The Poker Dream tournament series was recently held at Genting Resorts, however that is not what I am writing about today. On the other end of the resort inside SkyCasino's Gold Club is the Genting Cash Game Poker Room.
Before we delve deeper into this, I want to clarify my understanding of the formation of this poker room. There is a bunch of people who love poker, love to see a legalized poker room in Malaysia, and has worked very hard to make it happen. Then there is the only casino in Malaysia, ever the monopoly, that doesn't understand poker nor care about it. And finally there is staff that is hired to work in this new poker room, some probably don't know poker either or care to learn, or know the difference between it and other table games. Now let's jump into the review.
The room itself is quite nice, inside the Gold Club area, so unless you have a Gold/Platinum card, there is an extra step of going to the service counter and getting your card verified for the day to allow access. The first day I went the service counter was closed. But I have voiced this to the management and hopefully they will rectify this. Once you get there you are greeted by the staff to register your interest and phone number so they can contact you when a seat is available. The staff are generally friendly and helpful except maybe one or two.
When I got there at about noon, there were two full tables and 40+ people on the waiting list. However I was told they can only open new tables at 3pm. I understand they have staffing issues but it was frustrating to have to walk all the way up there again 3 hours later. Similar situation at 3am, even though there were 4 full tables running, they forced two tables to close because of their dealer shift arrangements. Any good poker player will tell you the best time to play is usually after midnight till early morning when players are tired, tilted and spewing.
All games spread were ante games, meaning you have to post in every position to play. Stakes ranged from 10/20 up to 50/100. On weekdays I was told they run 5/10 as well. The tables are pretty soft. There were legitimately real newbies trying out the game. Caribbean stud players, baccarat players venturing into poker for the first time. There were also beginners who know a bit of poker but playing super badly. However on the flip side, the rake is relatively high. The higher the stakes the lower the cap, for example 10/20 cap was 7.5bb but 50/100 cap was 3bb. But being the only legal poker room in Malaysia I guess you pay for that premium. But what I didn't understand was the preflop rake and split pot rake. Most line ups I played were beatable, but the rake plus ante bleeds the stack really fast so unless you can adjust your playing style and range, it's going to be tough. They do offer insurance which I don't mind but it does slow the game down, and I don't like that they count out the pot so newbies make less sizing mistakes. There's no running twice nor straddling allowed.
Most of the staff there were amazing. Good service, polite, funny, helpful, everything Mr this, Uncle that, sir here, madam there. Very well trained. Dealers were 50/50, some super experienced and fast, some still learning and shaky but understandable. Overall they were chatty and friendly though. There were one or two supervisors that I wasn't impressed with though but on the whole staff was top notch.
All the luxuries we have come to expect from a poker room wasn't there though. No WiFi, no free water, no free food, no power banks or charging ports, no player points, no reward or loyalty system, no jackpot, no bonuses. If Singapore is a FINE country, then Genting is a NO casino. Then there's no shorts, no slippers, no backpacks, no photos, no hoods (can wear hoodie but can't put the hood on), no caps, no sunglasses, no vaping, no smoking. Genting sounds like a bitchy gold digger who just wants your money but says NO to everything else you want!
Will I return? Yes because it is still a very good game. But sometimes I think about the hassle of going up this hill, to the most expensive "town" in the whole country, surround yourself with crowds of people, only to be raked so much and given so little, I am not so sure anymore. If the field remains this soft then I would, but if not, I rather go somewhere else.
By now hopefully you should know which party is responsible for the positives and which for the negatives. As much as I want to support my friends who want the best for poker in Malaysia, I hate to support a money hungry monopoly family that doesn't care about ripping people off. I am sure some of the management as just as frustrated as I am and were bullied into accepting ridiculous terms by the casino and I feel bad for them, because they really have done a great job on the aspects within their control.
