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How does TAM work?

FulfilledDeer

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Hello everyone!

TAM newbie. Also forum newbie. I'm a bit confused about how TAM is set up. People keep talking about visiting tables, but it appears that, except for breaks, the speakers go straight through the day. Do you get up and leave for ones you don't want to hear and walk around to tables? If so, do you get relegated to the back of the room because of that?

Also, and this is totally off topic, anybody have experience with South Point poker room? I'm staying at the Aria but the $1-2 game at the place I'm going to be for a long time each day is tempting.

Thanks!
 
Yes, you can get up and leave whenever you want, and return whenever you want. There are no assigned seats, except for a designated VIP area. You can always sit almost wherever you want, whenever you want.

It is no big deal to leave in the middle of a talk, if you need to, as long as you're not too noisy about it.

Booths are generally manned the whole time, as well as before and after the talks for a while. There is usually a crowd around them during the less popular talks.

ETA: Some specific events might have special rules. If there is a live Million Dollar Challenge, you might be restricted from leaving in the middle of that, for example. But, such rules will be announced in advance, of course.
 
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Welcome, FulfilledDeer!

I know little about poker, but with regards to how TAM works--there are tables set up in the corridor outside the conference rooms. You can visit these tables before the sessions begin or during lunch or other breaks, or, yes, you can also visit during sessions you may not be as interested in. If you don't want to lose your seat, you can always leave something on it, as long as it's for a brief time.

Hope we can meet at TAM!
 
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FulfilledDeer said:
Hello everyone!

TAM newbie. Also forum newbie. I'm a bit confused about how TAM is set up. People keep talking about visiting tables, but it appears that, except for breaks, the speakers go straight through the day. Do you get up and leave for ones you don't want to hear and walk around to tables? If so, do you get relegated to the back of the room because of that?

Also, and this is totally off topic, anybody have experience with South Point poker room? I'm staying at the Aria but the $1-2 game at the place I'm going to be for a long time each day is tempting.

Thanks!
Click to expand...

Just FYI, and I'm sure you know this already - Aria is quite far from South Point.
 
RemieV said:
Just FYI, and I'm sure you know this already - Aria is quite far from South Point.
Click to expand...

Hah, yeah, I know. But thank you for the concern. There's the shuttle I can take, but I'm also going to be on the stip for poker a bit. It actually ended up being less to stay at the Aria for me (some crazy birthday promotion).

Thanks everyone!
 
FulfilledDeer said:
Hello everyone!

TAM newbie. Also forum newbie. I'm a bit confused about how TAM is set up. People keep talking about visiting tables, but it appears that, except for breaks, the speakers go straight through the day. Do you get up and leave for ones you don't want to hear and walk around to tables? If so, do you get relegated to the back of the room because of that?

Also, and this is totally off topic, anybody have experience with South Point poker room? I'm staying at the Aria but the $1-2 game at the place I'm going to be for a long time each day is tempting.

Thanks!
Click to expand...

You can leave during Shermer's talk, unless you want to play Shmingo.
 
FulfilledDeer said:
Also, and this is totally off topic, anybody have experience with South Point poker room? I'm staying at the Aria but the $1-2 game at the place I'm going to be for a long time each day is tempting.

Thanks!
Click to expand...



It's more of a locals game than most you find on the strip, so the players are generally much better.
 
AdMan said:
Really? I didn't know that.

Why do people gamble, then? :p
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Encore and Wynn do it so that only the richer people will go there. Not only are the drinks not free, they're also quite expensive. But, if you can afford it, they have the best drink ever there - Patron Bordeos. It's something like $90/drink, and somehow totally worth it. Best tasting liquor you'll ever have.

As for why people gamble - well, they're the high rollers. They came to Vegas to gamble - not to gamble incidentally while drinking free. At Flamingo, South Point, Tropicana, Riviera, etc you'll see people gambling in their sweatpants or whatever. You'd be hard pressed to find anyone in Wynn or Encore wearing an outfit that cost less than $600.

For Excalibur - it's because they're going under and need the money. They have super cheap drinks, but they do charge. Their rooms are also super cheap if you want to stay on the Strip for like $25/night.

I'm trying to think if there are any other casinos that don't do free drinks. I can't remember if Cosmopolitan or Aria do, but at a guess I'd think not.

Anyway, if you just want to get drunk, gambling to do so is not the way. The free liquor is poured off the gun (meaning it's watered down), and the beer selection for gamblers is very, very small.

That was probably way more info than a tongue-in-cheek required, but hey,

===========* the morrre you knowwwwwww
 
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I would say going to TAM for the poker is kind of interesting. There is a TAM poker tourney....
Basically if you are at South Point for the talks, people generally stay until they are done. If there is a talk you don't want to hear, you can go into the hallway to see the forum welcome table and the vendors. The real action for meeting people is the Del Mar bar. Wear your name badge and join in a fun card game. Not betting.

If you are into poker, join the TAM poker tourney and meet up with the other great poker players. There are some really amazing and gifted ones that will know all the great places to play. Yeah, I have been told anyplace with locals, forget it. Unless you are really quite good.

However 9am is FREE BINGO at South Point! Really. And $1 Bloody Marys until NOON. A DOLLAR>

That's about all the drinking and gambling I can handle.

It is a bit from the strip. OFten people stay at South Point because the Del Mar is hopping 24 hours a day with JREF and TAM people. Even the speakers come to hang out. The bacon and donut party does not end until LATE. I know people that stay up most of the night, roll into their South Point room for a short nap, and then carry on. It's cheap as often there are 4 people in a room! All some people need is a pillow and blanket. Split costs and you are looking at $20 a night. Even just sharing a room, it's cheap and people aren't in their rooms a lot.

South Point also has a lot of places to eat, check out the other posts here. Or yankeeskeptic.com, some of the older blog posts are about what TAM is like. I always feel if the social part is important, stay at South Point. I've met some of my best friends at TAM, it's more than just the talks.
 
kittynh said:
If you are into poker, join the TAM poker tourney and meet up with the other great poker players. There are some really amazing and gifted ones that will know all the great places to play. Yeah, I have been told anyplace with locals, forget it. Unless you are really quite good.
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But note that this new-fangled official tournament is run as a fundraiser for the JREF, which means it's a pretty steep buy-in, and there were no cash prizes last year. Worth it if you want to play with the "name" skeptics, but some players might not be interested in that.
 
kittynh said:
I would say going to TAM for the poker is kind of interesting.
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Well it's incidental. I'll be there Wednesday, only going to 1 workshop Thursday (Science Based Medicine, which everyone should attend!) and I'm not super interested in many of the late night events. So until online poker comes back to NY, I'll probably get a few games in while I can.

About the drinks: Aria does. Actually pretty solidly. Last time I was at the Wynn poker room they did there as well (but it's been a few years). The reason I ask is some places officially do, but defacto don't because service is hours apart.

I'd join the TAM game but I'm flying out Saturday night.
 
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