destroying my home game but feeling guilty....

disko · #1 06-03-2007, 09:23 PM

ok, just to warn you, this is a bit of a brag post but it has a serious point.

i started having a home game. i have nice chips and a good table for it and it's been fun. so far we have had 2. the buy in is £5. it's a cash game, with rebuys. blinds are 5 and 10 pence. i play a lot higher than that online but it makes sense for my mates not to risk too much. they all think they are a lot better than they are though. i kind of know how to run a decent game, so i do the bank and it has all run smooth so far.

the first time we had it only 4 showed up and i ended up 5 buy ins up. the second time it was 5 people and i ended up 10 buy ins up. they just kept rebuying when they went bust. only one other person each time made anything at all. the first time they were keen as mustard to come back but the second time they were saying 'oh i'm not sure if i can make it next week...' the problem with most of them is they just love a gamble and find it hard to lay down a half decent hand.

so my question is, should i make it a tourney with one rebuy or something? or keep it the same structure and if they dont come back look for some more players?

it's all very well for me making £50 in one game but i cant see them coming every week if they are dropping £20-30 a time.

DavidNB · #2 06-03-2007, 09:44 PM

[ QUOTE ]
so my question is, should i make it a tourney with one rebuy or something? or keep it the same structure and if they dont come back look for some more players?

[/ QUOTE ]

Ask the other players, talk about it and try to make it a goup decsion. Also, I wouldn't say your destroying your home game after 2 wins. You would have to play 15 - 20 games before a trend can show.

disko · #3 06-03-2007, 09:50 PM

i understand that. but 10 buy-ins is still a lot in one night

pfapfap · #4 06-03-2007, 09:59 PM

Raise the stakes and try to generate a larger playing pool. The only way you can sustain a good home game with a small group of friends is if you're all on similar levels and do a lot of passing chips back and forth. Otherwise, you need to bring in other sources of chips.

Or let your friends win.

Jeff76 · #5 06-03-2007, 11:05 PM

We just did our first non-tourny cash game. We only had 4 people show, but I expect more in the future. We played .02/.05 blinds with a $5 buy in. I had toyed with doing limit instead of NL (even made a thread about it), but in the end, they really would rather play NL. So we did NL and I ended up with 3.25 buy ins.

Of course, I don't care about the money at all. I just want to play poker with my friends (online I play .25/.50 blinds and multitable).

At any rate, one player made an especially bad play because he was trying to check down a shorty who was all in, and kept check/calling my bets because he couldn't figure out why I was betting. After he finished calling off his stack with K high on the turn he asked "why are you betting, just cause it's the end of the evening?" When I showed him my pocket JJ he got all sheepish and suddenly realized how bad he'd play the hand. That was not what I wanted- I wanted him to have fun, not get embarassed.

So my solution is that next time we ARE going to play limit. At least people won't feel dumb in one big pot. They can suck out a little and gamble it up with little risk. Also, it will be easier to explain the rules to a few people who are coming and know NOTHING about poker at all.

Taso · #6 06-04-2007, 04:26 AM

"I want him to have fun...so we are going to play limit."

^Seems like an oxymoron to me.

JJH3984 · #7 06-05-2007, 02:24 PM

[ QUOTE ]
"I want him to have fun...so we are going to play limit."

^Seems like an oxymoron to me.

[/ QUOTE ]

This statement makes you look like an oxymoron... limit can be more fun than NL especially short handed.

disko · #8 06-04-2007, 05:23 AM

[ QUOTE ]
They can suck out a little and gamble it up with little risk. Also, it will be easier to explain the rules to a few people who are coming and know NOTHING about poker at all.

[/ QUOTE ]
i have played 1/2 live and on the net before, but usually 0.5/1. so this is small stakes for me. i have had a lot of fun and i want them to as well. but im not gonna make it easy for them. we dont really have total beginners but the trouble is my mates think they know how to play but they really dont. although one of them said he really respected me more after the second night lol [img]/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img]

anyway, the point of the night is not for me to fleece my mates but to have fun. so we might mix it up a bit i think to keep it interesting. trouble is, in a tourney one of their stupid all in bluffs might actually work [img]/images/graemlins/smirk.gif[/img]

PantsOnFire · #9 06-04-2007, 12:07 PM

I agree with trying limit or spread limit to give some variety and reduce variance.

Jeff76 · #10 06-04-2007, 09:27 PM

[ QUOTE ]
I agree with trying limit or spread limit to give some variety and reduce variance.

[/ QUOTE ]FYI, limit should INCREASE variance, which is my goal. In NL you can punish people very badly for their mistakes which means less variance- the good players tend to win a lot more consistently because the format allows them to maximize value when their edge is big. They can exploit their opponents tendencies and put them in situations where they make poor plays. In limit, however, the good player cannot maximize his edge as effectively. When he has the edge only so much value can be extracted and there are far fewer situations where he can make his opponent make poor playes.

This is a GOOD thing, however, because it means poor players will win money from time to time instead of getting pummeled.