MERKUR Spielbank Monheim

Monheim publishes the clearest statement of the house-banked distinction of any German casino we have read, and it is worth quoting the substance of it: at its tables the individual participants do not play against each other for a pot, but duel the bank directly for the best five-card hand. That is Heads-Up Hold'em, dealt daily from 18:00, and it is the whole of Monheim's poker offer.

There is no cash game, no tournament schedule and no card room. A player who travels to Monheim for poker in the ordinary sense will not find it. The nearest genuine games are Hohensyburg in Dortmund, with a 5/10 cash game from Monday to Thursday, and Aachen, which deals daily across up to seven tables.

What Monheim is built around instead is its machine floor, which the house presents as its main attraction: latest-generation multi-game terminals with stated payout ratios between 90 and 97.3 per cent, ticket payout at the machine and cash settlement by staff for larger wins, plus mystery jackpot installations that add win chances without an extra stake.

The building opens daily from 10:00 to 05:00, the longest hours of any MERKUR house in the state, with the classic tables from 18:00 to 03:00. Entry costs 5 euros and an M-Card follows from the third visit. Admission is from age 18 against a passport or national identity card; driving licences are not accepted. The house closes on Good Friday, All Saints' Day, Volkstrauertag, Totensonntag, Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.