Palomar Card Club

This place is shutdown now…
There are a lot of house players here also…
Staff is and are very rude…
Very very Gettho place…

A decent place to play some cards. It is very dingy and the area around it feels sort of unsafe. I have heard several stories of people being robbed once exiting the card room. One suggestion would be to possibly have a security guard outside as well, but I don’t think that will happen anytime soon.
They have a morning bird promotion on weekdays if you play from 9 AM to 12 PM. They also run a daily morning $ 20 tournament, but the chips they use are really dirty and feels like they come from a $ 10 poker chip set. Lots of degenerates and action players here, and the buyin for $ ²⁄₃ no limit is anywhere from $ 30−300max, which causes some weird stack sizes. The dealers are decent but some do not really pay attention, and it is really cramped in here. It is a 21+ place, and overall I would say this is a place I would visit every now and then for a quick fix for my poker addiction.

The two things I look for when deciding where to play poker is the quality of the games and the customer service of the casino/​poker room. Luckily for me, Palomar exceeds my expectations in both of these areas.
Number 1 is the quality of the games: This place has the better action than anywhere else I have ever played. I have played in L. A, S.D. and Vegas and I can guarantee you will not find action like you do in this place. The 2 – 3 is unreal. I have never played in a 2 – 3 where I can win in the thousands. I have done that here multiple times. Lately they have been spreading 5 – 5 PLO and 10 – 20 PLO, both games have crazy action and sometimes you have well know pros sit in the game. I recently played 5 – 5 with Michael Mizrachi. No matter what game you are playing, you can usually make a ton of money if the cards fall your way.
Number 2 for me is Customer Service: I play a lot of poker and I have been to many cardrooms. One thing that drives me crazy in certain rooms is bad customer service. Maybe this place has kept my business for so long because the customer service is so damn good. Right when you pull into the valet, you are treated very well. Once you’re inside, you go to the podium and put your name on the board. The floor people are all VERY friendly and they remember the regulars. To me this is very important. There are a lot of regulars and the managers go out of their way to take care of these players. The dealers are for the most part pretty good. Like all card rooms there are good and bad ones, but compared to other rooms in San Diego, this place definitely has the best dealers. The really awesome thing about this place is, after playing here for so long, the employees end up becoming your friends. They really go above and beyond to treat the players exceptionally here.
All in all, this is absolutely the best card room in San Diego. Lucky Lady, Oceans 11 and the horrendously terrible seven mile, cannot even compare to this place. Its funny, whenever I am playing in Vegas, I always find myself saying, I wish I was at Palomar.

This place is pretty crazy. Some nice dealers. Great action. Food coupon. Morning tournaments. What else can I say. You will love it or hate it.

Best poker in San Diego they also offer two baccarat table I love the friendly atmosphere this place offer

My husband went here last night, and here is his review:
«I must first admit that I was scared to go here, and when I first walked in, it was overwhelming, it was busy, chaotic, and an ethnic melting pot. I was able to get on a table within 15 minutes, and it was a great poker experience. The dealers were very fair, and enforce the „English only“ policy at the table. The security was great. After 1.5 hours of play, they gave me a $ 10 food comp which was great. Someone went and picked up the food for me at a local restaurant. I would go here again.»

Palomar card club has quickly became a great spot for me. It’s the kind of place where time flies and eventually your phone it blowing up because you did not realize your phone was ringing for hours. Lol. My girlfriend disapproves, but she enjoyed the $$ I brought home. I def notice many guys that walkout to talk to the wifey. :) Classic.
I enjoy this place because although I am not a Professional, I get a chance to learn how to play poker with some skilled players, and I learn from the unskilled. Sometimes I even win big. Lmao. In time I will improve, I definitely have a few hard lessons to learn still. I’m sure. But I think this is the start of a new hobby. My favorite part is playing with 20 y/​o poker veterans who are amazed at some of the skills I have. But luck prevails
Bottom lie though is, gambling is gambling. So I do suggest people do not gamble their bill money away. It is pretty clear who does this, the people who yell and bitch when their 3kings don’t stand up to my full house… or when I hit my straight/​flush on the river and they throw their cards like children. It’s kind of dumb. No matter how much I lose, I’m Good sport. It is a game after all. Their are some babies here, btw. haha
Plus are:
Valet parking
Amazing staff who know you by name
Organized wait list for tables
Free food after 1.5 hours
Cool regulars
Jackpot
Cons:
Crazy ATMs fees
Crazy cash withdraw fees
Nasty smokers
And bitchy losers
I enjoy passing sometime here. Just learn to walk away when you are ahead. It’s easy to get behind on the no limit tables. Have patience

best place for action in all san diego. a lot of gamble here yes small but big enough to fill anyone’s needs. 5 or 6 poker tables blackjack and a few other card games. food gets delivered from the restaurants next door and get discount if playing for a few hours. staff really nice and good at what they do. centrally located so you don’t have to go to the reservations way out east.

Playing poker in this place was like getting a pedicure. There is a very large asian population in this place. There are 200 asians talking at the same time and NOT speaking english. They apparently don’t enforce the «english only at the table» common sense rule. Sad and annoying. There was the usually idiot poker player that found it necessary to talk about another players mom and telling me to «come shut me up» at the top of his lungs. The floor manager came over, called him by name, (Tony) and told him to calm down. He didn’t and wasn’t kicked out. He was allowed to keep playing. Even though he obviously has done this in the past. Tony’s main point turned out to be that he was big and black and that’s why he was being singled out as a trouble maker. I won’t be going back to this place ever.

Nestled in a locals area near downtown San Diego and the 163 freeway, Palomar Card Club is like a mini trip back to the «good ol’ days» of card clubs and poker rooms.
I think the place has like only 7 tables. Initially, you’d expect their highest game to be… maybe, a $ 5 – 10 NL game. Nope. Their biggest games (I saw when I was there) was a $ 20 – 40 PLO and a $ 200 – 400 mix game. They had one $ 5 – 10 NL, three $ 2 – 3 NL games, and one $ 3 – 6 limit game. They have a baccarat and pai gow game too.
I was most impressed with the range of stakes in their games they ran. For a small card room, that was NOT expected. The staff was incredibly helpful and kind.
NOTE: This is a locals place. You will get a lot of glad handing of the regulars, but for the most part I feel like people know how to play here. I’m not talking in the realm of «You better be a pro to play here», but that people know when to act in turn and stuff like that.
Definitely a throw back to the good ol’ card club for locals. The only thing that sucks is the parking. Totally wish I lived closer to this place.

If I could leave 0 stars I would. This place is a dump truck of a poker room with a larger than average rake. Asians and Hispanics speaking non english in play constantly with no regard for the rules and no enforcement from the staff. A lot of skill less donkeys playing crap hands and catching to win God knows how? Stay away unless you play trash and expect to win with it. Alexis is the best part of this establishment period everything else is horrible. Like their dirty old chips. Spend some of that rake on nice chips for Christ sake. Allowing employees to play in uniform on breaks or off its just wrong on a lot of levels. Go anywhere but here you will have a far better time I promise.

Listen. If you like to play poker, this is the best place to play, in my opinion, in San Diego (unless you feel like driving to one of the casinos)
Although the rooms atmosphere isn’t the nicest I’ve been to, they cater to serious & not so serious players. They have A variety of limit/​no-​limit games.
I’m from Arizona & I was skeptical of playing here. But I was surprised, they have a decent parking lot, security guards, & the players range from amateur-​intermediate. I played $ 1/​$ 2NL and was able to grind it out.
If you want to play poker but can’t decide where to go, try this room.

For a card room, Palomar Card Club is pretty descent. The place is a little rundown but it does have a good amount of tables and there is always a lot of action here. They also have Pai Gow, Baccarat and Blackjack. Tournaments run daily but they don’t have a descent guarantee prize like some other card rooms offer. Staff is hit and miss, though they are all usually polite to players. The area is pretty good but there have been a few incidents, almost all happening late night so if you’re looking to bring quite a bit of cash with you, best leave before 10 p.m. to be safe. I would like to see the place a bit nicer and better tournaments. Some of the staff have a habit of being unprofessional when handling table games (i.e. rooting for certain players or outcomes when others would lose). Also, they cap their table games pretty low, I would like to see them higher, at least on weekends. Overall, Palomar is a pretty safe bet, nothing amazing but they do a descent job with what they do. If you’re looking to avoid driving to actual casinos, Palomar is a good alternative depending on what you’re looking for.

Ive been going here a lot more often now a days, still a great place to hang and play some good ol hold em, the card room takes care of your meal if you play for an hour. The service girls are awesome as well. This place is on a different level compared to the other card room down the street.

Best card room in San Diego. The floorman «JB» is one of the most knowledgable floor people to work any card room. This other floor guy Ramy is ok too, but not as good as JB. You will never get dealt a bad beat here! Garenteed!

Palomar Card Club is where you can get you Poker, black jack, paigow and baccarat fix without having to travel an hour to get it! It’s Conveniently located in the booming neighborhood of North Park. It’s a small but lively card room that holds 7 poker tables, 1 blackjack, 1 paigow and 2 baccarat tables, that always seem to have great action. On a daily basis there are 3 – 6 limit games, 2 – 3 no limit games and a great 5 – 10 table! Every now and then you might see Vegas poker stars come in and try there luck in some high limit games.
Valet parking is always FREE!
Armed security
Friendly waitresses that serve you a free meal (after and 1:30mins of play) from the delicious food truck out back or from the near by restaurants from the casino.
ENDLESS COFFEE AND TEA !
Palomar is a great place to go when you don’t want to go far! Great action! Friendly staff, what more could you ask for?

I dont write reviews but maybe once every few months. But this place is honestly one of the greatest small casinos I have ever been to. Actually. Its THE greatest.
Heres why: (in order of importance.)
1)5/10 nl action more often than 2x/​week.
2) the ²⁄₃ nl games that run more often are super juicy and full of guys with reloads.
3) the food is so damn good and cheap. Especially when they have the food truck. i have seen 10 orders of food today that all look fresh and delicious. And my salmon sandwich was simply done and cooked perfectly.
4) i think all the young women that serve and massage here are sweet and beautiful. Really really beautiful.
5) dealers do not suck.
6) i have been here on fridays and sundays. And i never have to wait long for a seat.
I almost forgot. Location is key and this spot is right next to downtown san diego and a beautiful short drive to coronado.
I will be coming here every time I have a chance.

Positives:
Nice host and waitresses
Pretty soft action, considering we are in a post-​2004 world.
Good service (valet, food service, up-​dealers)
TVs
Bad:
Shady neighborhood, makes me think I will get robbed when I leave
Absolutely unbeatable rake structure ($ 5 per flop, even if its heads up checking down the blinds)
English-​only at the tables not enforced
Must-​move table has a bunch of nits buying in for 25 dollars at a ²⁄₃ game (yes 2 dollar sb, 3 dollar bb nl game).

I was in San Diego on vacation, when realizing that I had a free night, decided to seek out a poker room to satisfy my card fix. I play in some pretty big games across the country, but not being a fan of back-​room operations, have always opted for the casino experience as a preferred destination.
Google and Unilocal directed me to Palomar, where if I listened to the reviews, I would have thought that the place was a train wreck, but being one for adventure, and given that the place was only 3 miles from my hotel, I decided to check the place out.
Driving up to the place, you can imagine that the building might have been either a restaurant or a furniture store in the different life — carpeted rectangular space, with glass windows along the front. Outside, you have a bunch of guys smoking, since you can’t smoke inside (which is cool). Peering inside, you see about 12 poker, blackjack, and baccarat tables, all pretty much full. As I walked in, I had to wonder if this place was legal, because this surely wouldn’t fly in Chicago.
There was no street parking, and as I pulled into the lot, there was a sign saying that it was «valet parking only.» I pull up and some guy asks for my keys and tells me that at 11p, he comes inside and gives everyone their keys back. He tells me to make sure that I take any valuables with me, so I make sure that I have my wallet and my iPad.
Still somewhat apprehensive, I walked in, self-​conscious that this was the kind of place where everyone knew each other, and I was the fish walking in with a bankroll. I go up to the sign-​up area, and the guy running the room was extremely polite, asked me what game I wanted and put me on the «big game» list.
In the meantime, I fire up my iPad, and find out that they have WiFi, whose password was given to me by one of their uniformed security guys, complete with gun, and all. I guess that’s cool.
20 minutes later, I get sat at the game, someone brings me chips, and I am playing in one of the best games that I have ever been in. Everyone was super aggressive, and lots of money was flying around. Being new, I imagined that most of my bluffs wouldn’t be called, but the players that day didn’t seem to care. I ended up losing overall that night, but no worry.. .
At 11p, valet guy comes in with everyone’s keys and everyone exchanges their valet tickets for their keys.
The place is a card room with exceptional service. they have waitresses that bring you free coffee and tea. If you want a soda, you have to buy it, but if you play long enough, they comp you food, just like the casino does. What’s also cool is that they will get food from either a food truck in the area, or a restaurant that is close-​by. It’s not the most ornately detailed place, but you’re not going there for that. The staff works hard to make sure that it is as clean as possible, and that the players are having a good time. I should add that they have some of the best dealers that I have seen run a game.
I ended up going there the subsequent 2 nights and ended up posting a win for my trip. Don’t know when I will be back, but if I am in the area, Palomar will definitely be a stop.

I have Snakes On A Plane syndrome!
Remember when that movie started to generate buzz on the internet? Just the title alone was enough reason for me to check it out the day it was released in theaters. Plot line? Who needs it?! There were snakes on a plane… and it starred Samuel L. Jackson. Best. Movie. Ever! Without a very informative trailer to form a general opinion of how the movie would unravel, I just assumed Sam Jackson was going to do a lot of cussing and snakes would murder everything in site.
I guess that’s kinda what ended up happening in the flick, but still, the mental image I’d drawn up in my head didn’t even come close to the way the movie played out… and it was extremely, extremely disappointing. I don’t know if anyone else can relate, but I felt a similar letdown last night after playing poker at Palomar Card Room.
This entire month I’ve been tackling items off of the ol’ San Diego checklist. Making sure to do all of the stuff I’ve been meaning to for years around town. Getting wiped out at Palomar Card Room was right up there with doorbell ditching at the midget community on Mt. Soledad as far as my ‘to-​do’ list is concerned, so my buddy Albert and I hit the boulevard for some gambling!
I honestly thought this place was going to reek of boiled chicken, cigarettes and shame, but to my surprise, it was actually really nice inside there. I guess that’s a funny reason to be disappointed, but for as long as I’ve lived in San Diego, I always thought that if I was going to be stabbed multiple times anywhere in the city, it was going to be here. Which is exactly why I had to confirm my suspicions before heading north in August! Sadly, it’s no more gritty than your local dentist office (minus some of the crazy Vietnamese guys).
Another thing that didn’t sit well with me was the booze issue. How can you play cards and not drink!!! Whiskey and poker go together like PB & Jelly, ya know? Unfortunately, you can’t consume alcohol at Palomar… but the dealers are quick to encourage you to slug moonshine out of your car in between balancing tables. Uh, no thanks… I stopped doing that when I was 13.
Buy-​ins range from $ 30 to $ 300, and it’s real cash money, my friends. None of this $ 20 buy-​in tournament BS. When you push in $ 50 on a flush draw… you’re dropping a Grant on the spot.
They also have salads and cheesecake that you can order why playing. Nor sure why anyone would want to eat it… but it’s available if that’s your thing.