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Below is a poker trip report made by a BARGE friend of mine, Stevan "Goldiefish" Goldman. I'm sure there are a few here who will enjoy it. Andy - Las Vegas
I have just returned from a family vacation to Spain. Here is my report on
BARCELONA
The GRAN CASINO BARCELONA is easy to find...it is near the beach, in the
The casino opens at 3:00pm and closes at 5:00am. The cost of admission is 3
Once in the casino, the POQUER room was easy to find. There were FOUR
I arrived at about 9:00pm on a Wednesday to find three games going. 20-40
The Holdem game itself is played exactly as in the US, with one
The game is raked, and it was the MOST EXPENSIVE Holdem game I had ever
I returned on the next night at 6:00pm, but with two full tables of 20-40, I
Interestingly, the players loved to show their hands after the river, even
Barcelona is unlike the rest of Spain in that while they certainly speak
It had been a long time since I had played in a game with smoking allowed at
I should also say this: For their ridiculously high rake, the players were
MADRID
The CASINO de MADRID is not easy to find, as it is about 17km outside of
The Casino (same r00lz apply..admission fee and Passport) enforces a DRESS
The Poquer tables were easy enough to find, but not too easy to understand.
There was one game going. It was ten handed with two open seats. When I
The game was no limit Holdem, with a 250 euro buy-in, and 200 euro rebuys.
From a strict NL Holdem perspective, the game was soft, as many players
Needless to say, most of the players had only 200-300 euros in front of them
Here is a typical hand I remember: Everyone antes. Cards are dealt. One
I watched this game for about 40 minutes. I don't think I saw a single bet
I was disappointed that I couldn't (wouldn't) play in this game, but while I
I would have trouble recommending this particular game to anyone who likes
the poker scene I encountered there:
middle of the area that was constructed largely for the Olympics there in
1992. Nice facility. No craps, but lots of roulette (Rouleta), as well as
Baccarat (American-style against the house) and Chemin-de-Fer (French and
James Bond style against other players). Also, American blackjack was
played, but out of an endless-shuffle shoe, negating any counting
opportunities. Slots too, but I didn't play them. There were mostly reel
machines (mechanical AND electronic). I did spot some Video Poker, but
never played, and therefore didn't learn too much about them. Sorry, VP
fans.
euros, but most hotels have passes for guests to save the three euros. Non
EU citizens MUST have a passport to gain admission. Other ID is NOT
sufficient. Passport is REQUIRED.
permanent tables, and nine or ten other tables in the area that could be
used for POQUER, or house-banked casino games. They run regular tournaments
there using these "multi-purpose" tables.
limit Holdem, 30-60 limit Holdem, and Pot Limit Omaha with a 5-10 blind
structure. Nothing smaller. All amounts are in Euros. Based on the
current exchange rate, the Eu20-40 game was roughly the equivalent of
$25-$50. The 30-60 game actually broke while I was there and it became a
second 20-40 game. I could only stay for one hour on my first visit (I
really went there just to check it out, for a possible longer session later
in the week), but when I left at 10:00pm, it looked as though the PLO and
the 20-40 limit Holdem game would go on all night.
exception...the board is spread backwards. That is, after the dealer
spreads the flop, the turn card is placed to the LEFT of the flop (from the
dealer's perspective), and the river is to the left of the turn. Other than
that strange little anomaly, it was American Holdem. The game goes slowly,
as it took the two dealers I saw longer to read the board than we are
accustomed to. I counted about 10-15 MAXIMUM hands per half-hour dealer
shift, maybe 20-30 hands per hour overall. The players themselves were
largely weak-passive so the game looked easy, and I was anxious to return
when I had more time to play. The one exception to the loose passive play
was on the river. It was not uncommon for there to be 3, 4, or more bets on
the river after the turn had been checked. They LOVED to trap and
check-raise, even in situations when checking the turn actually cost the
winner money. It was an emotional thing...they just liked to bet the river
more than any other street. As I said, I was anxious to get back there with
more time, and I did return the next night and played for just under four
hours.
played in. The rake is posted as "2.5%", but that is just misleading. They
took 5 Euros from the first 100 (clearly 5%, not 2.5%), then another 5 euros
from each successive 200, with a rake cap of a remarkable 25 euros on pots
of 900 euros or more. Pots that large were probably as common as any other
loose 20-40 limit game in California, but I guessed that the rake AVERAGED
just over 10euros per hand. That means the house was taking about 300-350
euros per hour, and with 9 players at the table, this added up to about
35euros PER PERSON, per hour, or about $42 per hour. Compare this to $14 or
$16 per hour at the TAJ, or $12 per hour for $30-$60 at Bellagio, and you
can see how expensive this game was to play. Even worse, there were NO
one-euro chips allowed at the table. So, when players toked the dealer (the
tokes were pooled with EVERY other dealer throughout the casino), the toke
was 5 euros!! Needless to say, players only toked on the VERY BIG pots, but
still, toking was expensive. The players even toked the waiter the same 5
euros to bring them a bottle of water!! All in all, this was a remarkably
expensive game in which to play.
was dismayed to see a long list. I didn't think I'd get into a game, but
they had a tournament (100+10 no limit) that began at 6:30, so when many
players left to play in the tourney, I got a seat at the one surviving 20-40
game. Needless to say, as players busted from the tourney, the second 20-40
game refilled, as did the Omaha game. I won 360 euros in three hours in
this game. My peak was being ahead 500 euros, and my low point was down
about 120. I won most of my money on one big hand. I was on the big blind
with Ad6d. The UTG player raised to 40, and five (count 'em, FIVE) players
called around to me. So I put in my extra 20 and SEVEN of us saw a flop of
A-A-2. Of course, I didn't like my kicker. I checked and the UTG raiser
bet the flop, and we lost two players. Five of us saw a 4 fall on the turn.
I checked again, and this time the original UTG raiser also checked.
Everyone checked to the button, who bet 40. I called, as did the raiser and
one other player. The river was the 6. Dingz! I checked, looking to
check-raise the button, but everyone checked around (saddenz, but not TOO
sad), and I took it down with the nuts.
when they lost, and they absolutely LOVED to show their hole cards one at a
time. It wasn't really a slow roll, and everyone did it, and no one
complained. But, it also slowed the game down. A lot. For example, on one
such hand, there were three players in at the end. The board was ragged,
but with an Ace on the flop. One player bet the river and two others
called. So the bettor turned over ONE of his cards, an ace (as if to say
"beat THIS"). The first caller then also showed one card, also an ace, as
if to say "you'll need more than that". The second caller then also showed
an ace, as if to say "well, so far we're all tied". So, it was now back to
the bettor to show his second hole card. It was a King. The first caller
showed his unpaired ten and mucked and the second caller showed his unpaired
Jack and also mucked. Most showdowns were conducted this way, and the
players really seemed to ENJOY this one-card-at-a-time showdown. I didn't
do it when I was in at the end, but that was because I didn't speak their
language (more on that in a minute). It was a VERY friendly game, and
absolutely NO ONE was offended by the way the hands were shown. On the big
hand I won, I'm absolutely certain no one else had an ace. And because no
one bet the river, I'm also sure no one had a straight or flush. If I had
rolled just the Ace, I'm almost certain they would have mucked. My ace was
good, without needing the 6 on the river. However, there were three spades
on the turn, and I'm pretty sure the button (who bet the turn) had the Ks
and was looking for the flush.
Spanish, they also speak a local dialect called "Catalan". When
Generalissimo Francisco Franco was in power, he mandated that ONLY Spanish
be taught in the schools. But, when he died, the people of Barcelona (in
the province of Catalonya) returned to their language (and their local
culture as they see it) with almost a vengeance. They take great local
pride in their Catalan. Many Catalonians are separatists and would like to
be separate from greater Spain. Not as much as the Basques, but separatism
is still prevalent. You notice it when you go from Barcelona ("modern"
Spain) to Madrid, or better yet, Seville (which is "old" Spain). Almost
like going to another country, even more drastic than going from Bangor,
Maine to Mobile, Alabama in the US. I speak a little Spanish, and I
certainly spoke enough to play in this game, as the only Spanish words you
needed were the numbers (20, 40, 60, 80, 100, 120 and 160). Besides, in a
limit game, you didn't even have to know the numbers in Spanish, since the
bets spoke for themselves. In the PL Omaha game, some knowledge of numbers
in Spanish would have been almost required. The dealers spoke "some"
English which helped, but playing in a PL or NL game without knowing numbers
in Spanish would have been quite difficult, and slow. However, as I said,
the game was friendly, with lots of joking, laughing and teasing one-another
on the bad hands they played. And, they played a LOT of bad hands.
However, the players spoke Catalan to one another, which left me largely
unable to understand anything that was said at the table, except what I
could take out of context. Too bad, because it was a nice game, with
players who just had a lot of fun. And, it was soft for that reason.
the table, but as with most of Europe, smoking was allowed. In fact, I
think it was almost required. This was good because I was able to smoke a
lovely Cuban cigar at the table, but it was bad because finding fresh air to
breathe became somewhat of a challenge at times. To be honest, I don't know
HOW the dealers could stand it. I took frequent breaks when I wasn't in
hands, just to step away from the table for a minute or two.
treated GREAT. For example, the house would bring the players fresh packs
of their favorite cigarettes for free, and even offered me a cigar! Also,
the staff cleaned continuously, including emptying the ashtrays constantly.
AND, at a break in the tournament (at 9:00pm), food was served to ALL
players. Lovely little baguette sandwiches...cheese, ham and cheese, potato
croquettes, etc. Even wine and soft drinks! So, all the poquer players
took a break at 9:00pm to eat, on the house. Quite a nice touch. Again, I
only wish that they had spoken more Spanish or less Catalan. Other than
that, I thoroughly enjoyed playing poquer in Barcelona. I recommend it to
anyone who visits there.
Madrid. BUT, there are regularly scheduled free buses from two main points
in Madrid, the Plaza Espana, and the Plaza Colon. So, getting there was
easy. It took 25 minutes from Madrid by bus.
CODE that requires gentlemen to wear a sports jacket at all times between
October and May. I was fortunate that they don't enforce the dress code
during the hot Summer months, or I wouldn't have gotten in at all. As it
turned out, it wouldn't have mattered, as I didn't play poker there.
Once I saw the game, my Spanish was NOT enough to allow me to understand
what was happening. But, the floorman did find the one casino employee who
spoke English enough for me to get the gist of the game. It may have been
poquer to them, but it was barely poker as we understand it. It wasn't even
p0cker.
asked the floorman about the game, he told me it was "stud poquer", but the
dealer put out a Holdem-like board, so that's when I asked to speak to
someone who could explain the game to me in English, because it certainly
was NOT stud.
OK, easy enough. Then the English speaking dude explained that the house
fee (rake) was 40 euros per hour. This seemed reasonable to me, especially
after the high rake in Barcelona. Reasonable until I understood that the 40
euros was PER PERSON, per hour!. Wow!! Over $50 per hour to play poker.
Amazing. So, the actual buy-in was 290 euros, of which 40 went to the house
off the top. Wait...it gets worse. The game is played with NO BLINDS.
Instead, there is a 10 euro ANTE on every hand, from every player. So, in a
full game, the pot starts with 100 euros in it. Also, the button acts
FIRST. This alone was not too big a deal, since it meant that the player
next to the button was the button as we understand it. But, ALL of the
cards were dealt in the OPPOSITE direction. In Barcelona they just put the
board out "backwards" which wasn't too hard to deal with. But, in Madrid,
they dealt ALL the cards beginning to the dealer's RIGHT! I had quite a bit
of difficulty following the game, even while I was just watching. I kept
looking to the wrong player to act! So, everyone anted 10, the cards were
dealt, and the button began the action.
played LOTS of bad hands, and badly at that. BUT, the game was REMARKABLY
expensive. It was quite COMMON for a player to go ALL IN before the flop,
and to get at least one caller, sometimes two and even three. And, while
the players in the 20-40 limit game in Barcelona almost all bought in for
800-1000 euros, in the NL game in Madrid they bought in only for the
minimum, and then kept rebuying for the 200 euro minimum. They did this
because they LOVED jamming the pots before the flop and were happy to do it
for the 200-300 euros, but they didn't want to jam for 1000 euros. So,
after they lost a hand and went broke, they would rebuy, and rebuy, and
rebuy, but only for 200 euros each time.
at any one time, while one or two or three players (who were winning) had
giant stacks. BUT, even when the giant stacks went up against one another,
they would typically bet the 200-300 euros preflop, and then check the hand
down. It wasn't that they were colluding or going easy on each other.
Rather, they wanted the smaller stacks in the pots, and they weren't really
interested in the side pot(s). At least that's what it looked like to me.
Essentially, they liked gambling in multi-way pots for about 200 euros per
hand, per player and then showing down the hand to see who won. Then, they
did the one-card-at-time, see-if-you-can-beat-this routine as in Barcelona.
player folds. The next player goes all in for 230 euros. One fold, then
the next player, with about 1500 euros in his stack (and a bigger stack
immediately behind him) COLD CALLS for the 230. Then, the next player, with
the biggest stack at the table (about 2000 euros) also COLD CALLS exactly
230. A couple more players fold and a fourth player pushes all in, for 270
euros. Remember, this is all PRE-FLOP. Both big stacks call the additional
40 euros each, and the dealer creates a side pot of 120 (3x40) and deals the
flop. Since two players are all-in, the betting is now between the two
giant stacks. Check, Check. Turn card. Check, check. River card. Check,
check. Showdown time. Original all-in bettor shows an Ace. First big
stack shows A9o. No pair...that's his entire hand. The next player shows
A2o, also no pair. The fourth player shows KQ suited, no pair and mucks.
Side pot is pushed to player #2 as his 9 outkicks the deuce. Both players
laugh. Original player shows a King and declares proudly "REY!" (REY = King
in Spanish). Incidentally, his AK was s00ted! Everyone nods knowingly as
the main pot is pushed to the first player. Player #4 rebuys for 200 euros
from a wad of 100 euro notes that was probably 4 or 5 thousand. Dealer is
toked a fiver. Everyone antes another 10 for the next hand!
on the river, because most often when the river was reached with two
players, one was already all-in. The most common all-in bets were PRE-FLOP
and on the flop. As I watched this madness that only slightly resembled
Holdem, only one thought went through my head..."How did Carlos
Mortensen ever learn to play Holdem in this country?". It was apparent that
you could win or lose a fortune in this game quite easily, and in fact
during the 40 minutes I watched, the player with the 1500 euros from the
hand I described ran his stack up to just over 5000 when I left, without
ever really showing a "real" hand. They showed down some remarkable bad
hands. When all the chips didn't go in pre-flop, they almost always went in
on the flop, and it was not uncommon for ANYONE who had paired the board on
the flop to call, no matter what, looking for the 2-or-3-outer. It was a
strange game indeed. The fact that the loser(s) from the prior hand had
only the 200 euro rebuy in front of them rendered this game to almost "200
euro showdown", as the big stacks were never really willing to risk
everything they had won up to that point against one another, preferring
instead to wait for the next hand of "200 euro showdown". But, they
certainly seemed to enjoy playing "200 euro showdown", especially in three
and four-handed pots.
was prepared to lose a decent amount in any game I played, I was just
unwilling to get involved in a game that was played as this one was. So, I
played some blackjack and went back to Madrid to meet my family for dinner.
Holdem as we know it. If you want to play Holdem in Spain, I would
recommend Barcelona over Madrid.
goldiefish
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