Lodge Card Club Austin — Restaurant in Round Rock

For starters, I caught employees playing at the tables. You can decide for yourself whether you think that's proper.

I witnessed one throwing around - and losing - more than $1,000 in chips and then REBUYING for more than $1,000 before leaving the table after which I was shocked to see him working a shift at the front desk. Would an hourly wage worker have that much money to throw around?

I also caught someone - in the same role this guy played (a $10 bet pumper, making every round expensive) - admitting he was studying at the Lodge to become a dealer at the Lodge.

I personally - whether these were shills or not - don't feel comfortable playing at card rooms that allow employees to play at the tables (especially considering there could be more than one of them at a table, which raises fears - founded or not - of collusion).

Then - I played three different No-Limit Texas Hold 'Em tables on two different occasions. At every one, all day long, this is how the action goes:

There are at least 3 people who seem to be acting together.

One - 95% of the time - bets $10 or more dollars pre-flop, making getting into a pot at the $1/$2 or $1/$3 tables cheaply just about impossible. If he doesn't bet $10, he often starts with a $6 straddle (so seeing a flop ain't cheap).

Then there are two other characters across the table from that guy who often pump the pot; so it becomes so expensive you wonder whether it's worth it to carry your winning hands to the end. Worse - these two also often go all-in, making it likely at some point you'll go broke. (I witnessed many who did. I fell victim to it on my second visit - but I limited my losses and did not go for more money.)

Plus - the 2 characters who sit near each other pumping the pot...at least one of them usually stays in the hand until the end no matter how much you bet, so don't expect to make them fold. In fact, there's often even a fourth splashy player who doesn't seem to care about how much she throws away on a hand, even if she goes broke.

Therefore, if you want to play here, get ready to put big bets on every round you want to attempt to win. And this is important: Only play out your strongest hands - straights, flushes and full houses, 'cause with this kinda action, even tripps are often not enough to win.

I had one guy, for instance - one of the two characters pumping every pot - bet big against me pre-flop, post-flop, after the turn and after the river with a lousy 3-5 off-suited hand, even though the cards that gave him a straight came on the turn and the river. This guy pre-flop RAISES - 3-bets - thinking a 3-5 off-suit hand is a hand worthy of playing let alone raising? I've never seen that before. C'mon now - nobody's that stupid.

Then after the flop, he only had three cards to a straight (gaining just one possibly helpful card on the flop, after which 99.9% of players would FOLD). He had nothing after the flop. Yet he continues this lunacy - raising every betting round - until he LUCKS OUT (the odds were severely against it - making this insanely stupid play) getting a straight with the turn and river cards. I had trip 8s (on the flop) but I couldn't bet this guy out of the pot. No one with a brain plays this way. Was he a shill? 'Dunno - but he played like one.

All I can say is - whatever else: do not play weak hands at this card room or expect to get to see the flop cheaply. Only play the top value cards, preferably high pairs (before the flop) or high suited connectors.

Because of the splashy nature of the action at The Lodge, you can, occasionally, make big money on some hands - when you do win. But the flip side is that you'll take on bigger hits and risk when the guy at the end refuses to fold and draws to a straight on the turn and river with a lousy 3-5 off-suit hand no one in their right mind would...

PROS

Friendly & Attentive Staff

USB Chargers under tables

Free Soda and Water (help yourself or staff can get it for you)

Catered Food for $10

Great Spacing Between Tables So You Aren't Bumping Into Other Players Constantly

9 handed play but felt like we weren't cramped and on top of each other

Comfortable Chairs

Great Fee Structure ($10/hr)

Padded rails on tables were comfortable and in good shape

Colors on poker chips were good and didn't have any issues with them blending in with one another (although only saw red $5, green $25, black $100 and yellow 1K chips, didn't see the $500's so there's always the possibility they blend poorly with the black chips, but can't confirm or deny)

Cards were in good shape

CONS

Bathrooms seem to need a bit more attention in keeping trashes empty, but overall were clean at least

Lack of options with catered food (one meal seemed to be what they have, if you don't like it, you need to look elsewhere)

Variety of snacks were priced at $2.00 each (like a small box of nerds candy, chocolate bars, etc) which seemed a bit pricy for most of what I saw

Felt on the tables I played at (1 and 3) were very worn down, making it difficult to look at your cards

Chips are basic ceramics, which are slippery. Would love to see some clay chips that stack better, and look better, especially Paulsons

while there's no smoking permitted inside The Lodge, you'll need to walk through all the smokers standing right outside the front doors while they congregate on breaks. Would be nice to have a designated area away from where people HAVE to walk through all the smoke, but since it's outside I guess they can't do much to control that.

Overall was pleased with my first visit and looking forward to being a...

The staff is great but some things need addressing. You’re allowed unlimited phone use at the cash tables. This is especially bad at the plo games where it seems you only get to play 3 hands/ hour because you’re constantly waiting on them to check their phone first, not sure if there is collusion going on but with the amount of leaning back and angling of their phones it’s possible, there is no ruling against this at the room. If you’re wanting to collude this is the place to do it.

The bathroom has been out of order for months now, there’s 1 urinal for a room that houses thousands of players. Also a constant foul odor that emits from the restroom.

3.There is no chip runners in the morning times, you will hear the dealers yell chips about 15 times before anyone comes over, usually a guy in a blue shirt with an attitude that’s upset he had to step away from his computer desk.

Now for the good.

1.The time is relatively cheap $11/hour considering there is always multiple tables of various stakes running.

The catering business does a swell job and the food is fantastic for what you get $10 is a bargain for the quality of food that’s being served.

The tournaments are well ran considering the amount of players that show up every day, and the rake for the tournaments is fair.

They actually enforce a no phone during live hand during tournament play, unsure as to why this isn’t the case in cash games where thousands upon thousands are in play. It has deterred me from playing in games where there is abnormal use of phones.

Hopefully this is taken as constructive criticism, and will help their business on a few small faults.

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