Smoke in Durant.

Durant is a non-smoking cardroom. It's enclosed in glass walls. Within the room is a Maxwell Smart style Cone of Silence, a "high stakes" room, also enclosed in glass, contained within the poker room.

During the week the 2/5 game is in the high stakes room, the 1/2 game in the main room. Monday I played 2/5 for a couple of hours in the afternoon and 1/2 for a couple of hours in the late night. I noticed a couple of things.

1. Whether it's because of the time of day difference or not I'm not sure, but the 1/2 game has a much higher proportion of smokers than the 2/5 game. Many more players where stepping outside the glass doors for a smoke in the 1/2 game.

2. When people are coming and going a single layer of protection provided by one glass wall isn't enough. When people are smoking right outside the door everytime the door opens a ball of smoke is sucked into the air. The air in the room gets polluted even though it's a large room. I didn't have a problem playing 2/5. Playing 1/2 I had a sore throat within less than 2 hours.

It would help if they moved the outside ashtrays a distance from the doors, but it looks like I won't be playing much 1/2 in that room. But the 2/5 games seems like a good game, and the double layer of smoke protection makes the air relatively clean, so I'll probably be playing that game again.