EncoreBlog

One of the main goals of Encore is to provide a fun and safe environment for all of our customers.  We have a number of procedures and policies in place to guide us toward this goal.  One of the most important tools in maintaining the fun, friendly atmosphere of Encore is our code of conduct, and the enforcement thereof.

If you’ve been visiting our card room for some time, the chances are good that you’ve either played with someone who has been asked to leave, or have been there when a difficult situation erupted.  In a poker room (especially one with alcohol) these things are bound to come up from time to time.  Reacting properly and getting everything under control is our number one priority in these situations.  However, we try very hard behind-the-scenes to prevent these incidents from happening in the first place.

This this end, our floor people are trained to monitor the tables for excessive behavior, and then hand out warnings and penalties as appropriate.  We base our code of conduct on Robert’s Rules of Poker, which is one of the universal, most comprehensive rule sets for Poker.  Both the TDA and WSOP rules are based off of Robert’s Rules, as well as most Codes of Conduct for poker rooms around the world.  I’ll be working on a concise list of violations to have in posted in our room soon, but the basic idea is that people should be treated with decency and respect while in the card room, and rule-breaking will not go without penalty.

Before a player is asked to leave the club for an extended period of time, they will generally have received several warnings and penalties along the way, as well as a one-on-one talk with the General Manager of the club.  If these steps have failed to improve the behavior of the offender, we hope that some time away from the club will do so.  In most cases, this works, but in some it does not and a permanent ban typically results.

Obviously there are some infractions that result in immediate and/or permanent banning without the warning/penalty steps being followed.  Some examples would include if we have to call the police on someone for their behavior, physical violence is brought upon a guest, or damning evidence of theft, cheating, or fraud are discovered.  Luckily these events are rare.

Excluding customers from Encore Club is one of the most difficult and heart-wrenching decisions I have to make as General Manager.  Each of these decisions are carefully thought through and made with the understanding that they surely will bring about negative word-of-mouth.  I only hope that the benefits of having a safe, fun environment outweigh the costs of having upset former customers.  When players are asked to leave, the reasoning for their exclusion is kept confidential, therefore it makes it difficult for our management staff when they are asked “What happened to so-and-so?”  We can’t come out and say “Oh, they were stealing/fighting/cheating” so instead we must hope that the circumstances for our silence are understood.

If you have any questions or concerns about any of these issues, please feel free to talk with me personally.  You can either contact me through email (sean@encoreclub.com) or come see me here in the club.  My schedule is Thursday through Monday, from open until 5:00, although I am generally here later.  I thank all of you for your continued patronage and support, we have the best players in Portland and together we’re only making Encore Club better.