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TRIP REPORT
Friday, July 16, late night
SUMMARY: Good facility, total fishfest!! My luck was SICK, I walked away +$330 in 90 minutes.
THE ROOM: Harrington Raceway is 45 minutes from Rehoboth Beach. I read that the poker room was out of the way, and they were not kidding. You have to go to the far corner of the casino floor, then out the door, down a hall, turn a corner where a guard stands staring at you, keep going down the hall, climb an escalator, turn left past the racetrack entrance, walk pass the bathrooms, then, finally, you are there.
Initial impression of the room -- kind of a bowling alley, with the entrance at one end of a looong narrow room and the cashier cage at the far end. Nothing fancy, but nothing shabby either. Kind of like a budget hotel lobby with low lighting. The ten tables are standard fare, with a yellow commitment line that's a bit too close to your chip stack (so be careful). Five tables in a row down the left side, five in a row down the right side.
MANAGEMENT: The check-in desk is right there at the entrance and the staff are very attentive. I got seated immediately. Unlike Charles Town, which also just opened within the last few weeks, there is no 3+ hour wait to join the action.
I got a players card downstairs, but that was a waste of time since they haven't started using it in the poker room.
Had to buy chips from the cage before sitting down. Cash doesn't play, so the dealers kept calling for chip runners whenever anyone rebought after losing an all-in.
The few dealers I saw were all competent and had personalities ranging from good natured to downright hilarious. Lots of boisterous swearing at the table was tolerated, but not cell phone use or drinks on the felt (no cupholders, weird).
Drink service was provided by a pretty-ish blonde who looked 18. Unfortunately, last call is at 1 a.m., so no alcohol for most of the time I was there. I read you have to pay for most "real" drinks though sodas and draft beers are reportedly free. I just hiked downstairs to the casino floor and used the free Pepsi fountain when I got thirsty.
Rake is 10% up to $4, plus a bad beat jackpot drop. The BBJ had just been hit the day before for something like $5K. Must lose with AAAKK or better to qualify.
ACTION: I played a $1/$2 NL cash game, $200 max buyin. They had just broken up a $1/$2 table when I arrived around 1:00 a.m., so there must have been 4 games running. At least one table was $2/$5 NL cash.
When I arrived, we were shorthanded (6way) since a bunch of guys were on a smoking break outside. It was mostly young guys under 30. 6way limps to every flop.
My very first hand, I got AA in the BB. Everyone limped except maybe one guy. Not knowing what the standard raise was, but certain nobody believed I had a real hand, I raised to $15. To my surprise, I got 2 calls. The flop was rags and I cbet $35. Everyone folded. Button grumbled that he had folded a set of 4's so I showed to gain a tight image.
A couple hands later, I limped KTs and flopped top 2pr vs K8 to destack some small stacker.
3 or 4 hands later (same orbit!), I was UTG with black KK. Holy shit, I was on a heater. Raised to $8 and got a few callers. The flop came all clubs and some guy who had just sat down raised my cbet to $35. I called and turned the A for the nuts. He pushed and walked away after playing one hand, lol! Never saw his hand.
So within 1 orbit, I was up $100+. I continued catching ri-donk-ulously good hands (which all held up) or pure crap that was super easy to dump.
Maybe 15 minutes later, I limped 88 in LP and called BB's raise in a 5way pot. Flopped J86r!!! BB cbet $20, 1-2 guys called, guy next to me pushed for $135 (?!?), I flat called, and everyone else folded, though the last guy seriously contemplated chasing his T9s. Pusher had J8 and my hand was good. Thank god T9s folded, because the river was a 7. That was the same guy who folded the set of 4's earlier, so he was truly steaming at this point. But actually he and all the guys still acted like they were having fun, talking plenty of shit but all in good jest.
I stuck around for a while to avoid looking like a total hit-and-run A-hole, but by 2 a.m. my BJ/craps playing buddy was broke and bugging me for a ride home. I left at 2:30 a.m., having played only 90 minutes, up $330... and that's after tipping the dealers about $20. WOW that was a hot streak, and I got friggin' paid off every time!
Well, not every time. After the first couple of orbits, everyone respected my bets. For example, just for fun I checked my BB vs about 6 limpers without even looking at my cards. Flop was AJx and I joked, "I probably have AJ so go ahead and bet and I'll check raise you." Everyone checked around, then when I finally looked, I had A K!! I said "Whoa!" in the hopes they would think I was just acting out, but nobody called my bet. I took this as a cue to start bluffing. Later I made a big raise against multi limpers with 55, cbet the 7xx flop, and got nearly everyone to fold. Unfortunately, one tilting small stack pushed over the top for another $10. Priced in, I called and he showed 55 for a split pot. That was pretty much the only hand that I played to the end that did not crush the opposition.
Oh wait, there was also one hand where I raised 99 UTG, called a 3bet (should have 4bet) and ended up 3way OOP. Flop was Kxx and I check-folded to MP's $35 donk... he showed A9o. Ballsy bluff.
So bottom line, the action was sick loose and I got paid off big time nearly every time I had a hand. I would STRONGLY recommend this card room to anyone who is going to the Delaware shore for the weekend. It's a good 2.5 hours from D.C. so it is a viable alternative to Atlantic City, but still too far away for a day trip.
ChezJ
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Harrington Raceway, Delaware
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