Poker in Aruba - - Aruba Poker Rooms

If you're in the Caribbean island of Aruba and are looking to find a poker room in one of the many casinos on the island, there are two great places to play. Both of the rooms are in the high-rise hotel section of Aruba and are an easy stroll from one another.

Excelsior Casino at the Holiday Inn

The best-run poker room in Aruba is at the Excelsior. Most nights I was there there were 5 or 6 tables of different games going, including $2-$5 no-limit Texas Hold'em, $4-$8 limit Hold'em, a $5-$5 pot-limit Omaha game, and a big game of $10-$20 pot-limit Omaha high. The dealers are very good and the floor kept a close eye on the room and remembered me by name after only a few nights of playing there. Read more about it at their web site.

Radisson Casino

The Radisson casino's poker room had a lot of action when I was there and had $1-$2 and $2-$5 no-limit Texas Hold'em games going as well as the most insane game of $10-$20 Pot-limit Omaha I have ever seen. While not as organized as the Excelsior, the players tended to be looser and louder and there was a lot of money to be made in the room if you could withstand some serious swings. That said, the dealers seemed to be inconsistent and unsure with the house rules, so be sure to ask questions if you see anything that confuses you or doesn't seem right.

A final thing to note about poker in Aruba: Many if not most of the players will speak Spanish, not English. While there is a general rule of English-only at the tables, it was rarely mentioned, let alone enforced.