Must-Movin' in Arizona

Earlier this year I traveled back to Arizona for a few weeks of poker. My poker career started in Arizona, and I had been fortunate to be present for the opening of almost every new poker room in the state. When I heard that Casino Arizona would be moving its poker room this past August, I took advantage of the chance to see the new room and meet up with old friends.

Casino Arizona opened its first casino in 1998. The original casino was in a tent, which was where the poker room was located. Since then, they built a permanent casino and moved the poker room into it, but kept the tent location open, as well. However, with all of the new things happening in Arizona gaming, they decided to move the poker room back to the old tent location.

I met with Kent Odekirk, Casino Arizona's poker room manager, for a tour a few days before the new tent was to open. I have seen many casino tents over the years, and I can tell you this – there isn't another one nicer anywhere. The poker room takes up half of the tent with 45 tables. There are seven of the largest TVs I have ever seen, as well as some "smaller" plasma TVs. Watching your favorite sporting event is not a problem in this room. The food at Casino Arizona is great, and the quality of the staff is excellent.

The bottom line is, this is a great poker room. If you are ever in the Phoenix area, you will be missing out if you don't play a few flops at Casino Arizona.

But wait … I do have a complaint. Since I usually write about rules and decisions, I am always on the lookout for peculiar things that could be changed. The one thing I think Casino Arizona should change is the way it handles a must-move game.

If you are not familiar with a must-move game, it is a method that is used to help protect the main game, in which the players of a second game must move into the first game as openings occur.

Let me give you an example of how a must-move game should be handled:

There is a $20-$40 hold'em game that has been going for hours. There are enough players on the list to start another $20-$40 hold'em game, but the list has only nine players on it, which makes the game kind of weak. The floorperson calls the list down and gets eight players who say they want to play. The second game is started. This is considered the must-move game.

The eight players' names are left on a separate list in the same order they were in on the original waiting list, and this is now known as the must-move list. The players in the must-move game are then moved to the main game according to the must-move list. Any new players are then seated in the must-move game and added to the bottom of the must-move list. This enables the main game to be protected from breaking and starts a new game, in the process.

Sounds easy, right? Well, it isn't. Problems arise in many different areas. What if the must-move game becomes shorthanded and the player who is first on the must-move list no longer wants to play? How long do you keep the must-move list in effect? What if there are enough people on the new list to start a third game? Does a player have to move right away if he is called for the main game?

There are many different ways to handle a must-move game situation, but realistically, only one is the correct way.

So, what is it that Casino Arizona does that could be changed? In my next column, I will explain what they could change, and also will go into detail about how to handle a must-move game and all of the different situations that go with it.

Editor's note: Michael O'Malley can usually be found playing online at partypoker.com as Rzitup. To learn more about him, go to www.rzitup.com.