Having minors at your home game

[Grasshopp3r]

Should you have minors at your home game?

[Grasshopp3r]

There are other issues aside from alcohol, including contributing to the delinquincy of a minor. Obviously, it also depends upon your local laws.

[Lottery Larry]

Is "minor" under 18, or 16, or ?

Second poll question can't be answered No all of the time, BTW, unless you ignore the qualifying statement

[PantsOnFire]

In my home jurisdiction, it is not gambling unless someone is taking a rake. Poker games or sports pools or any other form of betting is perfectly fine if all money in equals all money paid out. And there is no age restriction that I know of regarding this. If you see two kids playing marbles and one goes home with more than he started, then those kids were betting but it sure is not illegal. However, it's probably unethical to invite a 12 year old to your holdem game and beat him for his paper route money. But, give me a mouthy teenager who thinks he's the next Jamie Gold and I'll gladly relieve him of his cash (I'm 46).

In most places, I'm fairly certain that two (or more) people can bet each other and it's a private matter. The problem comes when a third party handles that betting for a fee or a third party runs a game with odd in their favour.

Alcohol is a very different matter. If you own the home, you do have some responsibilities here. I would suggest that serving alcohol in your house to a minor, as well as him/her bringing their own and drinking it there, are both very big no-nos.

[27offsuit]

[ QUOTE ]
There are other issues aside from alcohol, including contributing to the delinquincy of a minor....

[/ QUOTE ]


...not to mention 'losing HU' to a minor.

[Javanewt]

Since in Kentucky you must be 18 to play the lottery, play bingo, or join in a charity gambling event, I would not invite anyone under 18 to my home game, even though I do not take any rake. However, since alcohol is always present at my home games, I would not invite anyone under 21. Just not worth the risk on either count.

[Lord_Strife]

Let them play, and when they win offer them blackjack afterwards.

[grebe]

I would have less of a problem with playing with a minor that plays for "fun" money (i.e. money not for rent, food, or bills) than with an adult that plays with the rent. I have played with both and the latter is a total buzz kill. I would really like to have parent's concent though if they are under 18. Just wouldnt want some kid to come over and throw a fit after taking a beat, then go and tell dad we took his money and have to deal with that ball of suck.

So in short, age is no problem with parent's knowledge, but playing with the poor sucks eggs.

[H0neyM0nster]

I tend to find those lights on the front of their hats get on my nerves after a while.

[Albert Moulton]

If you're playing for any kind of real money, then I wouldn't involve minors in your home game at all.

If you're having an friends & family gathering and decide to play small stakes poker, that that would probably be fine for the both the minors and the alcohol (for the adults).

I think it might also be OK if the money was trivial. For example, you might play penny ante poker with your son and some of his friends. That would be pretty harmless for everybody involved as long as you knew that the other kids' parents were OK with it.

But, if this is a cash game with adult aquaintences who you may not know very well, then introducing minors into that situation is showing some bad judgement, imo, whether there is alchohol or not. And adding alchohol just makes it worse. There are plenty of adults with a hard time losing money on bad decisions and bad beats. Why complicate things by having some 15-year old crying when he loses $100 he "borrowed" from his mom's purse without asking? Or having some buzzed coworker yell at a 16-year old about how f%*$#ed up he is calling all-in on a flush draw (only to suck out on the coworker). etc...