A friend and I are setting up a home tournament that may be semi-regular thing. The buy in will be $125 with early rebuys. Probably no dealers. The tournament can be as many as 40 players. There will be a cash game after. $1/$2 likely. Might have a dealer for that. Pizza, wings, and a keg of beer will be provided. The tables, chips, and cards are all very good quality. We are not agreeing on the rake for the tournament or the cash game. What is fair and standard here?
Thanks

No rake is standard here. Home is the key.

What do you want money for? Food, drinks etc should be paid for by either the host (cost of hosting), those that consume (ask who wants prior to ordering), or some non-rake combination.

Sent from my SM-N920V using Tapatalk

I would say you can set it up like an online tournament with $10 per person going to the house so it would be either a $115+10 or 125+10 however you want. Or you can just say it's $10 per person and they get beer and dinner, which is a pretty good value considering what casinos charge.

Cash game is hard if you don't have a dealer because people aren't going to want to work out the rake for someone else. If you get a dealer I would go with 10% of the pot up to $5 per hand and only rake if there's a flop. Just what I used to do for my cash games. You're not in it for the rake, you're in it for the game. Most players will agree that a $5 cap is more than fair from my experience. Have fun!

And I'd give the dealer free beer and food ( as long as it doesn't affect the game) as well as 20-25% of the rake at the end of the night.

If you must make a profit or need to cover costs you should consider a seat charge rather than raking pots. It is much easier and not prone to delays and mistakes. Either way it is a marginally illeagal game in most areas. Not likely you will be bothered by anybody , however, but the organizers must understand that they are exposing themselves a bit by profiting a little from it.

What is your intention to achieve with the rake? Make a profit or just break even with expenses?

Pizza and wings during a tournament when every donk freaks out about missing a single hand? You're going to have the most disgusting cards and chips in this forum. Please DON'T post pics.

Others have touched on this point: it sounds like at least some part of your mind is looking at this as making a profit. You have skipped right past the home game phase and gone straight to underground game. That's fine if you can pull it off, but go into this with eyes wide open.

I used to run 2-3 table combo MTT and craft beer tasting session. People had to sign up in advance for the beer tasting, and the money was separate. I bought a few extra 6-packs and sold loose bottles at a wee markup to offset the inevitable fact that no-shows would screw up my delicate math. My only goal money wise was to break even, maybe I could drink for free if I got lucky.

$0. This is the home game section...

Sent from my SM-G925P using Tapatalk

The way I look at home games this post is the equivalent of:

If you wouldn't charge your friends to watch football at your house why would you charge them to play poker?

I personally do not care much about making a profit. My friend on the other hand thinks that it is typical. Due to the fact that we are organizing, setting up, cleaning up, and officiating the entire thing. I would estimate that at least 1/3 of the expected crowd will not tip. I do however want to be sure that I at least break even.

I think charging each player $10 to play in the tournament is fair.

I think it's fine to charge $10 to play in the tournament, to cover your costs. Any cash game played afterwards should be rake-free. If someone only wants to play later in the cash game, charge them $5.

I've played in a game like this. It's been going for years, in a very nice house with a regular and large group of players. The host is a retired businessman. He is an enthusiast, not a cardroom operator.

And that one is BYOB. Some players also bring food. It's a very easy-going crowd, to be sure. He probably pockets a few bucks, but not much, and no one minds. They like the regular game. Some suggested he should charge more.

Whatever works. But consider you might be more of a target with the cops. Better to know what your local police and DA think of poker games like this.

charging everyone 10-15 usd for the night is a great option imo, and should cover beer/food expenses.

A raked, for profit, home game is not a home game...period.

A raked, for expenses, home game is fine.

While I've never raked a tournament, why don't you just take out your costs from the prize pool...no one will know, especially if there are rebuys. You can choose to tell participants or not...your choice.

But if you're honest and don't take more than it costs you, then no one you want at your tournament will care.

Definitely do not take money out of the prize pool without telling them. That is akin to theft and will blow up in your face later. They will find out. Usually there is a tourney clock and it has players and and add ons. They can math. A flat fee is easier than a straight up rake. If you want to do something like a timed rake where they pay a few dollars each half hour or hour it would be ok. $2 a half hour is not bad. I've paid $5 in a casino.

The home games I run last an average of six hours per session. $2 per half hour works out to $24 per night per player. My expenses on an expensive night run something like $8 per player, so I'd be making $16 per player or something like $100 to $150 profit per night on the rake for a one table game. That could easily be better than my win rate.

Not only would such a seat rental fee turn my home game into an illegal game here in Texas, it would change the dynamics for the players too. That seems like a bad plan. The other players are my guests, not my customers.

If you have to charge a door fee to cover costs - fine. I play in games like that and have no problems so long as the fee is comparable to the amenities. But anything more than coving costs is likely bad for your home game.

Just wanted to say if I am ever playing in a self dealt home game, cash or tournament I am never paying a rake.

going for profit seems like a bad idea, not only it can downrighT be illegal, but it can bring up other problems with your friends

I wrote that this host probably pockets a few bucks. If it's $2 per player, then it averages about $40 per game. But out of that he has to cover wear and tear on his home (and there as been damage), new cards, higher energy bills, and probably other things I can't think of. So his profit is negligible. I don't think you have to cover costs to the penny. As long as the players are satisfied, that's what is important.

I agree no one should ever take money from a prize pool without fully disclosing that when the game is announced. That is theft. And informing players at the game is misleading. This is all about communication and agreement. Anything short of that is a problem. Taking the money without saying anything is about the worst thing you can do as a host.

Thank you for all of your replies. Luckily my friend that wishes to make a profit is not able to attend. I have decided to take my expenses out of the prize pool. League games I take nothing. I usually put food out. Surprisingly, 80% of the players don't tip. "Well I payed $100 and only won $250." Of course that logic is flawed as they technically only payed $50 toward the prizes that night. The rest is saved for the final table.

If you're not telling people in advance, this is theft. Doesn't matter if you're just covering expenses. They didn't agree to pay for it out of the prize pool.

This is (a) not surprising and (b) not a justification to steal money from the prize pool. Bottom line is that it's their money, and no one owes you a tip. It's not even really customary. And hell, without dealers, the players are doing a lot of the work themselves.

You're hosting a home poker game. It's like hosting a party; the host is the one shouldering the expenses for food, drinks, etc., unless arranged otherwise. You don't hit your guests with a bill afterward or look at them with scorn for not giving you money.

If I were at your game and found out you stole money from a prize pool like this, I'd never play at your place again, and I'd never invite you to another game either.

Well this isn't a party. All of these guys aren't friends and family. Food and beer isn't free. I don't have a butler to set up and clean up. I am not looking to make a profit, but I also don't feel like I should foot the bill for 30 people. Shame you won't come back, because I would never invite you.

You didn't deny Jim's accusation. So you're going to rob the prize pool and not tell anyone?

I strongly suggest you tell everyone, well before game night, how you're going to reimburse yourself, and give a good estimate of what the amount will be. Then, before the game starts, announce the exact amount to be deducted.

If you don't do that, you're a thief. It's not a gray area.

I am a host for a long time. I don't rake pots. I don't seat charge. Most of the regs volunteer to contribute from time to time, mostly food and drink. I know not all games are like this. I know many hosts need a little from the game to cover expenses at least partially. I have absolutely no problem with you doing this. If you are upfront with raking the Buy ins for this then IMHO you are OK. If you do it on the sly, then you are asking for trouble and I HOPE you get it.

This right here.