Trip report: Seabrook

On our recent vacation to the beach in Maine, I escaped one evening and headed back down I-95 to the greyhound park in Seabrook, NH, where there is a poker room that opened up within the past couple of years. They donate some portion of the rake to charity, which is why they are allowed to operate in NH. The rake is about 20-25% on tournaments and SNGs, so you have to go deep to make any money. I'm not sure how they make money, as they have to donate a large amount to charity. One dealer said they have 70 dealers, and their web site is advertising for more. They do give a free race book to poker players, so maybe they make money on the greyhound and wire action.

They have several tournaments daily, with buy-ins ranging from $50-$250, starting at 5, 7, and 9. On weekends, they add a 1pm tournament. They also have limit Omaha Hi-Lo and HoldEm, and $50 and $150 SNGs. One interesting feature is that they do not seem to have security cameras at each table. I guess when you donate all of your money to charity, you can't afford such luxuries.

It was a Thursday night, and I got there in time for the 5:00 $50 NLHE tournament. I signed up for their player card, which is required to play, and bought in. Then I bought a (soft) drink and walked out side for a minute. As I walked back in, the security guard hassled me about the drink. I told him I bought it there, and he let me bring it back in.

The 5:00 attracted about 80 players, which I think is pretty good for a Thursday. The stacks were 2500 with blinds starting at 25/50, and 20-minute levels. I made it to the first break with a smaller than average stack, not having gotten many good hands, and not in a mood to bluff much. On the last hand before the break, I re-raised all in with JJ, forcing a limper and a min-raiser to fold, though not after some thought. After the break, I was slowly building up a stack, while a player two to my left bled away his massive stack that he accumulated by getting hit in the face with the deck. I got crippled on a hand where I called two all-ins that I had covered. One had A9d, and the other had 77. I had AKs. A 7 came on the flop for the main pot, and a 9 came on the river for the side pot. I think it was a good call, even though I suspected the second all in had a pair. Maybe not, because I figured one of them had to have one of my aces. The guy to my right said he folded K9, so both of us with aces were drawing thin. The funny thing is, on the very next hand, the two all-ins were again all in, this time against QQ. This time, the guy who had 77 on the previous hand had AKc, and the other guy again had ace rag. This time the ace came on the flop, and that guy went from about T2000 to T20000 in two hands.

A few hands later, I busted out and put my name in for a $50 SNG. The wait was maybe 15-20 minutes, and I ordered a burger and fries at the cafe.

Editing months later: it's now October!

I bubbled out of the SNG. There were a few regulars, and a couple of young guys. The final four were two regulars, one young guy, and me. The blinds were getting high, and I called the young guy's all-in with a semi-reasonable hand, and had him dominated. He hit to double up, and then sucked out on me the next hand or two to eliminate me. No big deal. Pokernews has done a few reviews of NH poker rooms lately, so I might try to get up there again soon.