxi would probably be US$25.00-$30.00. For the return I take the night publico which is always waiting at the Texaco for 30 pesos. They will drop you right in front of your hotel.
The game is played by a few local expats plus anybody in town visiting. Everyone is welcome (well everyone except for a certain real estate mogul). It is a very loose game. The buyin is usually 1,000 pesos (approx US$35.00). We start the night with a limit game. Blinds are 10/20 pesos. Bets are 20 pesos on the deal, flop and turn. 40 pesos on the river. Only two raises are allowed. At 11:00 we change to a no-limit game to allow those that are losing to get even or even worse. The game finishes at midnight. A worse case scenerio is to lose 2,000-3,000 pesos for the night. Here is an old link explaing the game. Ignore the date on it.http://dr1.com/forums/showthread.php?p=316652&highlight=poker#post316652

Closer to your hotel, at the Jack Tar Casino in Playa Dorada is a no-limit pesos game. The blinds are 50/100. The buyin is minimum of 1500 pesos. The game starts around 10:00 PM and ends at 3:00 AM, every night. This is a more serious game with 60-70,000 pesos on the table by the end of the night. Played by a few local expats. a few local Dominicans and the balance tourists.

There is also a dollar game played at Paradise Casino in Playa Dorada. This game is dominated by local wiseguys and should be avoided by most. There is alot of collusion amongst the local players. Buyin is US$100 minimum, but the locals buyin with 300-500 to try to dominate. $1/$2 blinds, no-limit.

There are also games in Sosua at Playa Chequita Casino and at Breezes. Both of these games have strong infleuence by local Dominican players.


PM me if you have any questions

 

[DackJaniels]

Thanks for the reply HOWMAR. I have taken you up on your offer and PM'd you a few more questions.
Thanks in advance.

 

[Rick Snyder]

Dack Janiels,
Welcome to DR1. I see you have posted a couple times and we hope you enjoy your second trip to the DR. When you get back home how about letting us know in the "Trip Report" forum about your stay. If you find the time we would appreciate a story about where you stayed, how the food and service was, how the poker game went etc. Once again, enjoy.

Rick

 

[DackJaniels]

Trip Report

Thanks for the welcome Rick. I had a great time last August and am so looking forward to my trip on Wednesday. I will keep a note of the highlights (either in mind or on paper if too wasted) and give my report when I return.

Looking to do the PADI Open Water Diver course too so hopefully will have some insight into this side of things as well as a few pics.

Keep up the good work all! :glasses:

 

[Rick Snyder]

DackJaniels,
That would be greatly appreciated. What is the possibility of underwater pictures? I don't think we have any of them in our photo gallery but I could be wrong but I don't remember seeing any there. Keep us posted.

Rick

 

[DackJaniels]

Underwater pictures

Rick,
Underwater pictures are the intention. I have just bought an entry level underwater camera suitable for diving so will hopefully get some nice shots. Will certainly post any good ones I get. Perhaps it could be added to a sticky containing snorkel/dive site reviews.
Anyway, will be sure to keep you all updated.
Regards.

 

[Rocky]

Double posted by accident

 

[joecanada]

A couple more points on the Texas Hold'em scene in Sosua / Cabarete:

Playa Chiquita has a NL tournament every Wednesday night, which is normally followed by a cash game. RD$3000 buy in. Cash game is pretty low stakes with a 100/50 blind system.

Breezes is, in my opinion, the worst game in town -- 5% rake with no cap. Most players avoid it, but you do get some tourists buying in for $20 at a time.

Ocean Sands, in Cabarete, is where the big game is. Tournaments on Wednesday and Saturday nights followed by a cash game. RD$200/$100 blinds, but the action is fast & loose with a lot of money on the table. Not for the faint of heart.

To the best of my knowledge, collusion is rare at any of these three casinos, although I've heard horror stories of collusion in the PD casinos. Again, just rumours.

Good luck!

Joe

 

[DackJaniels]

Thanks for the extra info Joe

 

[HOWMAR]

Playa Chiquita has a NL tournament every Wednesday night, which is normally followed by a cash game. RD$3000 buy in. Cash game is pretty low stakes with a 100/50 blind system.

Joe

Anybody know what time the tournament starts?

 

[Larry]

joecanada,

What's the rake at playa chiquita?

By the way, I played in a tourney called "Los Reyes del Texas Hold em" here in tha capital Saturday night and am going to write a review about it tomorrow when I get a chance. It is a weekly tourney and I am going to comment on a variety of topics for anyone interested. I think the die hard poker players on here will appreciate the info.

Larry