Monarch Casino Poker Room Review

The Monarch Casino is a moderate-sized full-service casino in 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). The Monarch Casino Poker Room features 14 tables set in a modern, upscale environment.

Setting and Non-Poker Amenities

The Monarch Casino is both the first casino you come to as you enter Black Hawk, and the newest of the town’s offerings. The town of Black Hawk itself presents a rather stunning view as you snake into this valley among the Colorado mountains. The entire valley is lined by casinos, one after another as far as the eye can see. In fact, we were unable to identify a single building in town that did NOT house a casino. The Monarch Casino sits right next to the Isle Casino which hosts another of the four poker rooms in town.

The Monarch Casino is the newest facility in Black Hawk, and it feels like it. Everything is shiny and modern. There is a resort hotel within, a number of dining options including the highly rated Monarch Chop House, and all of the expected casino amenities. The gaming floor feels a little cramped, but the sleek poker room is housed downstairs, far from the hustle and bustle of the slots and table games.

Monarch Casino Poker Room Comfort

The Monarch Casino Poker Room is separated from the rest of the casino by an entire floor. It is thus quiet, smoke-free, and very pleasant to sit in. The 14 tables are large with clean new felts, padded rails, built-in cup-holders, auto-shufflers, and USB ports. The chips are clean and new. The cards are unbranded and very small. They seemed almost flimsy and were difficult to see in the dim room. The wheeled, adjustable chairs were well padded, with solid arms and very comfortable to sit in. The room was very cozy, with a long gas fire along one wall, wood shutters, fieldstone accents, and lush carpeting underfoot. This was definitely a room that you would be happy to spend an afternoon or long evening in.

The tables are well-spaced with plenty of room to maneuver. Of the 14 tables in the room, four were active on the Wednesday afternoon that we visited. The tables were playing 9-handed, and there was only a brief wait to get a seat.

Poker Room Staff

The floor was polite and found me a seat right away. Dealers were skilled and friendly, and waitstaff circulated frequently.

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Players at the Monarch Casino Poker Room

The players in the poker room when we visited were friendly but very aggressive. There was notable diversity at the table, in gender, ethnicity, and age. Despite the presence of three other women at the table, play was some of the wildest I have seen in recent years. There were two players who put $20 cash straddles (at a $1/$3 game) on multiple hands per round. All-ins were frequent, many of which were later identified as bluffs. Frankly, I only lasted on the table long enough to get a good sense for this review (maybe half an hour). By the time I got up, it was clear why the player that I replaced said “I can’t take it any more” as he walked away from the table.

Obviously, with such a small sample, your results may vary. Nonetheless, I would recommend that you observe the table for a bit before sitting down at the Monarch Casino Poker Room.

Tournament Structures

The Monarch Casino Poker Room is not currently running tournaments. It is cash only at this time. On the Wednesday afternoon that we were there, four tables of $1/$3 and one table of $2/$5 were running.

Overall Assessment of the Monarch Casino Poker Room

The Monarch Casino Poker Room is a lovely and comfortable room sited on the lower level of the newest casino in Black Hawk.  The room is well designed for maximum comfort and the staff quality is high. Unfortunately, the room does not host tournaments and the cash play that we experienced was on the wild side. If you are a seasoned cash player with some serious chops, this may be the room for you. If you prefer your cash poker to play a little more on the sedate side, there are three other rooms in Black Hawk to chose from.