Poker Cafe Macau

POKKA CAFE, Macau: See 16 unbiased reviews of POKKA CAFE, rated 3.5 of 5 on Tripadvisor and ranked #491 of 1,079 restaurants in Macau. Of course, there are daily tournaments at PokerStars LIVE Macau as well, and other events at poker rooms in Macau proper. There are three main hotels just in the City of Dreams resort alone – Crown Towers, Grand Hyatt, and Hard Rock Hotel – and surrounding the tournament arena are shopping and arts options for entertainment.

Want to play poker online? Visit our Online Poker page for recommendations and guides.

Poker is not the longstanding pastime in Macau that it is in Las Vegas. In fact, the first poker room in Macau wasn’t opened until the summer of 2007. Since then, several new poker rooms have opened up, and there are now five casinos offering live-dealer cash games, along with the occasional tournament or two.

If you’re a serious poker player, and you’ve heard a bit about the games in Macau, you probably believe that they’re extremely juicy. See, when the game was new, many rich Chinese patrons gave the game a try, and were willing to play at very high limits. When professional players got wind of this, they showed up and cleaned house against the wild, terrible players who frequented this game and were not afraid of chasing their losses. Before too long, locals made sure that foreigners and professionals weren’t allowed in these games anymore, or at the very least, that their play was severely limited.

Sadly, those days are gone…sort of. While there are still games at limits that will make your head spin – some of which dwarf even the biggest cash games Las Vegas has to offer – the play has improved significantly. Oh, it’s still wild and crazy, but the players are at least competent, leading to some very tough play at the higher limits. A recent visit to the city by some of the world’s greatest professional players (including Tom Dwan and Phil Ivey) became big news on the Internet; the pros made plenty of money, but not without some huge swings. These games featured pots that were often over $10 million in Hong Kong Dollars; they certainly aren’t for the faint of heart!

Of course, lower limit games are available too, so you don’t have to risk your entire life savings to play a little Texas Hold’em while you’re in Macau. While it hasn’t had a boom like in the United States and Europe, poker definitely has a foothold in Macau, and it’s likely to become even more popular over the next few years. Here are our picks for the best (and currently, the only) places to play poker in Macau!

A Quick Note About Poker in Macau

For anyone who’s been to Las Vegas or Atlantic City, it’s important to realise that the experience of poker in Macau is going to be completely different. Poker in Macau is viewed by the casinos as something of a novelty, and I guess most would rather not have any poker at all. On my last visit in December 2013 there were only 3 poker rooms still operating in Macau. Most Asians don’t know how to play poker and for the most part don’t care to learn. They prefer to play baccarat, sic bo and the other table games that are on offer in the casinos.

In the majority of Macau’s casinos, poker is seen by casino management as taking up space that could be used to house table games. And with poker rake being a mere 5% of a pot, this means that a poker room will earn significantly less money than house games would, hence the casinos generally anti-poker stance.

For any non-smokers, it’s important to note that smoking is a massive part of Chinese culture and as such smoking is allowed pretty much everywhere in the casinos (on the gaming floor at least). At the poker tables it’s no different. The player seated beside the dealer cannot smoke, but everywhere else at the table is ok, so be prepared to be playing in a very smoky environment.

Waiting Lists

The majority of the rooms in Macau have a max of 6-7 tables running at a time. At any given time the waiting list can be up 60 or 70 players, sometimes over 100. In terms of waiting time this can be up to 6 hours. On my last visit on a Saturday night in the Venetian there was a 128 player long waiting list for a HK$25/$50 table (roughly $3.50/$7). This was in spite of the fact that only 3 out of the rooms 8 or so tables were in use. If you want to play I’d recommend going early, putting your name on a list and going out to see some of Macau’s sites or grabbing some food, then come back a few hours later. Most rooms will call or text you when you put your name and number on the list.

Anyway without further ado here is my reviews of the rooms currently open for poker in Macau.

Wynn Macau Poker Room

The Wynn is a great poker venue in Las Vegas, so the fact that the game is spread in the Wynn Macau seems only natural. The Wynn has used this expertise to create an excellent poker experience for visiting players; both no-limit Texas Hold’em and pot limit Omaha are played here, which is more variety that you’ll typically see in Macau, where hold’em is normally the only game played. Limits begin at just HKD 25/50, though you can play for much more than that if you’re looking for a bigger game. The game with the most played games is HK $50/$100 (about $7.50/$15). This usually gets 2-4 games alongside 1 HK $25/50 game and a couple of bigger games ranging from HK $100/$200 up to HK $1000-$2000. The rake in the Wynn is 5% up to a max of HK$200.

This is by far the nicest poker room in Macau. It’s very professionally run, the seats and tables are in good nick and well kept and there is good table service for food and drinks. Drinks such as Chinese tea, water and coffee are free, but anything else you’ll need to order off the menu at prices similar to what you’d pay in a Vegas casino. What’s more the staff here are extremely friendly and make you feel welcome unlike some of the other rooms in Macau.

The Wynn is one of the locations where the infamous semi-private nosebleed-stakes games are known to take place, so it also makes a great spot for trying to catch a glance of any big name pros who might be in town. On my last visit Phil Ivey and Andrew Robl were both playing big games in the room and according to the locals various other big name pros can be seen there on a regular basis.

It’s hard to comment on the overall softness of the games due to a small sample size, but I would say based on my limited experience that the $50/$100 game is far softer than any game I’ve played in Vegas. While there are a few decent players the majority are weak tight ABC players who are pretty easy to dominate.

Overall, if you want to play poker in Macau, you’ll want to check out the Wynn while you’re here!

StarWorld Poker Room

Located on the 3rd floor of the StarWorld Casino, this poker room spreads Texas Hold’em (both no-limit and limit) over 11 tables. There’s also baccarat available right in the poker room for your convenience; this is, after all, Macau. Star World is the only room in Macau where I’ve seen sit n gos spread. They offer HKD$1000+$100 sit n gos throughout the day. There are usually more smaller games running here than there are in the Wynn, with the main game being $25/$50. Waiting lists here can be extremely long so plan to do something before you play poker as you’ll more than likely be waiting a long time to get a game.

StarWorld is also known for spreading a fair amount of tournament poker (and they may do even more when they take on the Asian Poker tour branding in the near future), and is also the site for that rotating super-high limit game we’ve talked about so much, which means you might spot a visiting pro or two making their living here. The nosebleeds are usually played here, but we’re told they’ve been going in the Wynn just as much recently.

StarWorld is also professionally run. Though not as nice as the Wynn it’s definitely a long way ahead of the Venetian.

Venetian Macau Poker Room

The Venetian has a poker room, though it’s probably the least welcoming of Macau’s remaining 3 poker rooms. Staff and management are the rudest I’ve ever encountered at any poker room anywhere in the world. The room has 8 or 9 tables, but they rarely open all of these even when waiting lists are massive. Most of the time you’ll be waiting a minimum of 2 hours to get a game.

The poker room is in a small cordoned off area near to the South Lobby. As in most rooms, the game of choice is no-limit Texas Hold’em; most of the time, only HKD25/50 and 50/100 games get going with the occasional 100/200 game being spread. The Venetian has the highest poker rake in the whole of Macau raking 5% up to a max of HK$300, a full 50% more than Star World and the Wynn.

Everyone says the Venetian has the softest games in Macau. I would tend to agree with this; the play at the Venetian is quite loose and passive – a wonderful combination if you’re looking to make a profit. That said the Wynn isn’t massively different in playing standard and if I had the choice of only playing at one room, it would be the Wynn. However, the Venetian is the best place for lower stake games as they usually have 2-3 25/50 games going in the evening times.

Grand Lisboa Poker Room – Update Dec 2012 – Now Closed

The Grand Lisboa is the home to PokerStars Macau, the largest poker room in all of Asia. There are 33 tables here, which spread both cash games and tournaments, which are rarely seen in other Macau locations. Given the relative newness of poker in Macau, the Grand Lisboa’s room features a Learn-to-Play table that can quickly get beginners up to speed on the rules of the game. Games start at limits of HKD 10/20, though they also spread much higher limit games for those who are interested.

If there’s one downside to the Grand Lisboa, it’s that they only spread Texas Hold’em, and don’t have Omaha games like the Wynn has. On the other hand, this is the room where major events (like those on the Asia-Pacific Poker Tour) are held in Macau, so it might have the edge as far as your chances of meeting pros are concerned.

Hard Rock (City of Dreams) Poker Room – Now Closed

The Hard Rock Hotel, located in one of the towers of the City of Dreams, has its own separate casino that contains one of the few poker rooms in Macau. There are seven tables of no-limit Texas Hold’em action here, two of which are reserved for VIP high stakes action. Of course, there’s yet another, more exclusive VIP area that has two more tables; this is usually where the biggest games are played.

Typically, the game ranges from HKD 10/25 to 100/200, though larger games aren’t uncommon. If you like the look and feel of a Hard Rock Cafe, this is a great spot for playing poker in Macau.

(Photo: Casinorelease.com)

They are the stuff of legends, millions of dollars won and lost on a hand, the Phil Ivey’s and Tom Dwan’s of the poker world encountering bluffs from mega-rich businessman which would make your eyes bleed, and all with a mysterious Eastern element shrouding the games in a cloak of secrecy, with triads thrown in for free – they are, of course, the Macau high stakes games!

For many years they have hosted the nosebleed stakes, and for years the details haven’t made their way out of the former-Portuguese colony - but over the last 2 or 3 years more and more of the ‘secrets’ have been revealed.

Of course, you can’t just rock up the Macau Wynn and sit down with the multi-millionaire businessmen. You need an ‘in’ and high stakes pro Andrew Moseley explains how it generally happens.

Who you know AND what you know

'To get involved in the biggest games you need to have some contacts and get invited. I met a few of the regs playing in the Wynn, I gave them some action and then one day they needed a player and I got invited.”

Other big name pros have had to wait sometimes weeks in their hotel rooms for that elusive call, the invite to perhaps make millions at the expense of huge whales. But to skin them you have to put out as well.

Tom ‘Hong Kong Tom’ Hall is another regular invitee to the biggest games in town and explained:

'Certain wealthy local beginners will request to look at a pros cards if they have folded to a big turn/river bet and the pros are pretty much obliged to show that specific player who will look at the cards and not comment further.'

He backs up Moseley’s invitation-only point, saying:

'It is a quasi-private game, so you shouldn't turn up and expect to be allowed to play, particularly as a pro…there can be a crazy waiting list even amongst the ‘regulars’. Naturally, when there are big names, massive pots and true gamblers at the table things can get crazy sometimes.'

Moseley stated in an interview a couple of years ago:

'I have played with a lot of the poker players who are heavily in the media’s eye in Macau but would not want to comment on who.”

He did, however, reveal that the language barrier had caused some amusing incidents.

Chinese whispers

'Once I didn’t hear/understand someone say “all in” when they bet just one chip and proclaimed “all in” into a massive pot on the river, so I snap called it off with my one pair thinking I was calling about 1% of the pot. I then look up and see the guy flip a bluff, shake his head in disbelief, and then push his whole stack towards me!”

Fellow high-stakes pro Brian Rast related a story that involving a local businessman Rono Lo which illustrates just why the rich ‘fish’ welcome top pros into their ‘home game’. Rast won a few big pots from Lo but was then challenged to a heads-up match. Lo finished the heads up match in profit and left the game with a story to tell, having beaten a top class pro.

The Biggest pot in history?

When rumors come out from Macau they are often unbelievable ones about multi-million dollar bluffs, and then bricks of cash part ways – with the loser ending up in hock to the triads! This was Tom ‘durrrr’ Dwan’s fate according to many online fans who couldn’t work out why he was still in Macau and missing the rest of the world’s poker offerings.

Brian Rast, the biggest pot he saw was very juicy indeed, explaining it “had a fairly quiet start on a KH 10S 7S board, which exploded with a 10D on the turn and a 5s on the river. After an unusual amount of tanking both a local and a pro, both ended up all in for a HK$40m (US$5.1m) pot. Lot of excitement ended up in a chop with both holding A 10.” He adds he “saw some pretty sick river bluffs with river bets of US$700-800k going in which were treated with much amusement at the expense of the folding player.”

$20million x2?

But a chopped $5million pot pales into insignificance if you believe Daniel Jungleman12 Cates whose AskMeAnything (AMA), confirmed that:

Cates said it was the biggest pot he has ever witnessed but wouldn’t reveal who the other player involved in the hand was.

Englishman Sam Trickett has also described a $20million pot in Macau, one which sounds rather different, with the hand ‘ending in a huge river bet bluff by a professional poker player against amateur player’. The amateur called the bluff and ended up winning the $20 million pot-although this also sounds like a typical pot Dwan might well have been involved in!

Lose some, win some

Not that ‘durrr’ was always on the losing side of such monumental pots, Finnish player Joni 'Jouhki' Jouhkimainen's writing in 2011 that Dwan took down a pot worth HKD 89 million ($11 million).

Dwan and a few other players were playing with $20,000/$40,000 blinds when Dwan and two other players went all-in pre-flop. Dwan tabled AK, the others JJ and 1010. Dwan hit an ace and scooped the massive pot.

Scary situations?

Poker Cafe Macau Restaurant

The joke going around since last year that Tom Dwan was in hick to the local triads and was being forced to play in order to make good his huge debt were not entirely jocular. The well-organised and documented gang method of debt collection in the Far East has always lent itself to exaggeration and scare stories.

Still, if you don’t pay your debts – or your opponent doesn’t pay theirs – who you gonna call in deepest, darkest Macau?

For one pro it led to a protracted battle to get his dues. Imagine you’re at a table in Macau, a local player goes all–in for $HK344,000 and you’re sitting with pocket aces! Instacall, only to see your opponent dragging his chips back claiming he was joking? Well, seriously, what the actual fuck?

This was no backstreet game, this was at the Wynn Macau – a supposedly regulated establishment where such things simply shouldn’t happen.

The player in question, who only identified himself as dhlrPdls on 2+2 back in 2011, posted:

'The following situation happened recently at the Wynn Macau in a 500/1kHKD game (~$60/$120USD): BigFish opens to $14k, 1 call, I 3b to $84k, BigFish instantly says all in and pushes chips over betting line, other player folds, I snap call with AA for $344k HKD.”

'The BigFish looked scared then tried to take back his chips and pretend that it was a joke. Then the fish mucked his hand and picked up his chips and tried to walk away. Eventually security and the floor staff came over and told the fish that he had to pay. The fish then tried to retrieve his cards from the muck and showed ATs but the floor declared the hand dead.”

A horrible situation wherever you play, but against a local in the Macao high-stakes games? Bottom of anyone’s wish-list, unless you absolutely know the guy has no connections to the local triads.

You’re good to go…

The all-in welcher somehow managed to leave the casino with his money, and according to our poster:

'He didn't return and sent two guys, either his friends or bodyguards, who talked to a manager in Chinese and said that the fish said that if I apologized he would pay me the money. I talked to him on the phone and said 'Sorry' in Chinese.”

Poker Cafe Macau Casino

This didn’t have the desired effect and numerous other approaches to get the money due were discussed, including police involvement – also not a good option if your plan is to continue playing in such groups.

A fruitless meeting with the fish ensued, and the following day – after keeping the wronged player in a room for two hours! – “the casino denied any responsibility for getting the money. I complained to the big manager and he said he would talk to the Wynn lawyer but said that it didn't look good and the Wynn probably wouldn't be able to help me.” What a horrible state of affairs, and what can you do?

Let’s do a deal

A friend of the villain in this story eventually stumped up $200k in a deal, but:

Poker Cafe Macau Poker

'The OP was really shocked and frustrated with Wynn casinos attitude with regard to the situation.They shouldn't have let him go and they shouldn't have made me have to negotiate with the player myself or wait around for hours every day missing out on good games.”

The Macau casino, of course, are in a tight spot in such situations too, and as the poster pointed out himself:

Poker Cafe Macau Menu

'They gave him all the power because he's a big player and attracts players to the poker games,” adding, “I hope this story is known by Steve Wynn and all upper-level management so the rules and procedures can be changed.”

All’s well that ends well

An update appeared on 2+2 shortly after posting, stating:

'I met an assistant vice president of the Wynn Macau half hour ago. I got an officially apology and the rest of my money, $144k as well. I could feel her sincere. Now i am fine. I settled with Wynn.”

Of course, for those of us who have never had to deal with such spots in distant lands, it might seem standard – but I personally would be sweating buckets!

So, absolutely massive pots and very strange situations seem to be the norm in the back-rooms of Macau where the high-rollers and sick gamblers ply their trade. Even Tom ‘durrrr’ Dwan has apparently made his escape from the clutches of the Triads. But you know what? I think I’ll just stick to my $1/2 games – I doubt my heart could deal with the Macau poker lifestyle!