Ed. Note: This poker room review was written up by one of Cardplayer Lifestyle’s loyal readers, Hank_AK. We would also like to thank him for the courtesy photo.
The Casino in Brussels is known as the Grand Casino Viage and it is located at Anspach Boulevard 30. At least while I was there, there was a lot of construction going on in the area, so be advised that a taxi will leave you a couple blocks away. Note that it’s really the only place to play live poker in the Belgian capital.
Image from Grand Casino Viage Facebook page
As with all casinos in Belgium, you need to be 21 and have a valid passport to enter. I was greeted by hundreds of slots (375 to be exact), which make for some decent entertainment if you get bored playing poker. The establishment’s dress code states that no hats, caps, burkas, sunglasses, or masks were allowed. Coat check costs half a euro while entry to the casino costs €10. However, they do give you a €5 chip to play with.
Aside from the slot games and the poker, on the main floor you’ll find blackjack and roulette tables. The minimum roulette bet was €5, whereas minimum blackjack bets ranged from €10-€25.
While smoking was not allowed in the casino, the bathrooms absolutely reeked of cigarette smoke (even though signs prohibited smoking there, too).
In general this casino was on the smallish side, with an air of neighborhood play.
Grand Casino Viage’s Poker Offerings
Grand Casino Viage €5 poker chip
The poker tables are located on the second floor of the casino. Disturbingly, all table talk is in French, including by the dealer. Repeated requests for English to be spoken were ignored.
Every night they have cash games starting at 7 pm. Table stakes run anywhere from €2/€2 up to €10/€20, with the minimum buy-in at the low-stakes tables set at €100. Texas Hold’em is spread at the cash game tables, as is Pot Limit Omaha. The best part: the rake is only 5%! Also, at the cash tables, staff came around every hour to request a €4 “tax” from each player.
On the Wednesday night I was there, they had no Omaha cash games running; only the €2/€2 no-limit Hold’em games. As far as tournaments are concerned, on Mondays there’s a rebuy Sit N’ Go with a buy-in of €60 (unlimited number of players) and a €100 Sit N’ Go on Wednesday (limit of 40 players). All Sit N’ Gos start at 8 pm.
How Did I Do at the Brussels Poker Tables?
The €100 Sit N’ Go ran with 20 players the night I was there. I didn’t cash in the tournament. I had pocket tens and the board read: 5, 5, 5, 7, and 3, with three clubs. In other words, my boat was looking very good. Unfortunately, I lost 60%% of my stack to quad 5s, so I was soon eliminated. I then moved to the cash tables.
At the cash tables, I found that even when I had pocket kings and bet 7x BB pre-flop, no one folded. On that specific hand, the flop delivered three unconnected clubs. Sure enough the one player who moved all in ended up holding the 3 and 8 of clubs. It seemed to me that the “regular” style of play in this poker room was to always see the flop, no matter how much the pre-flop bet. This kept happening all night long.
Hopefully, next time I review a poker room, I’ll be able to tell you stories of how much money I won instead of another bad beat story. 🙂
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