Bally’s Black Hawk Poker Room Review

Bally’s Black Hawk Poker Room is housed in a moderate-sized casino in the striking setting of Black Hawk, Colorado.  Black Hawk and its contiguous neighbor Central City hold more than 18 casinos, four of which have poker rooms (The Monarch, Bally’s, Isle Casino, and Ameristar). We have previously described Black Hawk in detail. Please refer to one of our previous poker room reviews for more about the town.

Setting and Non-Poker Amenities

Bally’s Black Hawk Casino was formerly known as the Golden Mardi Gras Casino, so the branding alone seems a step up. Bally’s also subsumed The Golden Gate Casino into the property in recent years. These acquisitions resulted in the current casino that is broken up into three distinct pieces. The two main halves connect by an enclosed bridge over the main street in town. So while the property is in total fairly good-sized, it feels more like a bunch of small gaming rooms strung together. The general look and feel can most kindly be labeled “old-fashioned” and less kindly described as “tacky and rundown.”

Bally’s Black Hawk Casino offers several hundred slot machines, a poker room, about three dozen table games, and a Sportsbook. While it does not have its own hotel, other options abound in town.  Dining options consist of casual fare (e.g., deli and a grille) and a couple of small bars.

Bally’s Black Hawk Poker Room Comfort

When I arrived at the poker room, I was reminded of my Jack Cleveland experience. After having fairly low expectations as I walked through the casino, I was pleasantly surprised by the attractive and pleasant poker room. The room is spacious with attractive understated features, including nice stone columns in the center and edges of the room.  It is separated from the casino, and off the beaten path, so it is quiet and not smoky. High ceilings help create good airflow, and the tables are well-spaced. Large panel TVs surround the room.

The chairs are not adjustable and do not have wheels, but are well-padded and fairly comfortable. Tables possess auto-shufflers, stiffly padded rails, and drink cups, but no USB ports. The chips appear new, and have a laminated/glossy look. The tables are clean and well kept with attractive felts. The cards lack branding, however, and are a bit small.

A small cafe resides right in the poker room which is a great convenience for players who do not want to wander far afield.

Poker Room Staff

Heather and I were greeted immediately at the front desk and put on the short cash waiting list. I was seated within about 15 minutes. Heather decided not to play and took herself off the waiting list. However, the floor walked over to me and asked “Does your wife still want to play?” which was very considerate. The dealers were very skilled and exceptionally polite. In general, the staff performed with a  high level of professionalism.

• Anatomy of a Poker Room Review
• Map of US Poker Rooms
• The Monarch Casino Black Hawk

Players at Bally’s Black Hawk Poker Room

The crowd at Bally’s Black Hawk tended to the older side, pretty typical for weekday afternoon $1/$3 play. Players were fairly quiet, but friendly when they talked. In general, the action was fairly straightforward with raises in the 3x-5x range. Calling tended to be pretty light, however, and there were often several players seeing the flop.

Cash Play Activity

Two $1/$3 cash tables were running on the Wednesday afternoon we visited.

Tournament Structures

As of this publication (a couple months after visiting), the Bally’s Black Hawk Poker Room is running several tournaments daily.  Unfortunately, when we visited, tournaments were not as frequent. Even more unfortunate, a $3K buy-in tournament (a bit out of our price range!) with 26 players was running that day which displaced the normal Wednesday morning tournament. Currently there are generally three tournaments each day with buy-ins ranging from $80 to $300. Blind levels (15 to 30 minutes) and starting stacks (10K to 30K) follow the escalating buy-ins. For the 20 and 30 minute blind level tournaments, levels progress slowly, allowing for decent play relatively deep in the tournament.

Note also that as of this writing, Bally’s is the only poker room in Black Hawk offering tournaments.

Overall Assessment of Bally’s Black Hawk Poker Room

Bally’s Black Hawk poker room outperformed the overall environs of the casino that surrounds it. Nicely designed and professionally run, this room provides good competition in Black Hawk to the newer, smaller, but also strong Monarch Casino poker room. If you make the trek up the mountains to Black Hawk, Bally’s is definitely worth checking out.  As of now (December 2021), it is the only room on Black Hawk where you can play tournaments.