All about poker in Armenia – PokerDiscover live poker review
Poker in Armenia is all about high-class Western service and Eastern Hospitality. The capital of Armenia — Yerevan — attracts thousands of tourists and poker lovers around the world. One is able to meet opponents from Russia, Iran, Kuwait, Lebanon and Dubai at the same table.
About poker in Armenia
Armenia is the state in Caucasus that is situated at the border of Europe and Asia. Armenia is one of the most ancient countries in the world. Its territory has tens of Orthodox churches with pilgrims from all over the world. The population of Armenia consists of 3 million people and 1 million of them lives in the capital, Yerevan. So it is of no surprise that other cities don’t have poker action. Well, Tsaghkadzor is full of tourists and sometimes has a new club here and there but the lack of experience and knowing the specifics of work in Armenia and Caucasus in general leads to them shutting down fast. Several times a year Tsaghkadzor hosts poker series RPO | RPT.
4 pieces of advice to tourists in Yerevan
Piece of advice #1 — Make currency exchange in the airport
Currency exchange rate doesn’t differ across the city. So one is able to exchange currencies right in the airport. The approximate exchange rate is: 1 US dollar = 485 Armenian Drams
Piece of advice #2 — Use taxi
Yerevan has a well-developed taxi service. The trip from the airport to the center of the city is $5-$8. The average price of the drive across the city is $1,5-$2. The trip from the center of the city to Shangri La poker club will cost you $3,5-$4, Such taxi services as Yandex.Taxi and GG Taxi. If you just take taxi on the fly, ask for the price in advance as 99% of taxis are equipped with the counters.
Piece of advice #3 — be prepared to eating much as the food is splendid
Armenian cuisine is rich and varied. Dolma, Khash, Horovats, Lavash are the main dishes and snacks in Armenia. Also, Armenia is the heaven for those who love sweets: sudzhuk, nazuk, fruit pita. When you are tired of the national food, just know that Yerevan has fast food restaurants and cafes of all shapes and sizes. Wine bars, beer and crayfishes are popular. Almost all the shops and restaurants have delivery services. The average bill for one person is $10.
Piece of advice #4 — choose the hotel or rent a flat
Yerevan is the city full of tourists. All year round it hosts plenty of tourists so reservation of the hotel might cause some problems only in March, 20thies, when the tourists from Iran, Lebanon, Kuwait and Dubai come. The night in hotel costs about $35.
Yerevan has a nice flat rent market. For instance, the flat near to the center of the city may be rented for $200-$300. Yerevan is not a big city so one is able to save even more by renting a flat not in the center but in the 15-20 minutes ride from it.
Poker in Armenia —Shangri La Poker Club (Yerevan)
Poker club at the Shangri La casino is the main destination point of a poker tourist. There are 5 tables for tournaments in the club plus one table in VIP room. The club works every day from 19:00 to 7:30, soon to be working 24/7. People play at 5/5 stakes all day round. All the guests have an access to free bar and snacks. Game currency is US dollar.
Poker club at the Shangri La casino is the only legal club in Yerevan. City also has undercover clubs with potential fraudulent activities. Sometimes there are force operations with law enforcement officers participation.
Cash games
Stakes: 1/1 – 1/2 – 2/5 – 5/5 – 5/10.
Games: Hold’em, Omaha PL, Omaha Hi/Lo, Dealer Choice 4/5 cards, as well as 7-card Stud and Chinese Poker.
Bonuses for cash players
Monthly rating
People get activity points depending on the stakes and how long games continue. As month ends, the points are being counted and top-5 players of the month get cash prizes (1st place = $500).
Lotteries on Thursdays
There are 5 tickets of $100 each. People get tickets for every 30 minutes spent in the club from 19:00. Starting at 23:00 one ticket is being drawn and the winner gets found (this player should be present at the club at the time of drawing).
$100 for Flush Royal
Anyone who managed to get Royal Flush gets $100 as a present.
Bad Beat Jackpot
Fixed jackpot of $1,000. It is paid when full house of aces loses to quads. 50% of the amount is paid to the person who lost the hand, 30% comes to the pocket of the one who won the hand and the remaining 20% are spread across other players at the table.
Progressive Hold’em jackpot is paid when Quads loses to higher Quads or higher. Both players must have a pocket pair with the pot of at least $100. In case Quads loses to Straight Flush or Royal Flush, the winning player may have just one pocket card in the hand. What matters is the number of active actions as the table as no jackpot will be paid if the situation is check-check.
Back in November, 2018, $21,000 was paid at Texas $1-$2 table. Straight Flush of J-high on the turn lost to Straight Flush of K-high on the river.
Progressive Omaha jackpot is paid when Quads loses to Quads or higher. Both players should have a pocket pair with the pot of at least $100. No jackpot will be paid if the situation is check-check.
Important! The management of the poker club Shangri La negatively treats check-check collusion situation between the players and explain these subtleties of the rules to all the newcomers to the club. In case the situation takes place twice, both of the players get blacklisted.
No Limit Hold’em Tournaments
Five times a week at 20:00 the clubs hosts Hold’em tournaments. Buy-ins of $10 to $25 in re-buy/add-on formats. The first 6 levels last 25 minutes each and then there is an add-on of 15 minutes. Guaranteed prize funds are $4500 to $600. They play at four tables and once. The average prize fund is $1300 – $2000.
Junket tours to Yerevan
There are poker tours for the players from other countries last 3 or 7 days.
1. 3-day tour
$3.000 deposit, minimal playing time — 5 hours per day. Stakes are $2/$5 and higher.
Standard accommodation in 5* hotel “Pharaoh”, airport transfer.
2. 7-day tour
$5.000 deposit minimal playing time — 5 hours per day (five out of seven days) Stakes are $2/$5 and higher.
Standard accommodation in 5* hotel “Pharaoh”, airport transfer. Tickets compensation is negotiable.
Regular customers from other countries have more flexible terms.
There are also private and corporate tournaments of VIP level for the big groups of people.
Yerevan is the welcoming city for those who love poker
Yerevan is a great find for the tourist who likes to save. There is many sights, great cuisine, inexpensive taxi and accommodation. There are plenty of karaoke, restaurants, bars, cafes, aqua parks, swimming pools. People here are very welcoming, full of hospitality, and every guest of Armenia agrees with it. Have a look at the direction of Yerevan when you are planning your vacation where you are going to combine poker and resort. Poker in Armenia is all about lovely squads, bonuses and warm friendly atmosphere.