Edgewater Poker Room

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The downtown Vancouver, BC, Canada area during the warm Summer season. Photo by: Submitted from Public on July 14, 2014

The Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada area has a variety of poker entertainment options available during all seasons which can make for a lot of card playing fun. Poker cash games and tournaments run daily at a selection of casinos in the downtown Vancouver, Richmond and Coquitlam areas. The major annual tournaments such as the World Series Of Poker Circuit and the BC Poker Championships provide a memorable poker player experience that features larger prize pools. Quality poker game experiences are available for those players who know the various casino locations and when to visit them for cash games or tournaments. It is a Canadian style of poker based in beautiful Vancouver, BC, Canada.

The 2014 / 2015 World Series Of Poker Circuit tournament schedule has been announced and British Columbia is not listed. Many poker players in the community were looking forward to the return of the World Series Of Poker Circuit events during 2014/2015 and were very disappointed when the new schedule was released and Vancouver was not listed as a circuit stop. The River Rock casino in Richmond has hosted the World Series Of Poker Circuit event multiple times in the past but it is not on the list for the upcoming circuit tour. The main River Rock theatre room was used for the tournament and it was a quality poker experience with the allure of the Las Vegas style main event mixed in.

Welcome to edgewater Come to the Edgewater and enjoy a diverse range of pleasures, from 40,000 square feet of state-of-the-art casino thrills, a sun-splashed pool and spa and marvelous restaurants to comfortable and affordable accommodations and outstanding venues for meetings, weddings and special events. The Edgewater Casino is located in Laughlin, Nevada, 100 miles South from Las Vegas. Let it Ride, Three Card Poker and Pai Gow Poker. There is also a poker room.

The 2014 World Series of Poker final nine players provide a fun group shot in Las Vegas, USA. Photo by: Joe Giron

Edgewater

Local residents and visitors to the Vancouver area have a selection of casinos to choose from during any season. The three largest casinos in the Vancouver, BC, Canada that offer poker tables are the Edgewater Casino, the Hard Rock Casino Vancouver and the River Rock Casino & Resort which are all listed below. All three casinos are licensed and regulated by BCLC which is a provincial gaming government operated organization.

The Edgewater Casino - Downtown Vancouver

The exterior of the Edgewater Casino in downtown Vancouver during the Summer season. Photo by: Paragon Gaming

The Edgewater Casino is the most central poker room that is located in the downtown Vancouver area and it is open 24 hours, 7 days a week. The building is right on the water of False Creek which is how it gets the name 'Edgewater' and it is located directly across from the very large BC Place stadium. The Edgewater Casino has a large poker room, slots, tables games, restaurant, bar and live performance show theatre. The poker room is an open area room with no walls and is located upstairs beside a live performance theatre that can be used for the larger annual poker tournaments. There are no nightly rental accommodations or spas at this casino building. Poker players are provided with free parking and promotions such as free breakfast on Sunday mornings. The daily tournaments have between 60 to 100 players total on average with buy-ins that range from approximately $60 to $300. The poker room features some of the most skilled players in the Vancouver area and also a large amount of recreational players. People who visit the Vancouver area for a business conference, airplane stop or family event usually go to this poker room due to the central location. The hands on the $1/$2 no limit poker cash game table frequently go above $300 total pot size so if you sit at the cash tables be prepared to play large pots on a regular basis. If you are looking for action at a cash game poker table, you will definitely find it at this casino. The poker room gets busy around 10 AM and is usually full from 7 PM until around 1 AM. There is usually at least one $1/$2 no limit poker table going overnight. Players can call in over the telephone up to one hour in advance to put themselves on the cash game waiting list and doing this is recommended. There are more poker players on the weekends at this location and the larger daily tournaments with $300 buy-ins are also on the weekends. There are multiple flat screen televisions in the poker room that feature a variety of sports shows. The poker room management will accommodate player requests for specific shows to be played on specific television screens upon request. Food and drinks are served at the poker tables during all hours. The usage of verbal profanity by players is tolerated by the dealers and management at this poker room. For example, a poker player can stand up and yell at full volume 'Hey, your a fucking asshole...' across the table or entire poker room at another player and not get kicked out for the night by management or security. When a poker room pit boss was asked what it takes to get kicked out of the Edgewater Poker room for a night the response was 'a physical confrontation'. Overall there are many very polite and fun to play with poker players at this location. As with all poker rooms there are some less than polite poker players who are in the minority at this location. A general guideline for poker players is to table change if you come up against a rude player and you will find that the pit bosses are very open to table changes at this location. Poker play during the day is usually more relaxed whereas at night the play gets more serious as players drink alcohol and bet larger amounts. This poker room attracts a lot of Asian players which results in a lot of Cantonese and Mandarin being spoken at the tables. The casino staff are very polite, accommodating and easy to approach for poker player requests. This poker room can be a lot of fun at times when the cash tables get busy and the atmosphere is relaxed. The main attraction at this poker room are the two major tournaments called the Spring Ultrastack Series and the $300 buy-in tournament event which is on the last Saturday of each month. These two events that feature the most quality poker player experience and are recommended.

Tournament poker chip stack at the Edgewater Casino in downtown Vancouver during the daily early bird event. Photo by: Submitted from Public on July 14, 2014

The poker room at the Edgewater Casino features very nice cash game chips. The cash game chips have red trim and white centers with a glossy coasting. They are heavy in weight and are nice to play cash game poker with.

The tournaments chips are light weight and sometimes dirty which bothers some of the poker players. The poker room pit boss acknowledges the dirty tournament chip problem. The lightweight tournament chips are standard for most casinos since the overall amount of chips in a tournament can be large at times so they need to be light to begin with. The poker room management mentions that cleaning of the tournament chips is going to take place during late July 2014. As of July 28, 2014 the tournament poker chips had not been cleaned at the Edgewater casino. Below are two photos of the tournament chips at the Edgewater Casino poker room that were photographed by a player on July 13, 2014. The black marks on the tournament chips are from the accumulation of foreign substances from not being cleaned on a regular basis.

Tournament poker chips at the Edgewater Casino in downtown Vancouver during the daily early bird event. Photo by: Submitted from Public on July 14, 2014

Poker

Tournament poker chips at the Edgewater Casino in downtown Vancouver during the daily early bird event. Photo by: Submitted from Public on July 14, 2014

Edgewater poker room ideas

The cash game poker tables available daily at the Edgewater Casino are:

  • $1/$2 No Limit
  • $2/$5 No Limit
  • $2/$4, $4/$8, $4/$8 Kill
  • $6/$12, $20/$40 Kill
  • $5/$5 Pot Limit Omaha
  • $5/$10 No Limit

More information about the Edgewater Casino is available on the company website: http://edgewatercasino.ca

The Edgewater Casino poker room manager Lorea Ytterberg has been invited on July 15, 2014 to include comments in this article.

The entrance to the Edgewater Casino in downtown Vancouver, BC, Canada area during the warm Summer season. Photo by: Submitted from Public on July 14, 2014

Hard Rock Casino Vancouver - Coquitlam

The exterior entrance of the Hard Rock Casino Vancouver located in Coquitlam, BC, Canada. Photo by: Submitted from Public on July 22, 2014

The recently renovated poker room at the Hard Rock Casino Vancouver in Coquitlam features a new style along with new poker tables and chairs. There are poker cash games and daily tournaments available at this location across 12 tables. The daily tournaments range from approximately $40 to $300 buy-ins. Sometimes the tournament schedule is suspended in order to make all of the tables cash games that qualify for the super beat jackpot when it goes over $400,000. This casino features a large selection of live performance entertainment in the main theatre with big name artists. Free parking is available for poker players and is always available. The poker room features a closed entrance so it has walls to keep out the slot machine noise. The poker room features many large television screen which play a variety of sports shows. The casino plays loud rock music over the poker room speakers so player have to be ok with that to sit at the tables. The casino overall has a rock and roll feel to it since it was renovated. As of June 2014 it appears that verbal profanity by poker players is not tolerated by the dealers and the pit bosses at the tables. How long that degree of enforcement will last is unknown. The dealers and pit bosses at this poker room did allow verbal profanity by the poker players years ago around 2009. This poker room can be very busy at times due to the very large Super Beat Jackpots taking place during 2014. There are new tables, chairs, felt and room decorations as of 2013/2014 which has made the poker room very nice to visit for a fun card game. During July 2014 the poker room management noted that there is a 'low tolerance' of verbal profanity or player abusive behaviour. There was mention of one verbal warning and then an ejection for poker players who are rude or use verbal profanity. The poker room management reports approximately one ejection per week of poker players for inappropriate conduct. Alcohol and food is served in the poker room along with complimentary pens, tea, coffee etc.... There are many rock and roll displays around the casino area which gives the location a great vacation style feel. There are free live band performances in the lounge area at night. The poker room management declined to allow a random selection of tournament chips to be photographed for presentation in this article review. The Hard Rock Casino Vancouver poker room manage Ji Soo Lee claims during an in person interview that there are copyright concerns regarding the tournament chips which is the reasons why the photo request was denied. Canadian law states that copyright restrictions do not apply to editorial news publications. The casino is reported to have signs stating 'photo friendly' and the poker room manager was asked about this. His response was 'Yes, since we have transitioned to Hard Rock Casino Vancouver, we have multiple signages that saying 'photo friendly'. Many people take pictures with all those great memorabilias we have on site. However, it is still prohibited to taking pictures of any casino equipments or casino layouts.'.

The interior entrance of the Hard Rock Casino Vancouver located in Coquitlam, BC, Canada that shows music items on display for the public. Photo by: Submitted from Public on July 22, 2014

The casino has some nice features such as free cellphone charging plugs at some of the dinning tables in the restaurant. They also offer complimentary pens and decks of old playing cards.

The cellphone charger and free pen provided by the Hard Rock Casino Vancouver located in Coquitlam, BC, Canada. Photo by: Submitted from Public on July 22, 2014

This location is the furthest away out of Vancouver and is located close to the highway. The Hard Rock Casino Vancouver in Coquitlam and River Rock Casino in Richmond are owned by the same company called Great Canadian Gaming. It used to be called the Boulevard Casino.

The poker room at the Hard Rock Casino location in Coquitlam, BC, Canada. Photo by: Hard Rock Casino

The cash game poker tables available daily at the Hard Rock Casino Vancouver are:

Room
  • $1/$2 No Limit
  • $2/$5 No Limit
  • $2/$4 Pot Limit
  • $4/$8 Kill
  • $2/$2 Pot Limit
  • Limit Omaha

More information about the Hard Rock Casino Vancouver is available on the company website: http://www.hardrockcasinovancouver.com

The Hard Rock Casino Vancouver poker room manager Ji Soo Lee has been invited on July 15, 2014 to include comments in this article.

The interior entrance of the Hard Rock Casino Vancouver located in Coquitlam, BC, Canada that shows music items on display for the public. Photo by: Submitted from Public on July 22, 2014

River Rock Casino - Richmond

This poker room used to be the largest in the Vancouver area many years ago when the poker room was located inside the main building. As of 2014 the poker room has moved across the street into the new space that the casino took over and is much smaller with limited seating. The main theatre can still be used for larger annual tournaments such as the WSOP circuit. The recent schedule announcement during July 2014 did not list this casino as a circuit tour stop. This casino features a large amount of nightly rental accommodations and multiple restaurants for dining. There are also many banquets halls that are rented for larger groups. The location is close to Vancouver International Airport YVR and is located along the water. A lot of poker game types are listed on the website but not all of these games are running due to the limited volumes of players available. There usually is 3 types of the smaller value poker games going on any given random day. There are a lot of Asian players at this casino location since it is located in Richmond so much of the conversation at the table is in Cantonese and Mandarin. Poker players can call in advance to put themselves on the waiting list and this is recommended. Food and drinks are served in the poker room at all times. Free parking is available for poker players.

The cash game poker tables available daily at the River Rock Casino are:

  • $1/$2 No Limit
  • $2/$5 No Limit
  • $5/$5 No Limit
  • $5/$10 No Limit
  • $2/$4 Pot Limit
  • $4/$8 Pot Limit
  • $10/$20 Pot Limit
  • $20/$40 Pot Limit
  • $10/$20 Omaha

The Poker Room Movie

More information about the River Rock Casino is available on the company website: http://www.riverrock.com

Entrants to the 2012 WSOP Vancouver circuit event play in the main theatre at the River Rock Casino & Resort. Photo by: Great Canadian Gaming

The Vancouver area hosts some very large major tournaments each year. The River Rock hosted the World Series Of Poker Circuit events multiple times in the years past. These types of world famous events draw recognizable players to the event such as former Vancouver Canucks goalie Roberto Luongo.

Edgewater Poker Room Games

Roberto Luongo plays at the 2012 WSOP Vancouver circuit event in the main theatre at the River Rock Casino & Resort. Photo by: Great Canadian Gaming

Poker Promotions

Poker rooms in the Vancouver area offer special promotions such as a Bad Beat Jackpot which is sometimes called a Super Beat Jackpot. This is when a very strong hand looses to an even stronger hand which causes a jackpot payout. Massive amounts of money are paid out to the people who are sitting at the table when the Bad Beat or Super Beat hand is played at a cash game table. This type of special poker promotion is available at the Edgewater Casino, Hard Rock Casino and the River Rock Casino & Resort.

Edgewater Casino Poker Room

The exterior of the Edgewater Casino in downtown Vancouver during the Summer season. Photo by: Paragon Gaming

Finding The Quality Poker Games

Poker

There are many quality poker games going each day in the Vancouver area and with some research you can find them. The daily tournaments are recommended because they can be a lot of fun when you make the final table and win the entire tournament by outlasting approximately 50 to 300 poker players. Some of the larger tournaments have first place prizes of over $100,000. The larger annual tournaments are the most attractive events which feature the most quality poker experience for players. Finding the poker room with the best seats, table felt, chips, service, food and other features is highly recommended so you will have the most fun when playing poker in the Vancouver, BC, Canada area when coming from Whistler or other places in the world.

Edgewater Poker Room Chairs

There are also two other poker rooms available at casinos in the Vancouver area. The are called The Grand Villa Casino and The Fraser Downs Casino and are not reviewed in this article.

Edgewater Poker Room Ideas

The Playground Casino in Montreal, Quebec is the current location as of 2014 for larger, world famous annual tournaments such as the World Poker Tour when they visit Canada. More information about the Playground Casino can be viewed on the company website: http://www.playgroundpoker.ca

Poker Room Bonus Code

The exterior of the Edgewater Casino in downtown Vancouver during the Summer season. Photo by: Paragon Gaming