Proposed "Underground" Fees

[Minn_pokerplyr]

Ya charging a fee is retarded. Now if you are ordering pizza for everyone that's a different story.

[pfapfap]

Your eyes are bigger than your stomach.

Get a game running with cheaper chips and a more basic table. Build your customer base. THEN, once you have a solid, trusting group, you can start hinting at donations to go towards upgrades.

[zalw619]

I assume you guys are college kids and as a heads up this is a great way to make money thoughout college. I havnt read all the comments but read your initial post, rake is essential but more important than rake is the amount that people buy in and the action you will get. start 1-2 NL max 200 buy in and see where that goes, I've been playing in these types of games for years and i go because of the action and not because of the rake. Most of the time the players will not notice what the rake is anyway.

[zycon]

Underground fees = ILLEGAL. If you want to risk getting busted go ahead and charge a fee or rake. Don't do it on school property or advertise on school property because if you get caught you will likely be reprimanded by you school.

I would suggest if you have a group of regulars who would like to play in this game, and you do not want to foot the bill for the chips, table or whatever, everyone can pitch in up front to cover the cost. This way you can all can play in the game without having to deal with all the crap that comes along with collecting a rake.

EDIT: Let everyone bring/order their own food/drinks. WTF is up with ppl thinking that they have to supply "free" pizza and beer. I have never gone to a game expecting anything more then a table, chair and cards.

[nobazn]

If you plan to plan to have dedicated dealer then $5 dollars for every [x]hours from every player playing on that table. You are playing for such low stakes, so I see no reason to charge a door fee. Having the equipment doesn't mean that players have to play at your place. Either that, or you can undercut the next "underground" cardroom.

[Sir Folds A Lot]

I think the OP wants to start an underground card room. Of course, beware it is illegal, but if you're willing to take that risk, charge 10%. It seems to be the industry standard. Work at making it a legit game. No legal, but not a circus. You & your partner (You're in business now) should not play, and should probably deal. Rotate the game to aviod detection and the first rule of illegal gambling is you don't talk about illegal gambling.

[spino1i]

no one is going to pay rake for a .50/1 or 1/2 NL home game. There are too many rake-free ones out there competing with you.