Score vinflation by amateurs

Philadelphia is actually somewhat of a mecca of strip clubs, there is a huge number and variety of places, something for everybody. One place in particular that amazes me is Show-n-tell Showbar. I don't much care for the place but I think it's unique. You enter through an adult bookstore and go out the back. Then you can turn either left or right. If you go to the right, you enter an area with a stage and a bunch of young guys drinking beer from coolers. It's like a fraternity stag party where they've hired a bunch of really raunchy dancers to perform on stage. The girls don't dance, they put on a show. If you turn left instead of right out of the bookstore, you come to a bunch of women standing in front of small booths offering private dances. These are different girls than in the other room. The dances are done in the nude on narrow beds, and are timed, you pay so much a minute. This is easily the raunchiest place I've ever been. But what's amazing is that some of the girls are really good looking. I don't know how this place stays open. But it's always packed.

But to return to the original issue, case in point is Showcase Lounge in NJ. It's now rated #3 in the country. If it was located in Florida it wouldn't even make the top 20 in the state. It's only rated so high because it probably offers the highest contact in the state, and probably the Northeast among well-known places. Other than that the place is terrible. There are half a dozen better places within a half hour drive. Don't make a special trip, you'll be very disappointed. The guys who rate this place so high must have very little exposure to other strip clubs.

Hi Fondl,

The block sounds very interesting. :) One concern I would have because I'm wayyyyyyy too fussy is when the lady approaches you for a drink how much clothing is she wearing?

What I LOVE about strip clubs is that I get to see and speak with the woman before deciding if I'm interested in making a purchase. Even minor flaws reduce my pleasure considerably. I'm just strange like that and it isn't in my best interests to be so focused on perfection.

It is funny this week I was dreaming about going to Philadelphia to buy different cheese steak sandwiches from hundreds and hundreds of vendors. I was thinking why can't Miami have more decent food like BBQ or cheese steaks or little Italian joints. Now Gainesville had decent food from what I remember from a few decades ago.

A much better reason to go Philadelphia: STRIPPERS. :)


But, I was talking to this ship captain. Captain John? He was telling me that Haiti is Heaven on earth and the media here is a complete fraud when it comes to Haiti. He says if not for the need to make $$$ he would never leave. He claims the women are not only highly educated but extremely beautiful and think nothing of taking their blouse off. He is an old white American and has a relatively young Haitian wife. After speaking with me he said I'd be crazy not to at least visit and he knows that I'd be staying. :) That is the exact same thing this Haitian lady friend of mine says, but even more emphatically. She also thinks I could make $$$ over there, but she overestimates me: I'd probably be starving over there even worse than I'm starving here.

"The Block" in Baltimore is right next to the downtown business district, so while I wouldn't describe it as the safest place it probably isn't very dangerous. But you're right, it probably is more expensive than what you like. The clubs there all seem to have a different kind of format than anywhere else in the country. Strictly speaking they don't generally have lap dances but there is plenty of contact. Typically they're pretty tiny with a bar along one wall and booths along the other wall and maybe a dark seating area in back. You go in, sit at the bar until a girl walks up to you (which takes about 30 seconds), and if you like her you buy her a drink. At that point she'll do everything possible (eg. her hands get very friendly) to convince you to take her to a booth or the back area. Usually her drink is going to cost a lot more (maybe $20 or so) but will get you lots of 2-way contact. Many of the places also have a separate back room which costs even more if you're invited (around $100) and can include everything depending on your bargaining skills and wallet. There are about 30 such places all in one block, which is why it's called "The Block." This place is essentially unchanged in many decades, and is a true throwback to the old red light districts that most cities had at one time. I haven't been there in years, it's not my thing, but if you've never seen it it's probably worth seeing. I think it's unique, I don't know of anywhere else comparable.

Philly has loads of little strip clubs in its black neighborhoods, and from TUSCL reviews they sound like they're both inexpensive and high mileage. I'm sure some are in fairly safe areas and some aren't. Again I haven't been to any but they sound comparable to your Miami places.

Well according to the information at TUSCL the Baltimore clubs are expensive, but those in Philadelphia look promising. I wonder if there is a violence problem in either of those cities . . . here in Miami, the only real problem area I encountered was in the Homestead area. Believe it or not my car was surrounded **during the day**--I was researching vacant land for a developer buddy. The last *story* I heard was that those people--poor blacks--had aggressively been moved out.

Getting a little more off topic, a police officer was telling me that in West Palm? the police are beating the hell out of suspects just like they use to do in the good old days here in Miami . . . so if you want safety West Palm is the place to go (assuming your white?) according to him . . .

Hi Fondl,

No, my traveling has been extremely limited. I would think that Northerners make a lot more $$$ and that their expenses are much higher. Thus, dance prices should be much higher one way or another.

Kyle, have you ever been to inner-city clubs in either Baltimore of Philadelphia? I think both cities have a ton of places that you'd really like. Lots of black dancers too.

I much prefer the neighborhood bar type places myself. The GC types just don't do it for me generally. But the thing to remember is every reviewer is different. The vast majority of the reviewers who have written a review here probably don't go as much as any of us here who post on this message board. They may not care whether or not they get a full contact lap dance. They may not even be aware of their existence. I went to strip clubs for a year before I realized there were places you could get a lap dance at. I have gone to SC's with people who are going to one for the first time and while I think it's dull because the dancers aren't my style, they think it's great because they are seeing naked chicks and getting full contact lap dances for the first time ever.

I agree with Kyle that the ratings are skewed in favor of gentlemen's clubs. I've gone out of my way to visit several GC' because of their high ratings and thought they were terrible. Personally I usually prefer a friendly neighborhood bar type place but I've found that it's getting a lot harder to find decent girls in such places. The best (for me that means young, intelligent and attractive) girls all seem to gravitate to the fancier clubs. They obviously think they can make more $$$ in such places but I'm not sure they're right because the house cut is always much higher. But the young girls today all seem to prefer the fancier clubs. That wasn't always the case.

I don't have problem with a high contact dive and a high end club both receiving the same score. But the score shouldn't be a 10. In my mind, a 10 means the best strip bar experience you've ever had. It's elusive and just getting extra's should not get you to 10. Now if you're in the Gold Room in Atlanta and the best looking all natural big titted dancer gives you full service for free and her girl friend waxes your car, then knock yourself out and score it a "10".

Hi DRDave,

My perfect experience depends on finding the PERFECT dancer. This often has little to do with whether the strip club is a good club. Tootsie's has lots and lots of attractive dancers, but unless I see my ideal it is pretty much a waste. The BEST strip club by far was a tough white trash club called Angels *after* it hired two beautiful black dancers. (Actually, Cherries was a better club, sort of, lots of attractive dancers, but the dancers had NO schedule and I depended on an old prostitute to help me find the diamonds. Still it took patience and it wasn't too cheap or expensive and often there were nothing but ugly dancers.) Night after night I would go to Angels even when there were no attractive dancers. I was waiting for the PERFECT dancer (even non-ugly might have satisfied me at that time) to show up so I could have PERFECT experiences. I was greatly rewarded when Angels hired its first black dancer who was completely PERFECT.

Anyway, I rate clubs based on my overall considerations. Tootsie's is a solid 8 and sometimes it rates a 9 or 10. I believe Angels is a much better club therefore I will rate it higher.

"Now if you're in the Gold Room in Atlanta and the best looking all natural big titted dancer gives you full service for free and her girl friend waxes your car, then knock yourself out and score it a '10'." I would probably rated that a 1. I like small perfect dancers with natural medium to small breasts. Forget the makeup and fancy clothes.

See these number ratings really should be ignored or at least put in the context of the WRITTEN review. I just don't see a problem *if* the people READ the reviews. I do see a problem with GCs getting higher numerical ratings than the neighborhood dives because I just don't think the GCs provide the best experience. Too many people determine quality by price or numerical rating . . .

A little more preaching. :)

I think TUSCL setup does a disservice by highlighting and promoting GCs. The focus should be on promoting neighborhood dives that offer more freedom and lower prices. Of course, some customers prefer the fancy and expensive . . .

Hi ShotDisc,

You are the preacher attempting to impose your notions of proper ratings on me, but you've failed make a compelling argument.

The ratings are slanted in favor of the GCs. Very rarely will a GC like Tootsie's get a low rating. A club like Angels which is a far better club if you're interested in cheap high mileage will easily get a good number of 1 ratings. It is sort of like neighborhoods. Most people prefer a very structured environment--which costs $$$ in the form of lots of government--and homes in the structured environment cost significantly more than neighborhoods with more freedom. So where would I rather live in Coral Gables (I did live there briefly) a very wealthy area or Liberty City a very poor area? I'd much rather live in Liberty City even if I had tons of $$$. See the extra government services in Coral Gables are a negative to me just like the extra rules and formalties of a GC are negative to me. Most people will rate Coral Gables with its massive government an A+ while rating a Liberty City a D- or F. It all depends on what you're looking for. I strongly prefer simple and real.

In sum, I will always rate the cheap dives highly if there is the realistic potential for cheap high quality ass. To those who shit on these clubs because they're not stocked with quality ass regularly I would infer that they're looking for a GC ala Tootsie's. That is fine, but I think most customers might be a lot happier at the dives if they understood that quality can change FAST and that *more expensive doesn't necessarily mean better*.

more preaching from the Gospel according to Kyle111

Kyle, as you and others have said, reading the review is more important than the ratings. The thing I have trouble with is that how do you compare a cheap dive with average looking girls and lots of contact to the expensive fancy club with gorgeous girls and less contact? It's comparing apples to oranges (or maybe grapefruit is a better example for strip clubs.) Personally I've found places that I like and places that I didn't of both types. The other issue for me is that clubs are very different places at 2 pm Monday afternoon than at 11 pm Saturday night, so the rating is going to depend very much on when you go and whether you prefer a drunken mob scene or a nice quiet time with a special lady. Personally I don't want to feel like I'm at a fraternity party that hired some strippers - that got old for me about 40 years ago. But for other guys that's exactly what they enjoy.

As far as laws go, that's a really grey area. All I know for sure is that having a fully clad girl dance 6 feet away from me is legal, and that anything beyond that may or may not be depending on where you are and the mood of the local politicians.

Hi DRDave,

Oops, not only did the prices go from a few dollars to hundreds of dollars which to me is a good enough reason to go from a rating of 10 to 1, but the dance rules changed drastically. It goes from full two-way contact seemingly without limit to touching a titty becomes a high crime. Without contact then strip clubs to me are irrelevant. And, this pressure for the Fantasy Room makes it unpleasant just to hang out . . .

I believe it was shift in strategy. It may last a few days to a few years. Also, they might not pull that shit with a younger customer--I just don't know. The day shift (ugly girls) might be different.

Hi Fondl,

I did feel uncomfortable giving the 10's to dives. I refer guys to Angels and tell them you will probably either LOVE the place or HATE it. And, that is exactly the feedback I get. So if someone rates it a 1 there is no surprise in my book and if someone else rates it a 10 then that is no surprise either. With Tootsie's anything less than an 8 is surprising to me, but it is really not my type club.

Ultimately, I decided that READING the review is what should count and not the numerical rating. There are customers who love Big Busted Blondes and for me that would rate a 1. It is the details in the review that are important. If I give a 10 to a club and state in the review that it is latin and black and you are looking for corn fed white women, then obviously my rating should be meaningless to you. Also, a lot of customers have a lot more $$$ than time so my focus on FIVE DOLLAR dances in the reviews should be a warning sign . . .

Hi DRDave,

Actually I think it does make sense. Management and policies can change drastically in a very short period of time. For example, at Secrets dancers were providing high contact dances and the price could be as low as $5 for a two song lap dance. This wasn't typical, but you could count on high contact lap dances for $10 per song--management (on some days) said it was supposed to be for 2 songs, but the hottest dancers would charge per song. Essentially, two-way contact was fantastic coupled with cheap prices and a HOTTIE boils down to a 10 in my book.

Then, there was a radical change. I touch a titty and a bouncer is all over me. In Miami that is unacceptable. There was constant pressure to do the Fantasy Room which is at least a couple hundred dollars. Now, everyone might not be getting this treatment . . . I don't know. To me it became a very expensive "dive" almost overnight. It went from a 10 to a 1 because the price went from a few dollars to hundreds of dollars.

I don't trust the club and there is no reason for me to go back when there are so many excellent cheap clubs around. If I hear some new news, then I'll give it a whirl.

I think there are at least 3 reasons why ratings are generally high: first we all like strip clubs, so even an average place tends to get a 7 because we enjoy it. Second, we don't go to places that we think we won't like. Personally I only try a new place if it's gotten good reviews by others. Third, I'd bet a lot or people only ever rate the places where they go regularly, and the reason they go there regularly is that they like it.

I've never given a place a 10 because I've never seen a place that couldn't be improved. But I've given lots of 7's and 8's to some pretty ordinary places because I had fun. And isn't that what matters most? Personally I have no problem with Kyle's 10's, he obviously found exactly what he was looking for and had a great time. So to him that's a 10.

I noticed the '2' on Rick's yesterday and was going to mention it. When putting a rating on a club, should it be compared to clubs in the area or clubs on a national scale? Rick's has great quantity, above average quality, and high mileage dances. It's hard to say it's not the best in the state, but there's still a lot to be desired. I try to compare it to clubs in the area, and take in to account local laws.

I couldn't agree more with this topic. I hate the fact that so many clubs get 8, 9 and 10 ratings. in my experience there are more clubs out there under a 7 than over it. and people should not be afraid to give a club a low score if they deserve it. that is except for kyle111. all his clubs are 10's

Hi ShotDisc,

I don't give all my clubs 10's. I would like to say that if I had $$$, then I would go to the GCs. That is only partly correct. Tootsie's is an excellent club and actually *less expensive* than the dives I prefer if you're not interested in buying dances. You can count on Tootsie's to have a large selection of attractive dancers, a relaxing environment (unless it is packed), and extremely low cost if you don't buy dances. But, even if I was rolling in dough I would still be going to the cheap clubs and not to save $$$. I strongly prefer a relaxing dive to a more structured club.

Plus I'm only spending FIVE DOLLARS on high contact dances. The lower cost is important enough to me that I will ignore negatives like one day FAT and UGLY while the next day SUPERMODELS. I rate Tootsie's between an 8 or 10 (and most customers seem to agree). What does this make the cheap clubs I prefer? They are 10's if they offer low priced high contact dances and the real potential of getting dances from SUPERMODELS.

One last point: The dancers I drool over some people might dislike. And, I see many dancers making $$$ on dances who I would pay to leave me alone--and yes the GCs have dancers who I would pay to stay away.

Kyle 1111 - you've given out about fifteen 10's. I like low rent clubs as much as the next guy but to give a club a "1" one visit and a "10" the next time doesn't make any sense.

Oh..if the editors of this site read this, I'd recommend not letting anonymous users post reviews. Part of the reason we joined this site and paid money was to get quality reviews from people who've been to more than one strip club. At least that's the case for me.

I noticed most of the reviews here by anonymous rated either 1-3, or 9-10. Kinda makes sense, considering the people looking to either slam or praise a single club wouldn't have the patience to register.

I try to be objective and consider quality, quantity, friendliness, mileage, and cost. I think everybody considers them to some extend, but we'll all weigh them differently. That's fine, but I do wish everybody would list *why* they're giving it the mark so I could see if those areas are important to me or not.

Reviews are subjective. I don't compare a contact club to a non-contact club when I write a review. If a non-contact club delivers on what it promises then I don't rank it lower because there is no contact. I also don't put much stock into the numbering system. I've had a great time in some clubs that where a 3 and a lousy time in a few 8 or 9 clubs. The reviews on this site are a tool but not a deciding factor for me.