I have played in a local game that I consider a home game, and the host rakes a little on the initial tournament buy-in, or a little less on your first stack if you arrive later for the cash game. Just a one-time fee either way. I think it is now $10 tops. He serves lots of food, and more importantly, he is willing to host every week for 20+ people, taking over his home, displacing his wife. I see nothing wrong with him getting some reimbursement.

And believe me, this guy does not need the money. He is just recouping his expenses, plus a little set aside for the next time someone breaks his front door or toilet.

This relates to another thread, where the host does all the work and puts up all the money, and it just starts to get to him over time. He starts to feel like some of the other players are just takers. It may not be true or fair, but it just starts to get that way.

If it gets to that, it is better to have people pay their way and make the whole thing not so one way. It makes the host more willing to keep it up. It is better than breaking up the game.

When you take a regular fee (understandable) as the host you are likely switching from a "social game" to LOL "running a game for profit" in the eyes of Kentucky law enforcement. Likely there would be no trouble unless some disgruntled player reported you and the cops show up some nite. This is very unlikely , but it is possible. Therefore if your laws are similiar I would hope you could get a group like ours that pitches in Big Time to assist the Host (me ) with expenses. If a bigger stakes , more serious, game is your goal then you would either have to get "protection" or take some risks. GL all

I'm in NC, and yes, he is taking some risk. But the law is enforced or not enforced locally. Our DA has said publicly he is not interested in pursuing home games. I don't think a few bucks for food would sway him.

Lots of past experiences, on this forum. If you're not in the same category as those others..... sorry you get the backlash.

However.... skimming some of your replies, you're not coming across very well. I wonder if that's affecting your personal interactions, as well... and thus, your OP?



And you're trying to undersell your rake, even if you're cutting it off.

If you were raking throughout a typical 4-5 hour home game event, you're talking $0.75 (eh, we'll say $0.60 avg) for 20-25 pots an hour, so $60. How many average buy-ins does that amount to, when you're playing for quarters?

How are people supposed to trust you, if they don't know you? You're a poker dealer professionally, so any chance they might be suspicious of your motives, your possible actions and/or second-card dealing, etc?

10% up to $6 is what the B&Ms in my area rake (some with BBJ, some without). Appearances are something you're going to have to become more aware of, if you want your "home game" to flourish.

I understand where you're coming from, but my initial post is quite misleading. I wrote it as I came off of a shift, and said "I normally do..." but I have not actually run a cash game with a rake. in another post, I also discovered that once I had closed the browser/logged off, I lost the ability to edit my OP, after I initially changed it a couple times. I was never able to change what I initially said. that is why I got peeved when people commented on my OP, even though I said I was unable to edit it, and after I had corrected my OP with new information.

I have only done 6-7 tournaments and a couple sng styles. I haven't run a cash game.

also, no, I do not believe I have come off as misleading or deceptive. I very casually state that I am just covering some of the things that I myself provide, and that people partake of. some people bring their own stuff, but my consumables still get devoured. I guess this thread is pointless in retrospect. I initially just wanted to know why people had an issue coming into my home and drinking my booze and eating my snacks/pizzas etc, and were then wondering why I wanted some compensation. like i'm a soup kitchen or something with free food lol. I dunno. this has turned into a rather large, unintended fiasco.

I also said like 15 posts ago that I was gonna use a donation box and not even adopt the rake, yet people still felt compelled to comment on a rake. i'm not even going to use it because I realize it looks really shady, and is otherwise just a completely improper way of going about running a home game. also, as stated, I have less than 10 games played at home, so I am still figuring things out. I appreciate your input on suspicions being a dealer, thanks a lot I have had family in the casino business, and have known that they're fair. but the ironic thing is, when people come to play, people think everything in the casino is rigged lol, like they rig blackjack, roulette, craps, SOMEHOW, I dunno lol. they think it's some shady carnival game like three card monty/find the lady or something. so I guess I will address the trust issue more in the future.

as I said in my OP, I have lurked here for a while without registering. thank you for your input. I have respected a lot of your insight/input that I have seen by you on the forums thanks for that information, I will work my way into it a bit.

also, this isn't for profit. if this were for profit i'd just straight up take a cut from the buy-in based on a percentage, offer a dealer's bonus and just take that personally, or something else. that isn't the hard part lol.

this is basically all I am looking for. as I said, if I have a surplus, it goes towards future stuff that may be broken, less money I have to dish out next time, or whatever comes up that is related to the game. I don't care to turn a profit from this, I make a pretty good living from my current job. I want to have fun, this is for the social experience. but I don't want to drain $50+ every time this happens. and people are drinking, so coordination/motor skills go out the window. I have already had a couple lamps get broken, and some other misc. things. a little recoup is nice.

i'm not too worried about police knocking on my door, because none of my friends will report me, and if it is some random person, it is only hearsay that the game is a for-profit based game. unless he had a video camera recording me taking money to cover expenses, i'm not too worried. also, my uncle is the magistrate within the county I reside. i'm doubly not too worried. but, I am not careless! I play it safe and cover my butt I will consider your insight though and always remain wary.

OP,
One item I am still unclear about. Do you play in the game? Full-time deal? Or just host and watch?

I full-time deal the game.

I have two tables, and I've taught a buddy of mine enough about dealing procedure/etiquette that he can run a table fairly well, and just ask me about something if it comes up. it's a pretty nice setup. I would like to build 2 more tables and have my basement be just a massive poker room lol.

Gotcha. "Rake" sweeps a pretty big red cape through this arena- lots of us can't help but charge.


Next time, check with a mod. One technique- reply to your old post, with the updated post... then ask the mod if they'll delete the original.

Nope.

Welcome to the world of hosting poker, where people don't really consider what you do.


THOSE people either replace my lamp or get thrown out.


Hopefully we'll hear from you again, in the future, about your growing home game and better-behaved invitees.

thanks. I didn't know how quickly a mod could edit it, because relatively quickly people started to post in response, and by then, I figured if a mod changed it, that it would look suspicious. so I just responded differently. i'll just be sure that I haven't gotten off of a 12 hour dealing shift, and be more clear haha

I actually just had a game last night that turned out really well. I had 12 people! really loaded table (my second table is being re-topped and reupholstered), but we made it work. $25 buy-in with rebuy and addon. lasted quite a while, but the prize was really large, paying out to 1st 2nd and 3rd a 50-40-30. everyone was really pleased, and I had 4-5 people automatically drop some money in the donations box without even being asked. people did a BYOB and were courteous about the whole thing. COMPLETELY opposite to how things have been previously. granted, only 3 people from the normal games were there, the rest were new, but hey, there's a silver lining: those 3 people saw courteous players give extra, so hopefully this will be contagious.

DINGDINGDING!

Control those lists, you'll sleep better (and with more lighting available)

i'm not sure I understand what you mean by additional lighting? maybe i'm tired and will feel stupid when you explain it lol.

also, another thing to note: 2 of the players had 2 or 3 additional people they knew of that are interested in finding a steady home game. so it seems that in one fell swoop I have solved my expenses issue, and grown the playerbase by about 40%! now just to finish my table...

What is your expenses issue?

spending $50+ on a combination of food, drink, and stuff to mix.

initially the crowd that had become 'regular' were cheap and wanted to play and get free food and drink. but some new people came and paid without being asked, and are bringing other people in as well.

OP, as stated before, you will rarely get support from hardly anyone here if you are talking about raking your game for any reason. Simply put, if one wants to play in a raked game, they will go play in a casino/card club.

I started my own tourney league and built three tables, brand new cards, chairs, etc. and spent a little over $1000. It would be ludicrous for me to expect any of my guests to have to pay for even a sliver of that cost. I built everything and set up my league for one reason; the love of the game.

When it comes to actually hosting an event, I spend roughly $75 on soda, snacks, food etc. and I never have asked anything from anyone. I simply love hosting and providing a fun atmosphere for others to enjoy poker. Plus, what is putting aside a $20-bill every week from my paycheck to help cover the cost of hosting going to hurt?

In almost all jurisdictions in the United States, it is illegal to rake even $.01 from a pot. Even if you call it a "fee," it is still illegal. If I were you and I wanted to run a league of any sort, I would strongly recommend looking into your local laws. While most would like to believe that "cops have better things to do", it still happens. If you run your game in an enjoyable way, the donations will come from people who are appreciative of the great atmosphere you provide.

It makes me sleep easier at night knowing that I provide a great atmosphere for anyone who wants to play (even learn!) poker while keeping it legal and fair as opposed to worrying that someone might rat on my game being illegal because they got a horrible beat put on them.

I would strongly recommend dropping any rake or any fee you are charging to anyone. Either host your tournies or cash games completely free of cost, or be aware that you can get into serious trouble with the law if you do rake your game.

Just my $.02.

Sorry if I have covered anything that anyone else has already covered. I didn't feel like reading through everyone's response, lol.

Hmmm.... so, anyone who doesn't have the cash to do it for themselves, needs to find a sucker in love with the game enough to lay this out and do all of the work?

How much do you net, a night, on average from playing in your game?