Bay 101 Review
Bay 101 is the biggest regular game in the Bay Area, with regular limit hold 'em action at levels up to $100/$200. No-limit is a relatively new addition and is only available in small stakes forms.
Games
Limit hold 'em: 2/4, 3/6, 6/12, 8/16, 20/40, 40/80, 100/200. All the games are regularly running, though at non-peak hours there may not be 100/200. Games above 8/16 are held in the high-limit area (far right of the casino) with a separate brush and board.
Omaha/8: runs regularly at 4/8 with a half kill (though there is usuallly only one table of it running) and sometimes at 10/20.
7-Stud: (high only) is sometimes available at 4/8. Stud hi-lo players migrated to Garden City Casino a couple miles away.
No-limit spread-limit hold 'em: Started in May 2006. Two levels, both available in the low-limit area:
* 4-100 spread, 40-100 buyin, 2/2/4 blinds (button=2, small blind=2, big blind=4)
* 5-200 spread, 50-200 buyin, 2/3/5 blinds (button=2, small blind=3, big blind=5)
Generally, only the 5-200 is running, though the 4-100 runs occasionally.
NLHE not allowed in San Jose (due to county law).
Rake on all the smaller games (20/40 and below) is a flat $4, $3 for six players, $1 for five or fewer players, $1 if no flop. The Omaha/8 game and the no-limit games are raked a dollar higher ($5 per pot). For higher-limit games, there is a time charge of $9/half hour at 40/80 and $13/half hour at 100/200.
You can actually call ahead and reserve a seat for O/8, Stud, and 20/40 and higher limit.
Game Character: The dealers at Bay 101 are some of the most experienced in the area, but that can lead to impatience or attitude problems on occasion: dealers can sometimes be rude when they receive any type of criticism.
Low limit games can often (though not always) get crazy; a lot of maniacs frequent the place. While they can be profitable over the long run, having your aces cracked by the 6-9 offsuit who capped it preflop can get tiring after a while. Low limit here is definitely more of a "gambling" casino, where a majority of players at your table would prefer that all hands get capped preflop, and that they would be in it with a random two cards. As you would expect, as you go higher in limits, the quality of play improves and the number of gamboolers decreases.
Posting: New players (or returning players who missed a blind) can choose to "buy the button" in limit games by posting both the small and big blinds in position after the button, in which case neither of the normal blinds posts anything. Otherwise, standard posting rules apply: ne wplayers must post a big blind to be dealt in; missed blinds must pay both blinds to be dealt in.
Shuffling: Standard Shufflemaster shuffling machines on all tables.
Wait Time:
Waiting lists for hold 'em don't tend to be too long except on Friday and Saturday nights, when waits regularly exceed an hour. Wait list for Omaha (because there's only one table) is often very very long: usually two hours or more. Wait list for Stud is variable.
Daily Tournaments:Offers daily tournaments, starting at 9:45 am every day (8:45 on Saturdays). Spread limit (the equivalent of NLHE, since the spreads are huge) on all days except Sunday, when it's Limit. Most tourneys fill up at around 120 players; if you want to sign up you should arrive no later than 30 minutes before tourney start. Prize pools can get quite big on weekends, with first place commonly pulling down close to $10K.
* Sun 9:45am LHE $60+$20, 1x$60 rb
* Sun night (Mon morning) 1:45 am NLSLHE $100+$20, no rb
* Mon 9:45am NLSLHE $100+$20, no rb
* Tue 9:45am NLSLHE $50+$10, unlimited $20 rb
* Wed 9:45am NLSLHE $50+$10, unlimited $40 rb
* Wed night (Thu morning) 1:45 am NLSLHE $100+$20, no rb
* Thu 9:45am NLSLHE $50+$10, unlimited $20 rb
* Fri 9:45am NLSLHE $100+$20, no rb
* Sat 8:45am NLSLHE $105+$20, unlimited $100 rb
The Bay 101 Shooting Star is their big annual tournament held around the beginning of March each year, part of the World Poker Tour. Like the WSOP, it has a number of different events, ranging from limit to pot limit to different buyins, but the main event is still the $10,000 NLHE tourney you see on TV.
They also host a "Bay 101 Open" major tournament every year, in October.
Jackpots are prohibited by law in the city of San Jose.
Large, high ceilings, open and airy and fairly "fancy" and upscale. Pretty clean and tidy. A number of medium-sized LCD televsisions on the walls, but if you're not at a table near the edge of the room, you won't be able to see it easily. The screens near tournament tables are switched to show the tournament clock and details during tourneys.
Fairly fancy overall, with a small upscale restaurant in the middle of the building and a coatcheck near the main entrance. Marble entrance, large glass-and-brass doors. The bathrooms, on the other hand, are not particularly fancy - but are kept relatively clean and are quite large.
Neighborhood: Located in an office-park area near the airport in San Jose, this is a very clean and upscale neighborhood. The area really slows down after business hours.
Parking: HUGE onsite parking lot with over 200 spaces.
Tables and Chairs: The tables haven't been replaced or resurfaced in a few years, but they're still serviceable, with soft felt and comfortable arm cushions. The chairs are standard metal-frame padded chairs.
Service and Comps
Food is pretty good, and service is acceptable in terms of attentiveness. Prices are not that great (no real discounts for seated players or anything). Standard "wheeled side tables" allow you to eat while you play, though the tables are a bit small. You are not allowed to bring in food or drinks from outside. Sodas are $1.25 for a cold can with a glass of ice.
Comps are limited to only coffee and water, self serve at the main station in the back of the room.
~http://poker.wikia.com/wiki/Bay_101 ~
Artist/Author: poker wikia April 1, 2007 | |
