[Manomanman]

Here's my philosophy on the matter.

[censored] home gamers raking. Why?

1) All they have is low-quality poker chips they bought off Ebay for $50. Poker chips are a dime a dozen.

2) You could get in contact with all of the players at the game via myspace and start your own homegame. The money you made off them in 1 night would more than offset the cost of the chips.

3) [censored] 10% rake. That's absolutely ridiculous. ESPECIALLY given the stakes you're playing. Reasonable rake would be 5%, max .50 or $1. They would need to provide some service in exchange for the rake, like booze, food, and good dealing, plus providing an entertaining environment.

Here's a little psychology about getting your own "rake going. If you want to influence people to "pay for all the stuff I bought so they could play", I would politely ask that people tip you (the dealer) when they win big pots if they so choose. You'll notice the players themselves enforcing tipping by glaring at the people who don't tip. That way, you're not bullying people into paying, you're creating a social norm that it's "polite" to tip the guy who set up such a nice game for them.

-Mano