I'm really surprised that I forgot about the Orleans, since I've spent many many hours playing poker there, mostly early in 2007.

When I decided to take on no-limit hold 'em, I had very little experience with the game. I had played many hours of limit hold 'em previously but no-limit was brand-new to me. Consequently, I started on the lowest games, including the 1-2 NLHE at the Orleans. They also ran a freeroll poker tourney where I had to get 80 hours in a month to play, so I crammed a lot of time in the Orleans that month.

Orleans Poker Room

Orleans has the best rake in Las Vegas. Let me say that again ... the Orleans has the best rake in Las Vegas. (The Palms is equivalent but not better.) They deserve to be praised for that. The rake is a maximum of $3, although unfortunately there is the jackpot drop.

When a place is charging less than nearly every competitor, I have to give it kudos.

I stopped by the Orleans poker room tonight and, on a Wednesday night (actually Thursday morning for you technical types)  at 1 a.m., they had a few tables of 2-4 limit, 4-8 limit, 4-8 Omaha, and 1-2 No Limit. I was surprised to see how much activity there was in the room for what I assumed would be a fairly dead time.

The Orleans has popular poker tournaments every day at noon and 7 p.m., ranging from $80 to $105 buy-in. I tend to avoid tournaments unless they are at least $300 buy-in or higher, so I don't know much about them except that they are extremely popular and I believe generally get six tables or more (60 players or more).

The 1-2 NL game has a min buy-in of $100 and a max buy-in of $300. That's not bad for a 1-2 game. You know I always like higher, but $300 is fairly high compared to other places who deal that same game.

The Orleans does attract more locals than some of the Strip casinos but there is still a relatively high tourist contingent among the clientèle. The skill level of the players is quite low, making for some good games at those stakes.

The main reason I avoid the Orleans now is because I tend to play higher-stakes games than are regularly offered at this casino. They do get 2-5 games at their peak times, but those peak times are the same peak times for more profitable games at other poker rooms. If you're someone who plays a little higher than the Hooters crowd but a little lower than the 2-5 crowd, I think Orleans is a very good choice.

The comp rate is $1.25 an hour for the first four hours and then 50 cents an hour after that. This is a great rate for the first four hours, although lower than other casinos after that. Having said that, their rake is lower than anywhere, so I don't consider this a negative. They're taking less per hour off the table, so it makes sense they can't afford to comp as much.

Also, one interesting thing about the comps is that you can use them at any restaurant in the casino and even at the gift shop if you want a candy bar, smokes, or a souvenir t-shirt. You may even be able to use them for movies or bowling ... not sure about that. Most places' comps are for the poker-room food service only.

The dealer- and supervisor professionalism runs the gamut from extremely skilled and professional to somewhat lacking. I first played poker at the Orleans in 1999 and there are a number of dealers that are still there. Most of them are top notch and do an excellent job. One concern I've had with a few dealers and supervisors is toke hustling. This can be uncomfortable from a player's viewpoint.

Food is good during the day but is poor on graveyard when I normally play. You can use the comps for the oyster bar or sushi when they're open. This is quite nice because they're good restaurants. On graveyard, your only choice for a quick bite is Subway. Subway gets old quickly. You can go to the coffee shop but that means sitting in there, away from the tables for a while. The coffee shop does have some excellent specials for $1.99 and $2.99 however, so if you eat there on the graveyard shift, your comps will last a long time.

Parking and access are excellent. There is a garage and some uncovered parking on the west side of the casino and, once you enter from there, the poker room is immediately in front of you.

The Orleans allows full cell phone usage at the tables (good) and also comps Red Bull and premium liquor (also good).

The poker room is moderately quiet although you do have to listen to the soundtrack from the casino which is pretty bad. (The only casino soundtracks in all of Las Vegas that I actually like are at the Hard Rock and Bellagio, so I can be hard to please.)

The chairs are on the lower end of the comfort scale here. They're low and hard. You can get some cushions, which help significantly. At peak times cushions can be tough to get. If you're going to play at peak times, BYOC (bring your own cushion).

The no limit games are played 9-handed, while the limit games are played 10-handed.

Pros: low rake, lots of available games, easy access and parking, 9-handed, low skilled competition, Red Bull and premium liquor comped

Cons: chairs are uncomfortable, can be noisy, poor food options on graveyard

Orleans Poker Room overall rating: 4.0 stars

Red Rock Resort Poker

Red Rock has a large poker room that is often at 75% or higher capacity. They really get a lot of players and games going. It offers a range of games including 2-4 limit, 4-8 limit, 4-8 Omaha, 1-2 NL, 2-5 NL and also 5-10 NL at peak times.

Red Rock has the most comfortable chairs of any room in town that I've played in. Not only are they comfortable leather and height-adjustable, but they also have a lumbar-support adjustment where you can move the chair back forward and back like a seat on an airplane. This is a very nice feature.

Red Rock plays 10-handed and does not let you use your cell phone at the table. They do have shuffle machines at all tables.

There are a lot of regulars at Red Rock and if you sit in a game you'll hear a lot of, "Take it, Larry." "You got the flush, Joe?" "I'm not going to chase it, Mary." In other words, they all know each other; they know how each other plays. It feels like there have been the same people in the same chairs playing the same game with the same chips forever.

The skill level of the competition here is higher than most places on or near the Strip. Tourists at MGM or Caesars can afford to come and lose $500 because it's their vacation money. Locals can't afford to lose $500 three or four times a week, so they don't. The losing players go away quickly. What happens is you get a number of tight, solid, nitty players.

Don't get me wrong ... there are some regular live ones who have a lot of money, just not enough for me. On weekends, especially from 8 p.m. to 5 a.m., the games can be excellent. At 1 in the afternoon, any day of the week, you might as well try getting blood from a stone as to try to get money out of the regulars.

One tangent note ... my last couple times playing here, I've seen Orel Hershiser. I've also seen him at Caesars and the Venetian, but I think he plays Red Rock more than anywhere else. He's extremely friendly and likes to gamble it up and bluff a bit.

The max buy-in on the 1-2 game is $200 which is a little low for me. On the 2-5 game it's $1,000 which is acceptable.

Parking and access are very good, with a parking garage and some uncovered parking very close to the room. At peak times, you'll have to walk a bit, but once you're in the casino you're at the poker room.

The poker room comps 100 points an hour on your Station players card, which is worth $1 an hour. This is a reasonable rate and like the Orleans, you can use the comps at any restaurant or even at the gift shop, movie theater, or bowling alley, which makes the comps more valuable.

They have computers on the table and they log you out every time you get up to go to the bathroom or miss a hand for any reason. This can be costly as far as comps go because most places will leave you clocked in when you take a break. Personally, I think they should leave you clocked in unless you have a missed-blind button. That way you can take a bathroom break without losing time if you skip a couple hands between blinds. Will they ever make this change? Doubtful.

Food options on graveyard are very limited. Either you can get Fatburger (try eating Fatburger two or more days in a row) or the coffee shop, which is a LONG way a way from the poker room and of questionable quality. You can also order room service but it's very expensive. I paid $25 for a pepperoni pizza one night, for example. During the day you have many food options, but on graveyard you're really S.O.L.

The Red Rock will not comp Red Bull which is a bummer. I think you can get call brand liquor but no Red Bull.

The rake is pretty tough to take as it's $1 on $10, $30, $50, $70 and the $1 jackpot drop at $10. In a $2-5 game, if two people see the flop for the minimum ($5 each) then the house takes out $2. Painful. The Station casinos across the board tried to up their rake by $1 about six months ago. A number of regulars refused to play there and Station dropped it back down. There are some people who still don't play there as a continued form of protest, however.

The jackpot drop is a killer here because it goes into a bad beat jackpot where you may never see the money in this lifetime. I have played poker for 11 years and I've never had 4 of a kind and lost, much less four 8s or better lose. I have also played about 300 hours in Red Rock's poker room and not even gotten a player's share.

I have never won a bad beat except at a small casino in Washington State where qualifying was any aces full beaten. There were three aces on the board and I had pocket 6s and the other person had pocket 9s. I'd say I'm down about $10,000 lifetime on jackpot drops so it's a sore point for me.

Other things I don't like about the bad beat drop are the lack of transparency. Just how much reserve is there? What is going on with the reserve money? Also, the jackpot drop takes $30 to $40 an hour off the tables, which is $30 to $40 an hour less in my hands and my opponents' hands that I can win.

A jackpot drop is a way of getting the players themselves to pay for the poker room's marketing. I'm not sure it ultimately works in the poker room's favor however, because taking $30-$40 an hour extra off a $1-$2 game is significant as far as how long players will continue to have money to keep playing. In other words, when people run out of money they leave; the house doesn't get the jackpot drop, so it'd be better to let the players keep their money so they can keep playing and generating rake.

The noise level is low which is very good and the room is well lit.

Pros: very comfortable chairs and good lighting, lots of available games, easy access and parking

Cons: No Red Bull comped, higher skilled competition, rake is below average, poor food options on graveyard

Overall rating: 3.0 stars

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