Starting a home game...?

[Johny_Whiteshoes]

I have been throwing biweekly NL games at my new house for about three months now with friends and friends of friends (without dealers). I want to make some money while hosting. I would say 80% of the time we play cash games and the other just tourneys. At any given time, I have 10-25 players.

Questions:
1) Should I just charge a fee? (i.e. $20+2 and $30+3) If so, what is a good structure? If I charge should I supply food and beer? (I have been buying snacks but without charging) If I charge, should I prepare myself to make change for the larger bills?
2) Should I have dealers or one player deal and play while moving the button?


I am up for any ideas.

Thank you,
Johny [img]/images/graemlins/diamond.gif[/img]

[nowags]

Check your local laws. Charging a fee/ rake is illegal in a lot of places. It's a felony here in Colorado. See what the risk is then decide.

If you charge a fee, do provide at least snacks and sodas, and beer would be nice. Provide dealers too. Ive played in raked games where the guys running it had competent friends deal for tips. You're charging rake like a casino, treat people like a casino, to an extent.

If you decide to not charge a fee, just ask people to pitch in for snacks once in a while. They wont mind.

[Johny_Whiteshoes]

I am pretty sure a lot of things we do are illegal including gambling online, lol. But it is just friends and friends of friends. The fact is, cleaning up after everyone sucks and last time I bought snacks I mention a little kick back and only two people chipped in. So I dont want to get burnt but I also want to make money.

[Lottery Larry]

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The fact is, cleaning up after everyone sucks and last time I bought snacks I mention a little kick back and only two people chipped in.

[/ QUOTE ]

You're not going to get a lot of sympathy from we saints who have been cleaning up for free already.

I'm not giving you help on running an underground card room. If you want to share expenses, check with your local and state laws on the restrictions. If you can't share, make everyone bring something (or rotate the snack buying responsibilities) and make people kick in when you need to replace card decks.

If you want people to help clean up, end the game at a certain time and have everyone clean up. Those who don't can stay at home and play Solitare.

[jzpiano]

tworooks?

[pfapfap]

[ QUOTE ]
I dont want to get burnt but I also want to make money.

[/ QUOTE ]

Throwing a party costs money and requires clean-up. That's all there is to it. If you want to make money, become a better player.

I run a weekly game with 15-30 people, and especially at first, clean-up was a pain. But as I've been doing it I've gotten better at cleaning as we go and keeping on people to clean up after themselves. Provide more waste/recycle bins. Remind people that it's your home. Lately a couple people have suggested a "tip jar" to keep a fund to refelt tables, so I may start doing that, but it still seem a little weird to me.

I've stopped providing food during my cash games except for the occasional bottle of hooch (which is +EV, but -cleanliness). People know to BYOB, and lately we've been getting someone who leaves early to grab us all a bunch of burgers before heading home. I do charge a fee during my monthly tournaments, but that's to cover the pile of pizzas and extensive beverage selection I provide for those. I end up losing a little there, too.

At the level you're at, charging a fee would be more hassle than it's worth. Aside from the legality aspect, you'll piss off your friends, and it will require you to do even more (ie, food and beer), which leads to even more cleanup. Just run a solid, fun game and let your friends know that they should be cleaning up after themselves.

[Death Valley]

[ QUOTE ]
The fact is, cleaning up after everyone sucks and last time I bought snacks I mention a little kick back and only two people chipped in. So I dont want to get burnt but I also want to make money.

[/ QUOTE ]

Funny...... In out old homegame we would just play at one guys house all the time, and food/drink total was around $15 a night which nobody chipped in for. One night I said we needed new cards and that all of us should throw in $5 to buy 2 new sets of Copags...... All but me and 1 other guy refused......
Fast Forward 6 Months .....
We now started raking the game 5%. In 2 months we have collected enough money for a $1000 table, $600 worth of good chairs, lighting, custom clay chips, 5 Setups of Copags. We also moved the game to a friends where we chip in for rent and pay him on top of that to worry about all the cleaning up. This is on top of food which we spend about 125 on average per game very often catering.
I think the most amazing part is that while nobody would chip in, they have no problem with a % coming out of the pot, and EVERYONE loves that we now play at a very high quality game as opposed to plastic chips on a dining room table with just pringles and soda [img]/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img]

[DavidNB]

I don't think you understand what a host does. Your suspose to clean up after and aswell, take the time to set up the game before hand. Really, a rake, well why don't you host a party and charge a coverchage at the door.

If you having fun, then keep going as is. I would think your friends should be bringing snacks themselves to share. For providing drinks, your friends should be bringing them themselves.

[gwhiz_612]

Johny,
I play in 2 different home games, some of the same guys in both. On fridays we play 1/2 NL cash game. The buy in starts at $55, after 10pm you can buy in for $100, after 11pm $200. When we first sit down at the table the banker will give you the amount you buy in for minus $5. This is the only rake in the game and noone seems to mind. The host provides all beverages and food and also cleans up his own house. No dealer we just pass the deck.Usually we run 2 tables and have around 18 guys. The $5 really doesnt affect anyones bankroll and it seems fair being the setup is so nice.
On sundays I play in another game where the host is more laid back and doesnt take any rake. Usually at the end of the night whoever cashes out with a profit will throw him $5 or $10 bucks or whatever but it is completely voluntary. In this game we all bring our own beer and not until recently has there been any food provided. No dealers at this game either. Personally I would rather give the host money than pay a dealer or get every pot raked.

[ShannonRyu]

Charging a fee or rake or whatever you want to call it has been an idea mentioned, and even tried once, in our circle of players/hosts, but the bottom line is that for the stakes you mention (same as ours) the little things like snacks and prep/clean up are part of the territory. A home game is different from a casino, and that's why people chose it (in my city there is a card room too). My wife used to make $20 in snacks but now she plays regularly so I buy $5 in pretzels and chips and that is sufficient, people don't come to eat, but if drinking is involved, those snacks help a lot. Clean up can't take more than 10 minutes, right? A guy put his sunflower seeds on the floor one night, but after telling him not to, he had no problem. Also I have a rule about guys that chew and leave ME their spit cup/can/bottle... THEY throw it away before they leave now.

I've been hosting weekly 6-8 hr. poker games for over 4 years, and I do it because I love it... and since I don't play with any of you I can say that the financial gains far outweigh the 15 min. of set up, $5 in snacks, and 10 min. of clean up. Carrying up from the basement the two FULL totes of bottles and cans is the worst (and not SO bad) but my bi-weekly recycle pick up guy must think I have a bit of a drinking problem... and a broad range of beer tastes. [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

oh, an added benefit of hosting is the left over beer. I've got to try some beer that was left over in the poker fridge and would never have tried otherwise... well, that benefit is not always a benefit, some beer is just NASTY!