The Golden Nugget Poker Room is located in Downtown Las Vegas, where you will find a 24-hour party with bars, clubs and casinos, a mob museum, light shows, a zip line, steakhouses, pizza shops, and street entertainers. It’s the craziest of the crazy. Think of Times Square and multiply crazy by ten. That’s Downtown Las Vegas, and Fremont Street to be more specific.
I’m letting you know about Downtown Las Vegas because it’s the perfect place to relieve stress if you happen to have a losing session. Let’s not think that way, though. We want to have the right mindset going into all poker games. We’ll get to what the Golden Nugget Poker Room has to offer in regards to cash games and poker tournaments, and we’ll mix in a little strategy. As always, don’t be surprised if there is some kind of curve ball in there as well. Hey … it’s Downtown Las Vegas. Anything goes.
It should also be noted that the Golden Nugget has one of the Top 10 Pools in the World. Therefore, if you choose to stay at The Nugget, you can always take some time off from poker by chilling at the pool. You won’t regret it.
Gold Nugget Poker Room: Cash Games
The Golden Nugget has some of the best comps in town at $2 per hour. There are several other poker rooms in Las Vegas that can match this, but there is no poker room in Las Vegas higher than this for comps, at least not for low stakes. You will see a lot of gold coloring throughout the room, which sticks to the theme. Even the felt is gold.
If you have a phone with you, which is pretty much everyone, you will be happy to know there are cell phone chargers in the tables. And if you want your own private cash game table, you can rent one. If that’s not the case and you’re just looking to play some cash games, below is a list of what is offered…
1/2 NL
Buy-in: $100-No Max
Runs: Always
2/5 NL
Buy-in: $200-No Max
Runs: Occasionally
2/4 FL
Buy-in: $20-No Max
Runs: Always
As you can see, we’re not talking about very high stakes here on the cash game side. This can be bad news if you’re looking to pick up some serious cash in one session, but it can be good news because the competition is soft. The best part about the low stakes games attracting soft players is that you know local and traveling pros are highly unlikely to be there because they won’t be filtering in from other casinos on The Strip.
I have seen it many times where a professional poker players runs bad and/or plays bad at the Bellagio or the Venetian and then hits the low stakes games at the Flamingo to blow off steam. That’s not going to happen at the Golden Nugget Poker Room because there is no nearby Bellagio, Venetian, or anything of the sort.
The nearest poker room is Binion’s, which has become somewhat of a joke. Not many poker pros are going to Uber to Downtown after a bad session on The Strip. They’re going to walk to another poker room (or get a beer).
Here’s the point. If you want to stay and play at a location where the poker room offers low stakes without any poker professionals, as well as insane entertainment within walking distance, and one of the greatest pools on the planet, then the Golden Nugget might be the place for you.
The poker games at the Golden Nugget Poker Room can be incredibly profitable for someone with low-stakes goals and basic poker strategy. And as is the case with many other poker rooms in Las Vegas, if it’s a Friday or Saturday night, then you’re going to find people playing way too many poker hands.
One of the most universal poker tips for anyone is to play tight when others are loose and to play loose when others are tight. If you want an easier way to remember this, always do the opposite of how the table is playing.
The premise is that if the table is passive and scared money, you want to steamroll them. When you’re aggressive against these types of opponents, you will pick up a lot of uncontested pots. When the table has a lot of gambling, sit back and wait to pick them off—your opponents will be getting involved in too many poker hands, which almost always spells doom.
The promotions here include a High Hand of the Hour, a Progressive Bad Beat Jackpot, and a Flop It Bonus.
The High Hand of the Hour runs from midnight to 8 a.m. and pays $100 per hour for aces full or better. If nobody hits aces full or better within the hour (rare), it will roll over to the next hour.
The Progressive Bad Beat Jackpot starts at $10,000 if you have quads or better and your hand is beat. If this happens to anyone at your table, 40% of the jackpot will go to the person with the losing hand, 30% of the jackpot will go to the person with the winning hand, and the remaining 30% will be evenly divided to the remainder of the players at the table.
Don’t think it can’t happen. It can absolutely happen. I have several friends that have been involved in Bad Beat Jackpots, including one who had the losing hand and two who had the winning hand. And those jackpots were way higher than $10,000. Remember, that’s just the number where it begins. This jackpot will eventually be hit, and you can have a shot at it while playing low stakes. At worst, you’re paying for entertainment while having a shot at some serious money.
The Flop It Bonus is temporary. When it runs, it pays $599 to anyone who flops quads or a straight flush. It will usually run between 2 p.m. and 10 p.m.
Golden Nugget Poker Room: Tournaments
One of the most well-known poker rules for tournament players it to look at the structure sheet. The first thing a tournament player looks at is the buy-in in regards to Entry Fee vs. Deductions. If the deductions are too high, the player will usually look for a better option. But there is something at play here in Las Vegas that presents a lot of irony.
Remember, tournament players will not play in poker tournaments with high rakes. This will make most other poker players think that it would be against the poker rules for winning to play in the same tournaments. On the other hand, if all of those tournament players won’t play in the Daily and Nightly poker tournaments in Las Vegas—including at the Golden Nugget Poker Room—then who is playing in them?
If you said, “The fish,” you would be correct. Not all of them are fish. There are also some locals who play, but most of them are retirees who play incredibly tight. They aren’t real threats because they always tell you when they have you beat with their betting patterns. On all other poker hands, you can aggressively move them off their hands.
The fish are a little different. They can play any poker hands at any time and have no idea what they’re doing. They will make plays that make no sense because they don’t think about poker strategy at all. For instance, they might call your all-in bet with 22 on this flop: T8K. Yes, this has happened at the Golden Nugget Poker Room. In most cases, you’re going to win, but the fish swim around aimlessly everywhere.
Below is the Poker Tournament Schedule for the Golden Nugget Poker Room.
Check Golden Nugget Poker Room for current schedule.
11 a.m.
Runs: Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday
Buy-in: $70 (Entry Fee $51, Deductions $19)
Registration Begins: 9 a.m.
Registration Closes: 1:10 p.m.
Starting Chips: 10,000
Starting Blinds: 25/50
Blind Levels: 20 minutes
Break: 10 minutes every six levels
GTD: N/A
This is a decent structure for a Daily poker tournament in Las Vegas, but it’s also a morning tournament, which means you’re going to get a lot of tight play. You must decide one of two routes. Either apply pressure against the passive players or see if you can outpatient them. This really depends on your playing style, which relates to your personality.
11 a.m.
Runs: Sunday
Buy-in: $125 (Entry Fee $100, Deductions $25)
Registration Begins: 9 a.m.
Registration Closes: 1:10 p.m.
Starting Chips: 15,000
Starting Blinds: 25/50
Blind Levels: 20 minutes, 30 minutes beginning at Level 9
Break: 10 minutes every six levels
GTD: $5,000
This is by far the best structure you’re going to find for poker tournaments at the Golden Nugget Poker Room. In fact, it’s one of the best tournament structures you will find for a Daily in all of Las Vegas. The key to that is the Deductions. The rake is still high, but it’s not high for a Daily. You’re basically getting a discounted price compared to other Daily tournaments for a shot to play against a lot of fish and Nits.
Just make sure you don’t take that last comment too much to heart. If you do, you’re not going to respect your opponents. You must always respect your opponents in this game. That’s poker rule 101.
The guarantee for this tournament is also a nice bonus. It means that first place should be taking home at least $1,200. The guarantee is usually hit with ease, so this number is likely to be higher.
3 p.m.
Runs: Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday (every day)
Buy-in: $50 (Entry Fee $33, Deductions $17)
Registration Begins: 2 p.m.
Registration Closes: 5:10 p.m.
Starting Chips: 5,000
Starting Blinds: 25/50
Blind Levels: 20 minutes
Break: 10 minutes every six levels
GTD: N/A
This is one of the worst poker tournaments you can play at the Golden Nugget Poker Room. The rake is high and you’re only getting 5,000 chips. Plus, it’s in the middle of the day, so you’re not going to get many people drinking alcohol and making mistakes. Even though there is likely to be fish in this tournament, it’s still not worth playing. Avoid.
7 p.m.
Runs: Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday (every day)
Buy-in: $70 (Entry Fee $51, Deductions $19)
Registration Begins: 6 p.m.
Registration Closes: 9:10 p.m.
Starting Chips: 10,000
Starting Blinds: 25/50
Blind Levels: 20 minutes
Break: 10 minutes after every six levels
GTD: N/A
This is the same structure as the first 11 a.m. tournament on this list but it’s at 7 p.m., which makes it a much better option. The rake is high as always, but I’d give this one a whirl.
10 p.m.
Runs: Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday (every day)
Buy-in: $50 (Entry Fee $33, Deductions $17)
Registration Begins: 8 p.m.
Registration Closes: 12:10 a.m.
Starting Chips: 5,000
Starting Blinds: 25/50
Blind Levels: 20 minutes
Break: 10 minutes every six levels
GTD: N/A
Bad rake but a good time to play. Only if you’re bored.
The Grand Poker Series
The Golden Nugget Poker Room also hosts The Grand Poker Series during the WSOP in the summer. The Grand Poker Series isn’t associated with the WSOP, but many WSOP Circuit employees are involved, including the Tournament Director and almost all of the dealers. Since almost all of the dealers are from the WSOP Circuit, you’re going to have some of the best dealers in the world, if not the best.
On top of that, the rake in these tournaments is lower than the rake in the WSOP and lower than the Daily and Nightly tournaments listed above. Furthermore, The Grand Ballroom is bright and spacious, which allows for much more comfort than the WSOP events. Add the location and The Grand Poker Series is ideal. In fact, I was so impressed that I’m strongly considering avoiding the WSOP next year and staying at The Grand to play this series instead. I’ll venture to The Strip once in a while for a change of scenery, but this might be my home location next summer.
If you’re considering The Grand Poker Series and you desire lower buy-ins than the WSOP, you might be happy to know that most tournaments in this series have a buy-in range of $150-$200.
Final Thoughts
The Golden Nugget Poker Room is a good place to be. You might not find high stakes on the cash game side, but you will still find opportunity if you’re not looking to get rich. The tournament structures for the Dailys and Nightlys are better than most around town. And The Grand Poker Series is very well run in the summer.
It’s not often that poker tips relate to where to play, but that is the case here. Also don’t forget the entertainment and pool when you’re not playing poker. The Golden Nugget pretty much offers a great balance of everything.
♠ pokerjournal.org
Golden Nugget Poker Room – FAQ
Does the Golden Nugget in Las Vegas have a poker room?
Yes. Golden Nugget in Las Vegas has a poker room.
What kind of poker do they have at the Golden Nugget in Vegas?
They spread 1/2 NL, 2/5 NL and 2/4 FL, but the 1/2 NL game is by far the most popular. It’s also a popular poker game in Las Vegas despite being a 1/2 NL game because there is no max buy-in. You could potentially sit down with $500 and leave with $15,000.
How much money do you need to play poker at the Golden Nugget in Vegas?
If you’re going to play in the 1/2 NL game, you need a minimum of $100. If you’re going to play in the 2/4 FL game (runs occasionally), you can buy-in for as little as $20.
Does the Golden Nugget in Vegas have poker tournaments?
Yes. The Golden Nugget runs Daily/Nightly poker tournaments. The buy-in are $50, $70 and $125.
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