Winstar Resort and Casino in Oklahoma: A Poker Room Review

Winstar Casino located on the Texas and Oklahoma border has the largest poker room available in the area. Encompassing 21,000 sq ft., the room holds 46 tables running 24 hours a day seven days a week. Winstar offers no limit and limit Texas hold 'Em and the occasional Omaha game.

There are limit Texas Hold 'Em games running from $4-$8 limit, $5-$10 limit, $10-$20 limit, $15-$30 limit with a $5-$15 blind, and $20-$40 limit. They also run two no limit Hold 'Em games. One is a $100 minimum buy-in with a $200 maximum. The second is a $500 minimum buy-in with a $2,000 maximum. Typically Winstar also offers two Omaha games, High/Low and Pot Limit. The High/Low game has a $4-$8 limit, and the Pot Limit game is a $5-$10 limit. The house rake is 10% up to $5 plus $1 a hand for the bad beat jackpot on all their games.

Winstar runs featured games Monday, Friday, and Saturday. Monday is an Omaha High/Low game with a $5-$10 limit. Friday is a limit Texas Hold 'Em with a $10-$20 limit. Saturday is another limit Texas Hold 'Em game with a $20-$40 limit. All event games start at 6:00 p.m., and they do allow call-ins for their feature games between 10 a.m. and 6:00 p.m. The games fill up fast every day, so call in if you can.

They also run daily limit Texas Hold 'Em tournaments. All the tournaments have an 80 person maximum, and they start with 3,000 in tournament chips with no re-buys or add-ons. Monday starts at 7:00 p.m. with a $115 buy in, Tuesday starts at 7:00 p.m. with a $60 buy in, Wednesday starts at 1:00 p.m. with a $60 buy in, Thursday starts at 1:00 p.m. with a $115 buy in, and Friday is at 11 a.m. with a $165 buy in. Registration starts three hours prior to each game and you must do it in person. The seats go quickly, so it's best to get there early and wait for registration in the lounge.

The poker room is smoke free and in pristine condition. It can get a bit cramped at peak times, but Winstar has done a good job organizing the tables. The room is attached to two lounges, one smoking and one non-smoking. Each lounge offers plush leather couches and TV monitors listing the roll call for the games so don't miss your spot. There are cocktail waitresses a plenty passing out free food and non-alcoholic drinks (alcoholic drinks are available) most times of the day.

Overall, it is a good place to play in a great location. There are enough tables to cut down on wait times even during peak hours. The room is similar to something you would find in Vegas, and the dealers handle the game professionally.