Gonna be visiting Macau in a few days and I usually play NL HE 1/2 in Las Vegas, what can I expect from the Macau Poker scene?

I heard it was pretty soft a few years ago but not sure about now, are they mostly tight players or what? and are their mostly pros playing now or lots of fishes(mainlanders and others)??

Whats the best casino to visit for Poker NL HE? and what are the limits? 25/50 HKD?

Any tips and hints?

Last I played was in Deccember of last year 2012. At the time Grand Lisboa's Texas Hold'em had closed and I think Pokerstars moved to Waldo? Anyway, I went to Galaxy Macau to play my hands.

So a few years ago there were plenty of fishies in the sea - however last year they have gone a little more sophisticated. Tighter plays all around, but being Chinese, all-ins and bluffing tends to be 15-25% more likely.

Mainly orthodox playing style, but of course if you're playing a full table, you have to observe carefully all the players - all the international players coming in have rubbed on the guys

25/50 is now the lowest table, and not always open. 50/100 with 10K min buy is the table of choice for the casinos. Rake is 5% i believe (or 10% i forgot), no time charge.

I only play NLHE, and I didn't see any limit or omaha.

There's no tip I can offer you in Macau other than have fun if you're not playing on a bankroll and doing it with your retirement funds

Which casino has the most fishes? I know Wynn has a bit of regulars that are pretty pro.

Level of play is considerably higher than what you would find at 1/2 NL in LV.

Most asian players are semi-pro or pro wherever the venue (wynn, galaxy, venetian).  You want a table with more caucasians... preferably aussies on holiday.

Play the pass the time between punts.  Given the rake, and your limited time, consider yourself a winner if you break even.

I have actually a completely different experience from you - if there is a caucasian on the table, he is the one that plays tight aggressive. Chinese and Locals tend to mix up their play which is difficult in a whole different ball game, but also makes calculation a lot simpler (just play tight aggro since bluffing is more common from the table.)

Well, that's true for the young euro guys (what they're doing in this part of the world, i have no idea).
My point is they're a lot easier to put a finger on than the locals.  Being strangers in a strange land, they tend not to venture too far beyond their
preferred style.  I also find their bankrolls are limited, what with their being young and their ATM limits.

The white guys who live in macau you don't want to mess with.  They tend to frequent Wynn.

Then there are the fun-loving canadian/brit/aussie with the requisite pinay or chinese spinner sitting behind them.  You want these.

Koreans tend to be good.

I wouldn't underestimate mainlanders.  Basically if he knows the rules, he's probably pretty decent.  Occasionally, you get a clueless fellow
who doesn't even know the rules.  Then it's a race among the locals who can take his entire stack first.

Macau is the new place to be for cash game in Texas Hold'em. Millionaires from China coming in with an interest in the game, loose pockets and poor strategy.

Tom Dwan and Pat Antonius come to Macau to top up their cash. I heard Tom Dwan actually has a place in Macau and played in a pot worth 3.8 million and won it.

mrfast, that's like 2 years ago...

priapus's observations are spot on imo.

I would say most of the observations here are true except the following:

Koreans are good ... if you say the Korean guys are typically good, then you are correct.  The women are usually nits you can raise off AK pre and basically you can 3 bet them in position forever and unless they hit, its over.

White guys .. the quiet ones who know the managers are usually decent but think they are awesome.  If you have an edge, you'll take a lot of their cash .. if not, you ill probably best to leave the table.

The best chinese guys to find are the clueless mainlanders, or the Hong Kong chinese who tend to voice their strategy and how they are so bad beat in every pot.  Look for these guys, daily ATM and they will keep coming back for more.

Actually it's the Chinese millionaires you need to watch out for.  To play them, you are likely playing a game far beyond your general bankroll would allow, and they are aggressive, and have ZERO fear.  Given that poker is a game of aggression, you are playing scared money while they see the money as so much toilet paper.  Anybody that thinks they are easy to play has never played them long, or you got lucky and got a clueless rich fish.  It's not 2008.

Lastly, anybody who thinks that Macau is some cash top off point for the pros should get their noses out of the asses of the pros.  I won't go into naming names, but more than a few of the so called TOP pros are busto because of Macau, but of course, they are kept around sort of like amusement pets with massive debts.

To give you an idea, Juan Juanda has been seen in town more than a few times, and he follows the real bosses around like a lap dog, and the real players don't even turn around to talk to him.  it was quite a shock the first time I saw it, but it quickly got old.

All but the richest poker players should realize that the "fish" poker-playing businessmen see the "shark" poker-playing pros as "losers" in life-playing.