Excalibur

Let's leave the whole "End of the Poker World" debate until another day. There are electronic poker tables in some card rooms and there will be more. Play 'em, don't play 'em; your choice. But I would note that the electronic tables have something between "live" play and "online" play when it comes to tells.

Some player believe there are fewer tells online and others think online tells are merely different. Well playing on an electronic table for awhile might convince you differently whatever your opinion.

First, the facts. At an electronic table the action moves from seat to seat, you can't act out of turn because you can't act until it is your turn. Also once you make any betting action, you have to confirm it with a second screen action. Image that you bet 600 in a live action game and instead of saying "600 is the bet" the dealer says "do you wish to bet 600, sir?" You can't string bet, you can't act out of turn; you can stack your chips and then fold and you can talk while you ponder your electric action.

But players sitting at a screen get into a pattern of betting with their hands or as is the case at many electronic tables, players use their players card to touch the screen; hard plastic is recognized easier than your soft finger tip. So if you watch players they will have a pattern to their manipulation of the screen options. When they are "on a hand" or setting up a bluff that routine changes. Players often fumble with the screen action when they are new to the game but once you got it, you got it! So slowing down or resetting the betting screen is a tell. You have to be smooth with the screen, just like you have to be smooth with chips. And it is just as easy to fumble the screen as it is to spill your chips.

Also players get locked in on the screen and forget about the other players. Fewer electronic players watch for tells and therefore they are also less likely to pay attention to their own mannerisms. They play like they are at home, where mumbling "Hot Damn!" when they hit their flush is not giving away anything.

New technology, new players, new tells. All in a electronic day's play, right Hal?

Two major new electronic dealer-less poker rooms are about to test the viability concept in the U.S. market. The delay in gaming commission approval has made the introduction of electronic tables to some jurisdictions a much anticipated happening. Now both Atlantic City and Las Vegas will take the plunge with an entire poker room going electric.

In Las Vegas, the Excalibur Casino poker room will close next week and re-open a few days later, completely converted to electronic tables. In Atlantic City, the new poker room at Trump Plaza has been electronic from day one. The reaction to both announcements has been very different. The new East Tower poker room at Trump does not replace an existing room, nor lay-off a group of already working dealers. In addition, the small number of poker rooms in Atlantic City means more tables, of any kind, would be welcomed to meet the poker demand.

The Excalibur, on the other hand, has been a well known and successful room on the Las Vegas Strip for many years. The early talk about the "conversion" to electric has been very negative. Dealers and floor staff are losing their jobs, players used to the action are not easily persuaded of the wisdom of going electric. But Las Vegas has over 50 live poker rooms and the "test" of electronic was going to happen somewhere. MGM decided the Excalibur would be that test.

Three MGM properties (Mandalay Bay, Luxor, Excalibur) are side by side at the south end of the Las Vegas Strip; they all have poker rooms, they are all connected with indoor walkways to avoid the summer desert heat. It makes sense that one of those rooms would be selected to go electric. The management of MGM and Excalibur are not using words like "experiment" or "test" or "trial balloon" but everyone believes the first electric room is exactly that. Will poker players with dozens of options, decided to play in an all electric room? We will soon find out. I will be at the Grand Opening of the Electric Excalibur Poker Room and will keep you up to date with the acceptance of the new room by Las Vegas poker players.