TexasHoldemPoker-UK

[Andy]

I finally made it to the Gutshot tonight for the first time and let me say right up front that I was distinctly unimpressed. No UK card room is worth getting excited about because of the laughable scale on which they operate (10 tables is the whole place?!?!) but Gutshot leaves a lot to be desired.

The layout sucks a lot for starters. Downstairs where you register as a member/cash in and out you have to walk between all the gaming tables to get to the cashier. That immediately sucks because everyone is hovering around the playing area getting in the players' way and there is just not enough room. At The Full House, the areas are properly segregated and if you are not seated, you do not hover around a table. There is nothing approaching a 'rail' at Gutshot and it's basically a free-for-all.

The staff there are pretty rude and not exactly welcoming to new people which is again something that The Full House is far better at. The guy who I think was the floor manager looked like an extra from Only Fools & Horses and one guy had so few teeth you could count them on one hand.

The games themselves were not too bad although every cash game is pot limit which doesn't exactly give you a lot of choice. As expected, all action was holdem but this suits me so I won't complain about the lack of alternatives there. The range of buy-ins will suit most people but 25-50PL is by far the most popular so those wishing to play higher limits may find it takes a long time for a table to have enough of a waiting list to be started.

The tournament that was on tonight was a £50 freezeout which attracted a field of 76 players. What amazed me was that it was a self-deal tourney which is awful for a buy-in like that. At The Full House, EVERY tourney has dealers and everything runs a lot more smoothly as a result.

Overall, Gutshot gets a thumbs down and although The Full House is not perfect, it looks like a diamond compared to the coal that is Gutshot. Definitely not worth the trip into town for this one.