Cards/Poker at a Stag

Daniel Magix · #1 09-08-2006, 10:28 AM

Well, it's not actually a stag, it's a Jack and Jill party. For those of you not familiar with this, it is basically a pre-wedding party for both guys and gals, usually taking the place of a stag or bachelorette party. The party is for my younger brother, who is getting married next month.

Now, he asked me last week, if I wanted to run a 3 Card Monte table as an activity at the party. It would surely make some money, and the money would go to my bro and his wife-to-be.

But then I was thinking - the 3 Card Monte is a scam, and if I wanted to, I could make it so that nobody ever won. Of course, I would let some people win once in a while, otherwise the game would dry up. But I was wondering if people would end up feeling cheated.

So then I thought that I might be better off running a Blackjack game. I have a shoe at home, and it's more of a legit game than the 3 Card Monte. The downside is, it wouldn't profit as much for my bro, as 3CM would - and there is actually a chance I could lose money on the night, if I played solely as the dealer.

Then I had one more idea - Hold Em cash game run all night, where we take a “donation (rake)” from each pot, and that would be given to my bro and his future wife.

So, I would like to get some opinions from you folks, on the three choices. To summarize...

• 3 Card Monte: guaranteed profits, potentially fairly large profits, but technically a scam when done correctly.
• Blackjack: Legit game with slight house edge, not sure how to generate a guaranteed profit from it for the couple.
• Hold Em: guaranteed profits, probably not as big a profit as 3CM, but probably more of a chance for continued play all night from party-goers.

Any thoughts are welcome.

ZenMusician · #2 09-08-2006, 12:27 PM

I hope your home game regulars don't see that
you are a gifted 3CM mechanic! [img]/images/graemlins/laugh.gif[/img]

Play poker like on TV...how can they not love it?

-ZEN

IHateATMFees · #3 09-08-2006, 01:34 PM

Don't most parties like this take a drop from the original bet anyway? (Think a BBJ, except it's sometimes 20-50% of the total wager)

If you can rent/buy some good routlette equiptment, I'd do that. Make sure there are two zeros on that wheel.

Daniel Magix · #4 09-08-2006, 02:22 PM

[ QUOTE ]
I hope your home game regulars don't see that
you are a gifted 3CM mechanic!

[/ QUOTE ]

I wouldn't say I am a gifted 3CM mechanic at all, but I know the moves and routines and can perform it effectively enough to profit at a party like tomorrow's. All of my home game regulars know I work PT as a magician, and I can handle a deck. But they trust me (suckers, hehe), and more importantly, to apply the moves and cheat in a real game, is MUCH more difficult than performing moves in the context of a magic effect. I humbly admit that my chops are not to that level...yet.

My brother is a bit concerned about having the Limit game going on at the hall he rented. I don't think there is much to worry about, but maybe I am wrong? I mean, it's really only illegal to run a game, if the house is taking a cut, right? If the winner of each pot wants to donate some of his winnings to a fund for the bride and groom, then we're not technically taking a rake, right?

Tony_P · #5 09-09-2006, 04:07 AM

[ QUOTE ]

My brother is a bit concerned about having the Limit game going on at the hall he rented. I don't think there is much to worry about, but maybe I am wrong? I mean, it's really only illegal to run a game, if the house is taking a cut, right? If the winner of each pot wants to donate some of his winnings to a fund for the bride and groom, then we're not technically taking a rake, right?

[/ QUOTE ]

PM tworooks

Annorax · #6 09-09-2006, 07:21 PM

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
I hope your home game regulars don't see that
you are a gifted 3CM mechanic!

[/ QUOTE ]

I wouldn't say I am a gifted 3CM mechanic at all, but I know the moves and routines and can perform it effectively enough to profit at a party like tomorrow's. All of my home game regulars know I work PT as a magician, and I can handle a deck. But they trust me (suckers, hehe), and more importantly, to apply the moves and cheat in a real game, is MUCH more difficult than performing moves in the context of a magic effect. I humbly admit that my chops are not to that level...yet.

My brother is a bit concerned about having the Limit game going on at the hall he rented. I don't think there is much to worry about, but maybe I am wrong? I mean, it's really only illegal to run a game, if the house is taking a cut, right? If the winner of each pot wants to donate some of his winnings to a fund for the bride and groom, then we're not technically taking a rake, right?

[/ QUOTE ]

It's probably illegal if you're taking a rake, whether you tell the players it's a "donation" or not. I'd just explain how tipping a dealer works, then drop the tips instead of a rake and call that the donation. If it's voluntary, it's not a rake and thus is probably not illegal.

Daniel Magix · #7 09-11-2006, 09:13 AM

Well, the party came and went, and I am not in jail. We played .50/1 limit and I left a felt hat in the center of the table, and when pots got over a couple bucks, people threw in 25, 50 cents, sometimes a buck. It was all in fun and the hat earned them enough for a nice dinner. I also ended up +19BBs when all was said and done. Sweet!

Precept2 · #8 09-11-2006, 03:31 PM

[ QUOTE ]
PM tworooks

[/ QUOTE ]

nh