Having minors at your home game
 

Should you have minors at your home game?

Re: Having minors at your home game
 

There are other issues aside from alcohol, including contributing to the delinquincy of a minor. Obviously, it also depends upon your local laws.

Re: Having minors at your home game
 

Is "minor" under 18, or 16, or ?

Second poll question can't be answered No all of the time, BTW, unless you ignore the qualifying statement

Re: Having minors at your home game
 

In my home jurisdiction, it is not gambling unless someone is taking a rake. Poker games or sports pools or any other form of betting is perfectly fine if all money in equals all money paid out. And there is no age restriction that I know of regarding this. If you see two kids playing marbles and one goes home with more than he started, then those kids were betting but it sure is not illegal. However, it's probably unethical to invite a 12 year old to your holdem game and beat him for his paper route money. But, give me a mouthy teenager who thinks he's the next Jamie Gold and I'll gladly relieve him of his cash (I'm 46).

In most places, I'm fairly certain that two (or more) people can bet each other and it's a private matter. The problem comes when a third party handles that betting for a fee or a third party runs a game with odd in their favour.

Alcohol is a very different matter. If you own the home, you do have some responsibilities here. I would suggest that serving alcohol in your house to a minor, as well as him/her bringing their own and drinking it there, are both very big no-nos.

Re: Having minors at your home game
 

[ QUOTE ]
There are other issues aside from alcohol, including contributing to the delinquincy of a minor....

[/ QUOTE ]


...not to mention 'losing HU' to a minor.

Re: Having minors at your home game
 

Since in Kentucky you must be 18 to play the lottery, play bingo, or join in a charity gambling event, I would not invite anyone under 18 to my home game, even though I do not take any rake. However, since alcohol is always present at my home games, I would not invite anyone under 21. Just not worth the risk on either count.

Re: Having minors at your home game
 

Let them play, and when they win offer them blackjack afterwards.

Re: Having minors at your home game
 

I would have less of a problem with playing with a minor that plays for "fun" money (i.e. money not for rent, food, or bills) than with an adult that plays with the rent. I have played with both and the latter is a total buzz kill. I would really like to have parent's concent though if they are under 18. Just wouldnt want some kid to come over and throw a fit after taking a beat, then go and tell dad we took his money and have to deal with that ball of suck.

So in short, age is no problem with parent's knowledge, but playing with the poor sucks eggs.

Re: Having minors at your home game
 

I tend to find those lights on the front of their hats get on my nerves after a while.

Re: Having minors at your home game
 

If you're playing for any kind of real money, then I wouldn't involve minors in your home game at all.

If you're having an friends & family gathering and decide to play small stakes poker, that that would probably be fine for the both the minors and the alcohol (for the adults).

I think it might also be OK if the money was trivial. For example, you might play penny ante poker with your son and some of his friends. That would be pretty harmless for everybody involved as long as you knew that the other kids' parents were OK with it.

But, if this is a cash game with adult aquaintences who you may not know very well, then introducing minors into that situation is showing some bad judgement, imo, whether there is alchohol or not. And adding alchohol just makes it worse. There are plenty of adults with a hard time losing money on bad decisions and bad beats. Why complicate things by having some 15-year old crying when he loses $100 he "borrowed" from his mom's purse without asking? Or having some buzzed coworker yell at a 16-year old about how f%*$#ed up he is calling all-in on a flush draw (only to suck out on the coworker). etc...

Re: Having minors at your home game
 

when i used to skateboard, i hung out with a lot of younger kids. as soon as i turned 18, i ditched them all due to the liability of trespassing, drinking, and getting injured.

whenever an adult is around a minor, they become at fault and responsible for the trouble that the little jerk gets into.

F babysitting

Re: Having minors at your home game
 

what is your relation to these minors? how do u know them to invite in the first place?

Re: Having minors at your home game
 

The answer to this is obv. no.

Re: Having minors at your home game
 

[ QUOTE ]
what is your relation to these minors? how do u know them to invite in the first place?

[/ QUOTE ]

at the time i was in highschool, so it was very common to just bump into them at similar locations. even under those circumstances though, if any of those little kids got hurt, their parents would expect us to take care of things in a "responsible" manner. i didn't want that on my hands so i ditched most of them when i turned 18.

so taking that logic into the poker world, i can't imagine being the default guardian while an illegal gambling activity is going on. the last thing i need is some kid's dad approaching me to get his son's grade money back.

Re: Having minors at your home game
 

My son has been playing in my neighborhood low-limit home games since he was 8 years old; now he's 13. I fund his buy-ins, and if he wins, he can keep any profit above the buy-ins.

We have alcohol, food, and general adult guy talk. The adults at the game are OK with it, because he keeps quiet and behaves, he acts quickly in turn, and his poker skills are well above the median level at the game (sad but true). To be sure of good behavior, I go over the requirements in detail before each session - and any minor transgression will be met with a meaningful glare that quickly does the trick. Basically, he better sit straight, be polite, stay alert, smile, and not say very much.

But there is also an understanding that he can't play at homes where the host has minor children of the same approximate age - it would be too hard to explain the discrepancy to the satisfaction of the other kid. In those cases, he's welcome to come along to play video games.

Re: Having minors at your home game
 

As long as everybody knows everybody else and has a relationship outside of the poker game, i.e., the parents are friends and socialize outside of poker. The minor's parent should be consent and be present. Any alcohol that the minor drinks should be served by his parent. Keys: game among friends, parental consent and supervision.

Unless the stakes are trivial ($2 buyin, 10 cent limit). Then only parental consent and reasonable hours and no alcohol.

Re: Having minors at your home game
 

My son and his friends (17 & 18) play in my games. They are not allowed to drink. I know all the parents of these boys and girls and if I don't, I make them get permission to play, unless they are 18 or older.

...and talk about variance. Every kid wants to be just like the pros on TV. ALL-IN with any face card.

If they want to play and understand the game, they are more than welcome to join us.

P [img]/images/graemlins/laugh.gif[/img]

Re: Having minors at your home game
 

[ QUOTE ]
Should you have minors at your home game?

[/ QUOTE ]

[x] No, they win too damn much.

Re: Having minors at your home game
 

[ QUOTE ]
My son has been playing in my neighborhood low-limit home games since he was 8 years old; now he's 13. I fund his buy-ins, and if he wins, he can keep any profit above the buy-ins.



[/ QUOTE ]

If its your kid and you are there too, obviously that's a completely different animal than having kids over to your home game.

In the second instance, just don't do it. There a good possibility that as some point you're going to have a parent over at your house in your grill about it. If nothing else, you don't need that kind of hassle.

Re: Having minors at your home game
 

[ QUOTE ]
My son and his friends (17 & 18) play in my games. They are not allowed to drink. I know all the parents of these boys and girls and if I don't, I make them get permission to play, unless they are 18 or older.


[/ QUOTE ]

you would still get hit for contributing to the delinquency of a minor. would you ever get caught? no, but be aware that you are taking on the temporary guardianship of those other minors while they are present at your house. all of these meta rules that you have created are nice but they mean nothing to the eyes of the law.

that being said though, i think that if you were to go out of your way to entertain the company of your kid's friends that transparency and open discussion with their parents would be essential since the only thing that will get you in trouble there is an upset parent.

Re: Having minors at your home game
 

I ran some notices of games on this forum. I had some replies from some 2+2 posters who mentioned that they were 19. I un-invited them as I thought that minors at a game was an unacceptable risk.

Re: Having minors at your home game
 

[ QUOTE ]
I ran some notices of games on this forum. I had some replies from some 2+2 posters who mentioned that they were 19. I un-invited them as I thought that minors at a game was an unacceptable risk.

[/ QUOTE ]

A 19 year old is not a minor in the United States.

Re: Having minors at your home game
 

They are when it comes to gaming and drinking, at least in my jurisdiction. I know that those who are 19-21 must feel persecuted and they are.

Re: Having minors at your home game
 

[ QUOTE ]
They are when it comes to gaming and drinking, at least in my jurisdiction. I know that those who are 19-21 must feel persecuted and they are.

[/ QUOTE ]

[Nit] To be a minor means that you are not legally an adult. It does not mean that you are prohibited from certain activities because of your age. A 19 year old is legally an adult in every jursisdiction in the United States. [/Nit]

Re: Having minors at your home game
 

I agree that 18, 19, and 20 year olds are not minors, but they are not allowed to drink alcohol or, in some jurisdicions, play poker.

As I said before, if alcohol were present at my game, which it always is, I would not allow anyone under 21. If there were no alcohol, I'd allow 18 and older, because that's the law in KY.

If it were my own child / young adult, it might be different, but I don't have kids and don't plan to have any, so it's moot. I might let a friend bring their child to play, but it would have to be a very good friend.

Re: Having minors at your home game
 

my boss invited me to his home game when I was 18-19. I got drunk off of his beer and won the winner take all tournament.

It was the first time I ever played poker, and I got remarks from coworkers the next day jokingly saying "we can't afford to invite you back.."

All in good fun though.
I was invited back and ordered pizza for everyone and donated my buy-ins the next few times :P

Re: Having minors at your home game
 

[ QUOTE ]
my boss invited me to his home game when I was 18-19. I got drunk off of his beer and won the winner take all tournament.

It was the first time I ever played poker, and I got remarks from coworkers the next day jokingly saying "we can't afford to invite you back.."

All in good fun though.
I was invited back and ordered pizza for everyone and donated my buy-ins the next few times :P

[/ QUOTE ]

Thank goodness you made it home safely. I hope for your sake and your boss' that you walked or had a ride.

The getting drunk is exactly why I will not allow people under 21 at my home games. Thanks for re-confirming for me [img]/images/graemlins/wink.gif[/img]

Re: Having minors at your home game
 

i agree with the whole rake thing that was commented above, but hey, i just happen to be the 19 year old kid wanting to play at your aurora game.

i don't drink and i look 21. ;-p sorry i've been outta town, thanks for at least addressing this to others.

Re: Having minors at your home game
 

if ur over 30 then no way in hell, if ur under 30 then its whatever

Re: Having minors at your home game
 

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
My son has been playing in my neighborhood low-limit home games since he was 8 years old; now he's 13. I fund his buy-ins, and if he wins, he can keep any profit above the buy-ins.



[/ QUOTE ]

If its your kid and you are there too, obviously that's a completely different animal than having kids over to your home game.

[/ QUOTE ]

Yes, I agree. I certainly wouldn't let my son play at some other game without me, and I wouldn't allow any other kid to play at my game without a parent present. This is a low-limit neighborhood situation, and my son happens to be very interested (and capable).

Re: Having minors at your home game
 

[ QUOTE ]
I know that those who are 19-21 must feel persecuted and they are.

[/ QUOTE ]

Persecuted?? awww.. poah widdle adulties...