Palm Beach Kennel Club Poker Room Review (2024)

On our recent trip to Florida we finally had a chance to visit one of the poker rooms that has long loomed large in our imaginations. The Palm Beach Kennel Club was everything we thought it would be – and more. The PBKC offers an extremely active poker room in an attractive setting, a healthy tournament schedule, and cash games galore.

Setting and Non-Poker Amenities

Palm Beach Kennel Club is convenient to Interstate 95 in West Palm Beach Florida. The large campus still looks like a dog race might go off at any moment. This feeling is enhanced by “Camp Rusty” a doggy daycare that sits right next to the main facility. Additionally, the track remains impeccably maintained and is, in fact, used for a number of (non-dog racing) events.

If you are flying in, PBKC is right next to the airport. It sits in a busy area of strip malls and chain stores. Palm Beach itself is, of course, home to beaches, golf courses, and fancy clubs galore.

In addition to poker, Palm Beach Kennel Club offers Off-Track Betting, an events center (The Paddock), and a number of quick and casual dining opportunities. Although there were 6 tables of Florida’s ubiquitous “poker games” (games such as Ultimate Poker, Caribbean Stud, and the like), there are no slots or table games on site.

Palm Beach Kennel Club Poker Room Comfort

Palm Beach Kennel Club offers two poker rooms. Downstairs as you enter, you will find the cash poker room sporting 43 highly active tables in a tight, but comfortable room that is well-staffed, bright, and cool. There is a table set up for live streaming, which was active when we were there on a Friday at midday. The downstairs tables are branded and offer auto-shufflers.

Upstairs, beyond the former track seating is a separate tournament poker room. To find this room (because we found it a challenge), you go through the cash room, out the back door, and up the steps to the former stadium track seating. You then cross to the far side of this space where you will finally find a sign for the tournament room. This room hosts 21 tables in a slightly less finished environment. These tables offer a padded rail and not much else. The felts are not even branded. Seating is standard banquet seating (no wheels, not adjustable), although the chairs are comfortable. The fittings in the poker room were generally older than those found downstairs in the more lucrative cash room, but everything was clean. Play was 9-handed.

Poker Room Staff

We had a challenge finding the tournament room, and the very busy cash room staff kind of waved us in a general direction and turned to the next players waiting to sign up on the rather long cash list. The tournament cage, dealers, and floor were all friendly. Many of the players in the tournament that we played were clearly regulars and there was much chatting with both the dealers and floor personnel. The dealers were highly competent, easily passing out cards and laying flops while continuing conversations with players. The waitresses were friendly, if a bit overwhelmed. There were multiple player complaints of not getting orders after a long period of waiting.

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Players at Palm Beach Kennel Club Poker Room

The players at PBKC were largely regulars. There were clearly players who did not like each other, as well as those that were long-time friends. Players came from across the age range, and a variety of ethnicities. There were even a few women in the tournament. In general, the players were very aggressive. However, players exhibited a variety of playing styles overall. Several players busted and rebought multiple times in the low-stakes tournament that we played.

Cash Play Activity

When we arrived around 1pm on a Friday, all 43 cash tables were in play. Games included $1/$2, $1/$3, $2/$5, a number of limit tables, and 7 card stud. The room can be counted on to be active anytime you want to visit. While Palm Beach Kennel Club does not report to Bravo or Poker Atlas, you can find cash poker activity in the larger region on our Poker Room Cash Activity Map.

Palm Beach Kennel Club offers a hearty tournament schedule and houses one of the largest and most active cash poker rooms on the East Coast.Click To Tweet

Tournament Structures

The tournament that we played on a Friday afternoon was a $130 deep stack with 20,000 chips and 20-minute blinds. The blind structure was relatively gradual with BB antes kicking in at the second level. The Friday morning tournament at PBKC is their largest of the week, averaging 129 players. There were 131 on the day that we were there.

PBKC hosts tournaments every day of the week. Every day but Sunday has two tournaments. Regular tournaments range in buy-in from $60 to $300 and generally have healthy player participation. While most tournaments are NLH Deep stacks, there are a couple of bounty tournaments each week, a progressive bounty, and a low-cost high-speed tourney with a possible add-on. If you are interested in tournament poker play at Palm Beach Kennel Club and in the larger region, be sure to check out our Poker Room Tournament Activity Map.

Overall Assessment of Palm Beach Kennel Club

The Palm Beach Kennel Club offers an extremely active, comfortable poker room in the middle of Palm Beach. The staff is quite competent and friendly, particularly with their regular players. PBKC’s cash room is quite comfortable, and definitely one of the largest and most active rooms on the East Coast.