REPORT: St. Maarten, Netherlands Antilles (The Caribbean)

[ChezJ]

I can't wait for this vacation! Apparently there are a bunch of casinos in St. Maarten, and several have NL holdem. Anybody ever been? If not, I'll report in July.

ChezJ

[ChezJ]

Spent 1 week in St. Maarten, a small island in the Caribbean with at least a dozen casinos. The whole island is only 37 sq miles, so that's like 1 casino every 3 sq miles. Plus, they are only on the Dutch side ("St. Maarten"), not on the French side ("St. Martin"), so the concentration is actually much higher. Within just a couple blocks of my hotel, there were 4 casinos -- Hollywood, Dolphin, Tropicana, and some sports betting place.

It seems that at least half of the casinos have poker tables, though usually only 1-2 of them. They usually have a tournament around 7pm and then live NL games starting around 9pm. I didn't play the tourneys but I understand the buyin was like $60. (All casinos use U.S. dollars.) The live games are almost all $1/$2 NL games with a $100-$300 buyin. I heard there is sometimes a $2/$5 NL game in some places.

There were only 9 people playing when I arrived on Friday night around 10pm. Mid-week, especially Wednesday, is actually more popular than the weekends for going out in St. Maarten. Not sure why, but it was definitely true when it came to the bar scene. I was told there were lots more players and lots more action on Wednesday. I also stopped by and saw two tables going on Thursday evening, but didn't get to play.

Anyway, on this Friday night, the table was full of tourists and 1-2 locals. The action was classic loose-passive, with 6-7 to every flop even with a raise to $7 or $8. 4-5 to the flop with a $12 raise. 2-3 to the flop with a $25 raise. The tourists were all friendly and talkative, and all seemed to know each other from playing throughout the week. There were two married couples there who would check it down if they were ever in a pot together. There was one old guy with a $800 stack that he had accumulated by playing nearly every hand and chasing, chasing, chasing to the river, where he caught sets and flushes over and over again. He occasionally bullied newcomers with huge bluff raises but otherwise was totally loose passive. The locals were all TAGGs, pushing their stacks only with sets and trips.

The table was so goddamned easy to read I could not believe it. And I'm a BAD hand reader in live games. The only problem for me was reading the women. I always assume they are not bluffing, which my experience has proven to be true. However, there were two hands where I went to the river with a huge hand but a third flush card landed. The first time, I checked the river with a one card straight in MP, and this lady in LP bet it after passively calling on the previous 3 rounds. I put her on the flush but called it and she had the same straight. Ok fine. But later, I flopped a set on a 2flush flop and this same lady called, called, called to the river, where a third spade hit. This time, again in MP, I bet a small amount ($15) as a blocking bet and she suddenly raised in LP. However, she messed up her chip movement so the dealer only let her raise the minimum. The first guy folded so it was up to me. I had to think about it for a few seconds. Meanwhile, she was already trying to flip over her cards to show them, so it was clear she had a strong hand. I read her for nothing but the flush but I still called for information since the pot odds were so favorable. Turns out she he spiked a random 2 pr on the river and my set was good. In her mind, she had a strong hand, so she exhibited all the associated tells, but she was too stupid to even see the flush possibility out there and to think she would only be called by a better hand. In that hand, she ended up dumping about $97 to me. Her husband, who had stuck around to the river, contributed another $67, so I netted $164 off the same couple!

I ended up cashing out +$150 within only 3 hours. BTW I only bought in for $200 because most people didn't have serious stacks and nobody was really pushing unless they were shortstacked and on complete tilt (which two guys were).

What else can I say? The rake was 10%, apparently up to $15 but we never got any huge pots that night. Dealers were friendly, competent, and perfectly normal... none of the bizarre dealing quirks like I witnessed in Australia (see my other report). They have high hand bonuses but you have to show them down, so everyone says "Check it down!" if there is ever a str8flush possibility.

Also, they give out raffle tickets to all players in the casino every hour and have a drawing every hour. I was one digit off of a $300 cash prize and it ended up going to the guy next to me... dammit! But I was happy with my poker winnings and, breaking my rule to never spend my bankroll, took them to Phillipsburg the next morning and bought some tax-free, duty-free opals for my wife as an anniversary gift. I considered it an investment in my bankroll, of sorts, since it will hopefully soften her up to letting me play more often.

Overall, St. Maarten is an awesome place to play poker. And not too shabby as far as beaches are concerned, either!!!

ChezJ

[Xianti]

Nice report.

Curious. What do you do, ChezJ, that you're able to travel the world, checking out so many different casinos?

[ChezJ]

Well, this was my vacation, but when I went to Australia and Indiana, I was on official business for the U.S. government. I could tell you more, but then I'd have to kill you...

[ChezJ]

Oh, I just re-read the last line of my report and wanted to add... if you want the best of both worlds (beach + poker), then you gotta play at the Casino Rouge et Noir in Philipsburg. They have a poker table right next to a window overlooking the beach, and the game starts during the daytime (2pm). It is an absolutely gorgeous view, probably one of the best you will ever find at a poker table.

Here's an example of the view, though not of the actual poker table.
http://www.casinorougeetnoir.com/antillean_poker.htm

Come to think of it, this is probably one of the only casinos in the world that has a window of any kind.

ChezJ

[kardmania]

As a general rule limit your play in any Caribbean casion.

St Maarten though is one of my favorite spots if your back dont miss the happy hour at the Cupecoy and dont miss the Cupecoy special