Lee Jones: Can the Graton Big Game save high stakes public cash games?

What if it's about camaraderie as much as money?

This past weekend, I was up at the Graton Casino in Sonoma County, California. I got a chance to have an extended visit with Jim Stein, who helped found a big ($10/25) no-limit hold'em game there over 10 years ago.

Jim has been an entrepreneur since his teens, and has started a handful of companies, so when he wanted to start a poker game, he went about it in the same systematic way he did starting a business.

Jim Stein welcomes all players to the Graton Big Game for high competition and camaraderie.

I'll let you hear it in Jim's own words...

Jim Stein: "Public games are great – you walk in, put your name on a list, and when it's your turn, you get a seat. If you don't like your table, you can request a table change. This works just fine, especially for the lower stakes, when there are usually plenty of games.

"But suppose you want to play $3/5 and the $3/5 isn't running yet? Are you supposed to sit around and wait for the $3/5 game to start, having no real idea of when that would be? Conversely, you get to the poker room and there's a seven-person wait list for the $3/5 game. Will it be 15, 30, or 90 minutes before you get a seat? Who knows?

"People are busy and have lives outside the poker room – they have no desire to sit and wait to see if they get a seat, or when."

This is when Jim said something that was an epiphany for me, which is sad since I've been around casino poker for 35 years.

JS: What you need is 'Appointment poker.' Just like getting a restaurant reservation, like we got for lunch here, or going to the dentist for that matter. Of course, a game in somebody's home is appointment poker – everybody shows up at Mike's house at 7:00pm on Thursday..."

Lee Jones: "But then there's all the bad stuff about home games..."

JS: "Exactly. Will you be cheated? Will you get paid? How much rake is the host charging? Is the game going to get busted? Perhaps most importantly, people have reputations to uphold. If you're a respected business owner in the community, something bad happens at an underground game, and your name is associated with it – that can cost you your entire business and standing in the community. It's really not worth the risk.

"So if you're a typical professional person who wants to play moderately high stakes poker, home games really aren't an option.

"I wanted to create a game that was in a casino, with all the safeguards and professionalism a casino provides, but with the vibe and camaraderie of a home game."

Jim was kind enough to share with me the business plan, if you will, for The Graton Big Game (aka 'TGBG'). It's five pages, with the detail you'd expect from that length, and from the guy who wrote it. Here's one paragraph from page 3:

Starting and Feeding the Game
Each Friday at 2pm the List will be called down from top to bottom to determine who is present and willing to start the Game. The first 9 players (or 7 if that is the table limit) who give a thumbs-up from the List are seated at the Main Game. Those who are not present are removed from the List at 4:30pm. Those who decide not to play are removed from the List immediately. Players choose their seats and if two players want the same seat, those two players will draw for that seat. That said, Game Lead always gets seat 4.

Any questions, class? Having reviewed the entire document, I can say that nothing has been left to chance. Or better said, nothing has been left to whim or influence.

Evan Panesis (aka 'Double E') is the Graton Big Game table captain, sending out invitation texts every week.

Jim was quite clear that he welcomes strong players, even pros, into his game. However, they have to bring something to the party. Headphones and sunglasses are discouraged. Good jokes and a pleasant demeanor, even when you're losing, are highly valued.

He also emphasizes what he calls their 'seat guarantee value proposition': “People drive all the way to beautiful Sonoma County for our game, and we guarantee that everyone who arrives on Friday at 2pm will get a seat, even if we have to open another table.”

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A chance to leave IRL behind

One of the things I found most interesting was how everybody in the game is assigned a nickname. But not just any nickname. Nobody can have a nickname put on them unless they like it. No mean-spirited nicknames, no subtle jabs. I've certainly been in communities (mostly online, or online-derived) where people referred to each other by their nicknames rather than their given names. But I don't think I fully appreciated the deeper intent of the nickname.

As Jim explained it, it's an opportunity for people to create a persona that exists only in the bubble of the game and its players. Think of it as a nine-player RPG for old men and young guns. In which four- and five-figure real money pots are contested.

I watched the game for a while, and indeed, everybody seemed to be having a good time. I saw more laughing and story-sharing than I did at any of the other games in the room, despite pots that were routinely littered with peach-colored $1K chips.

Jim Stein and his friends have found a way to have a good time while battling hard for monster pots.

Can the Graton Big Game be a template?

I'm wildly in favor of anything that will make higher stakes games more accessible to the public. I asked Jim if he thought his model could be copy/pasted to other locations. 

JS: "I do, and in fact, people have asked me for the documents that I used to set up the Graton game." 

LJ: "But ultimately, the mission of the game has to be community and camaraderie, right? If it's really just cover for a small number of pros to have access to a small number of well-to-do recreational players, you'll never have the spirit and community that your game has."

JS: "Absolutely. I'm here to play poker for serious money against good players. But I'm not a professional player, and I don't want a – what was the term you used? – a predatory environment. If you have that, then the vibe of our game is impossible.

"Our written rules were carefully crafted to ensure a fair game for everyone – a game of high competition and strong camaraderie. That said, rules won’t work without the right people.

"First, I have to give Greg Steinmetz, Graton’s poker manager, a lot of credit for creating the perfect environment. We have what we call our Hot Center, a group of key players who go above and beyond to ensure the game’s success. Evan Panesis (Double E), our captain, sends fun weekly texts to all players and leads the game with ease. Brian Mintz (Bingo), our master of player relations, is a magician at maximizing the positivity of our juicy game. We also have several awesome regulars who play with joyful abandon.

"That’s why this game, TGBG, is so special and has endured and thrived, while other games at these stakes come and go."

I got a chance to speak to a professional player who has played in Jim's Graton game a few times. I wanted to see if Jim's marketing pitch for his game matched the reality. This pro I spoke to had glowing words for Jim's game and community. These are his exact words, with a tiny tweak or two:

"I have a lot of respect for how Jim runs that game. He embraces competition, doesn't turn away or shut out pros, and creates a fair and welcoming environment for all players.The game is quite social in nature. Very few headphone and hoody types. Lots of friendly banter and a sense of genuine friendship amongst regulars and newbies alike. Yet there is a fiercely competitive element to the game given the stakes played are quite high. This balance is rare and refreshing."

Brian Mintz (aka 'Bingo') says that the players' respect for the Graton Big Game spirit set it apart from other high stakes games

Public high stakes poker is, in fact, possible

So there you have it. A template, and proof of concept, for a high-stakes poker game that is open to all comers. Assuming, of course, they'll be good company and occasionally treat the table to pizzas. 

I am told of other similar situations in rooms around the United States, so the Graton Big Game is not a unicorn. For people who host larger games, maybe this is something to think about. We all know that the winning players will ultimately win, and the weaker players will ultimately lose. Furthermore, at these stakes, the weaker players know that they're the weaker players – they didn't get the money to play $10/25 no-limit hold'em by being ignorant of who are the sharpest people in the room.

Time is precious, and nobody, whether they're a for-profit poker player or not, wants to spend hours in a morose, or even toxic environment. Jim Stein and his Graton Big Game cohorts have shown that it's possible to play very serious high stakes poker, and yet have an environment and vibe where even the losers feel that they have spent their time well.

^{Featured image courtesy of Graton Resort & Casino.}