Ace of Spades Portland

New ownership, new rules!

I like it so far… like to plAy a few times at any club to give a good evaluation that is fair. It is more shoot out than tourney play club. so if you are more of a tourney player try encore or final table. However, if you like to grind it out for a few hours in a cash style shootouts it is one of the better if not best places to go…
Awesome when they have drink specials and certain pub foods going on.

The staff at Ace of Spades is exceptionally nice. If you are looking to play in a cash game it’s a great place. $ 10 door fee, but well worth it if you are used to the house taking a rake. You are going to be playing with the same 15 – 20 locals that are in there about every day.
However, I would never recommend playing tournament poker here. This is the only reason for my 1 star review. They offer tournaments such as their Wednesday $ 1000 guaranteed. Sounds sweet right? Only thing they don’t tell you is that the house keeps all the money that exceeds $ 1000. My tournament was roughly 30 people and with add on’s everyone was bought in for around $ 70 a piece. The total prize pool should have been around $ 2100 but they still only paid out the $ 1000 guaranteed. That’s Ace of Spades keeping over 50% of the tournament prize pool. This place is a total ripoff for tournaments.
I also agree with Poker G when he says they cancel events and frequently change the guarantees.

i went to this place back a while ago under old management and it was not appealing, so i never went back, i came back the other day under new ownership and they stepped it up a tad, it was a decent place, clean and friendly i will come back…

If you like playing poker with good dealers and stakes a little higher than the typical home game, Ace of Spades is a great place to go. Typically if one is looking for such a game, he or she is required to travel pretty far or play in real dives. Ace of Spades is not perfect, but provides an overall good playing experience. The dealers initially surprised me with their skill, but I have now become accustomed to very good dealers here. The place is well lit with usually good music playing and several large-​screen TV’s playing sporting events. It also has an inviting atmosphere for people playing for the first time.
The one criticism I have of the place is that management seems to allow some regulars to get away with certain behavior that makes me (and others I have spoken with) uncomfortable. A few players frequently throw out gay slurs, make sexual comments to the female waitstaff, and the bullying against some regulars by other regulars is downright cruel. I was told this month that new management is to begin this week and will be addressing some of this behavior to class it up a bit. I hope this occurs.
Despite a few of the players leaving a lot to be desired, the vast majority of the people that play here are great to play with; the dealers are fast and professional; the hired managers have uniformly been very cool to play and deal with; and the atmosphere for poker cannot be beat in the Portland metropolitan area. I will continue to play here regularly, and am very grateful that a real poker room has come to southwest Portland.
Update (1÷20÷13): As alluded to in my original post, new management has taken over the place, and the changes I had hoped for were put in place. I now give Ace of Spades a strong five stars. The negative behaviors that bothered me before (e.g., bullying) have been dealt with swiftly and effectively. I have now been to Ace of Spades several times since its reopening under new management and all of my concerns have been addressed.
There have also been changes made that I did not anticipate, and they have all been positive. The tables are now much larger and more comfortable. All aspects of the interior were given a facelift. The bathrooms, which had been a problem, are now refurbished and reliably clean. The staff has also taken on a sense of professionalism that had not always been there. The new Ace of Spades really is a gem in our community. I strongly encourage anyone who has not yet seen the new digs to check them out.