Helpful tips for hosting a home game

[Grasshopp3r]

I thought that I would share some tips on hosting a game.

Obviously you need a table and chips, but these are some of the things that are less obvious.

Change: You will need to have small bills to make change when people cash out. $40 in ones and $100 in fives is sufficient for most games. I frown upon giving coinage, rounding the amounts to the nearest dollar.

Drinks: BYOB is preferred, but the more someone drinks, the worse they play so while I say BYOB, my bar is open. Of course, drinking too much to play is a problem.

Drinks on the table: They get spilled. Cup holders are a great concept, but they don't really work. Keep the drinks on table trays and off of the table. Same with food.

Dealer's choice: If you are going to do dealer's choice, pick for a whole orbit, so that the game speed is not slowed. Wild cards are also high luck generators, especially if they change in a "follow the queen" type structure. I have used a chip in the middle with the game written on it so that people know the game and don't get confused. I hate it in HORSE when I am playing razz and everyone else is playing stud.

Chip denoms: The $1/$5/$25 structure, which is most common in the casinos, is how most sets are built. Adding quarter chips is useful and you will need at least 20 per person or 200 for a 10 man game. 50 cent chips are useful for a 25/50 cent blind structure. I have used nickel chips for antes in stud type games (Stars structure), but I may just use the old Party structure that was quarter antes. It is helpful to write down a denom list for reference.

Any other tips?

[jdeane]

* Only having 1 person handle the bank/chips.

This will help eliminate the bank being wrong at the end of the night, and if it is, it is one persons responsibility.

* Writing down the buy-ins & cash-outs for each player.

I use a simple spreadsheet, printed out to record these numbers. This also helps to keep the bank right and provides a record of cash->chips & chips->cash transactions.

I am a little strict when it comes to ensuring the bank is correct at the end of the night, not like we ever had a problem.

*Have a set of rules, or a laptop to look them up & post any special house rules that may not be assumed by some of the players.

I can not say I always follow this one, but there has been times that something, even a common situation, arises and a player does not agree with the ruling. It is a lot easier to keep everyone happy if there is a definitive set of rules. This usually comes into play with exposed cards, misdeals, and proper betting technique.

[Small Fry]

Why would you hate everyone playing stud when you're playing razz, unless you're the one playing the wrong game.....lol.

It looks like you're refering to cash games. As there a varying levels of "home" game styles, anywheres from just a few friends playing a bunch of goofy games at very low limits to what amounts to an underground casino, I think it's hard to give specific tips. You need to figure out where on the spectrum you want your game to fall and adjust.

Having said that here's my scenario:

Let me say upfront I like organization and professionalism (for lack of a better word). I run the game in a very orderly, competent fashion.

The game is basically comprised of friends. It is by invitation only and I use Evite.

If we play a mixed game I use the same computer program I use for my tournaments, build in the game types and we play each for a set amount of time.

We fit the mold of friends getting together to play poker, but the game is taken seriously. The stakes aren't high, as where not trying to rob our friends of their mortgage money, but big enough that you notice.

I provide the food and drinks (I understand somebody with a few drinks might make some bad plays but I don't want them so drunk that they disrupt the game or make others uncomfortable). As we all know each other most chip in to cover costs and other times I'll tell everyone they need to donate.

I made my own tables (3 of them) and used the leftover wood to make side tables. Food /drink is never allowed on the tables. I don't even like a person holding a drink over the tables (condensation and drips).

As for chip values you need to set this up for your specific game. Keep in mind the less different denominations the easier it will be to keep track. If you are thinking of buying chips seriously consider NOT having amounts printed on them. In my limit cash games we play 1/2 so the blinds are .50 / 1. As the lowest denmination chip we need is .50 that is what all chips are worth. (Pretty much just like a casino)I don't need to worry about colors. A player wants $40 in chips I just give him 80 chips. In the NL game we'll have blinds of .25/.50 and as the betting can be much bigger I use values of .25, 1.00 and 5.00. Create a sheet that shows chip color and denomination and either post a few and/or pass them out, eg. Green = .25, Black = 1.00, Red = 5.00. (In tournament play the greens are T25, black is T100 and red is T5). There is absolutely no need for a .50 chip, or one inbetween the $1 and $5. (You could even make an arguement for replacing the $5 with a $10 chip)

One more extremely important tip. Have a rule book and become familiar with it. Robert's rules is a good place to start and if you want to establish some of your own house rules go for it. Just put them on paper and make sure everyone has a chance to be aware of them before starting to play.

One more thing I'll add is that it's your game, presumably at your house, so don't be afraid to be in charge. Rules, set up to ensure everyone has a good time are not a bad thing. Having someone act as the decision maker is not a bad thing. Allowing things to get out of control is a bad thing.

Good luck and have fun.

ps. spending some of your winnings on your significant other goes a long ways too... [img]/images/graemlins/wink.gif[/img]

[elitegimp]

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Chip denoms: The $1/$5/$25 structure, which is most common in the casinos, is how most sets are built. Adding quarter chips is useful and you will need at least 20 per person or 200 for a 10 man game. 50 cent chips are useful for a 25/50 cent blind structure. I have used nickel chips for antes in stud type games (Stars structure), but I may just use the old Party structure that was quarter antes. It is helpful to write down a denom list for reference.

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I really liked having the 5c chips, even though it took me a couple of orbits to get used to having 5 different colors in front of me. In the future, I'll try to refrain from using them in the non-stud games. Also, it was great having a set of rules printed out, even though we didn't ever need to look at it.

I think we should have decided on blinds / limits for games ahead of time, and written them down: especially in the stud games, we seemed lost on how much to bet and when (I guess this is more of an issue for when you make a bunch of hold 'em plays donk chips in dealer calls [img]/images/graemlins/tongue.gif[/img] ). Just a simple sheet along the lines of

Pot / No-limit: 25c/50c blinds
Limit: $1-$2 game (50c / $1 blinds)
7-Stud: 5c ante, 25c bring-in, $X bets on 3rd / 4th, $Y bets on 5th/6th/7th (I thought our $.25 / $.50 bets should have actually been $.50 / $1 bets because you either bring in short or bring in for a full small bet, rather than bringing in for a small bet or a raise... but I'm still not entirely sure on that)
5-Stud: etc, etc

One thing I picked up on from random games with my friends: don't offer to host the game unless you have a decent-sized room to play in and a solid table to play on. The game my roomie and I host invariably runs out of chairs anytime we get a decent turn out, and I never remember to tell people to BYOC. One of my friends hosted a game for a while and none of the tables in the house were big enough, so they took down a bedroom door and laid it down on a smaller table... while it worked, I kept waiting for someone to bump it and send chips flying.

[philr]

Sounds obvious but know the people you are inviting. There is nothing worse than hosting a game and getting things stolen or people not respecting your house.

[chillrob]

If you are playing any stud game with an ante, it works a lot better to have the deal rotate and have the dealer ante for everyone on his deal. Speeds things up, you don't have to worry who forgot to ante, you don't need smaller chip values.

[grebe]

1) have a nice setup of cards (2 decks) with different colors. Seriously consider getting plastic cards because people will bend the crap out of paper cards in a matter of minutes. If you do go with papers (Bicycle, Bee, Aviator, etc.), make sure you have a couple extra decks for WHEN (not if) they get too ragged to play with. Nothing worse than dealing out warped cards.

2)Make sure you have enough comfortable chairs for people. If you don't have them on hand, get somebody to bring a couple extra. Bar stools are not comfortable chairs!

3)Nice chips are awesome, but not necassary. But, make certain that you have a good breakdown of chips for the game you plan on playing. you shouldnt need more than 3 colors, and more than this is just a pain. Just make sure you have plenty of them for everybody so that making change is kept to a minimum.

4)If the game is on a weekday, have a definitive stop time. This makes it easier for us working stiffs to be able to justify coming out to play. My home game when on a weekday runs from 6:30 to 12:00. We usually call a last time around at around 12:00 and everybody is cashed out and on their way by 12:30...I have never had a complaint about this and it draws people to the game who want to play but would pass due to work in the morning.

[Lottery Larry]

Being insane enough to host helps.





(that's why my game is the BESTEST!)

[pfapfap]

Lots of good tips so far.

BYOB, but buy a bottle of hooch and have some snacks here and there.

To run it successfully, I feel you have to find the balance between professionalism and "hey, we're just some folks playin' cards". Don't try to make it too much too soon. Start with a small crowd, even just five people, to establish the "card playing" vibe in the space. Then slowly bring in more people. Ask those whose personalities you like to invite others. If newer people see it as an established thing rather than something trying to get off the ground, they'll be more likely to feel honored to be included, thus returning. Nothing attracts a crowd like a crowd, after all.

I recommend against appearing too serious about it, at least at first. Lists and spreadsheets seem a bit much. I keep a couple of racks of chips in an alcove next to my seat (with empty racks on top to make it obvious if someone tries to get a chip out), and I fold the cash in my back pocket. If the count is off, it's my own fault.

As Small Fry said, it's your house, so don't be afraid to bring down the smack. Be firm but compassionate with rulings. Refer to Robert's. You can't please everybody, but you can please most people. Make decisions for the good of the game as a whole.

But basically, be a nice friendly trustful person. Don't be too psycho serious, don't be a total disorganized slacker. Be a good host.

Keep as few chip denominations on the table as possible. No need for 50c when you have quarters. No need for dimes with nickels.

Play good music, but not too loud.

Thank people for coming.

[EasilyFound]

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Play good music, but not too loud

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I play jazz, such as Miles, Coltrane, Bill Evans, Charlie Parker, Blue Mitchell, and the like, and blues, such as Muddy Waters, and various blues compilations, such as Chess Blues, and Atlantic Records Blues. Everyone once and a while I'll throw in some ragtime.