I recently started a thread about a host here charging 10% uncapped rake, AND expecting a 'decent' tip from winners of the game.

That thread: http://forumserver.twoplustwo.com/24...-rake-1542187/

A few posts suggested me starting my own home game, and I know 3-4 of the participants anyways. I kinda liked the idea, and am seriously considering it. That being said, I'm a total live noob and have never hosted my own home game before.

I'm looking for suggestions on cards, chips, maybe poker tables etc. I don't want cheap stuff that people would be annoyed to play with, but at the same time this isn't gonna be some James Bond style card room, I'm going to be fronting a lot of these costs haha.

Also, does anyone have any other tips in general for a noob like me on starting/running a home game?

Use the search feature. There is already a lot of good info in this forum.


Start with a couple setups (2-packs) of quality cards. The extra investment is well worth it. If some of those other guys want to chip in, have them order cards. IMHO, paper cards are a waste of money for a regular game.


If you don't know, and aren't friends with all the players, then chip security would be a top concern. Getting custom chips is probably too big an investment starting off, but understand that the longer the game runs, the more important having a secure set. Secure means that I can't order the same chips, sneak them into the game, and then cash them out at the end of the night, leaving you short.


What do you have in the way of tables/chairs now? Enough to make do?


Check some other threads, and decide on some house rules. Even casino's have different rules about things. Be sure know what your rules are BEFORE there is an issue.

I'm leery of anyone coming to my home that I don't know. Start small and read up on how some others recruit, and vet new players.

Good luck. Keep asking.

Take a look at the faq sticky as there are a lot of posts linked in there that answer the questions your asking. That should give you a good base knowledge to ask some follow up questions.

Thanks guys, I checked the sticky and searched around myself. I was just a bit overwhelmed with it all, and wanted some of your guys' opinions

Thanks again, I'll update here if it ever goes well or I have more questions.

To start:

Cheap chips are fine {can't believe I wrote that for now} You can do better later on, but a $35 set of 500 dice chips will do.

Don't cheap out on cards. Pay $20-$25 and get a good set up from Amazon. You want plastic cards, they will last for ~100 hours of play, maybe more.

The table could be a dinner table with a blanket or sheet as a topper. You can buy a cheap folding poker table for $100. Craig's List often has good deals.

Cheap chairs for now.

Game night:

Provide soft drinks and snacks for free or take a collection and order pizza, cold cuts or what ever. You aren't out to make a profit but it is fair not to get abused either.

Expect fewer people than say they are coming. People come late.

Try to never cancel a game due to small attendance - there should always be a game.

Have basic rules. Roberts rules are good - but understand these rules are long for a reason. Read them and follow them. There is a lot that can go screwy - really read the rules before you host.

Have house rules about coming and going up front before you start. Understand they are not really enforceable.

You are the bank of last resort even if someone else handles the money. Get change before the game starts - $100 in ones, fives and tens.

Most important have fun!

DrStrange

Don't use dice chips. At these stakes you run the risk of chips being brought in and cashed out. Go cheap if you want, but get some chips on eBay that are not too common.

I'm a fan of Copag cards. You can usually find them on Amazon for less than most others. I've recently gotten some Desjgn (J-design), not much more, I like they way they look. Again, this might be a good item for a buddy to pick up, and having a couple different setups to start might let you know what your group prefers. FWIW, my group like jumbo index poker size cards.

We are now "Shuffling behind" with cut cards. We play with 2 decks, as do most. Different colored backs are a must, and some groups use different decks as well (different designs, feel)
After you deal a hand, you collect the cards and shuffle them.
The player on your right will have collected and shuffled the other deck.
The player on your right will pass the shuffled deck to you. Put the cut card on the table near the player on your left. Use one hand to cut, place the top 'half' of the deck onto the cut card, then place the bottom 'half' on top.
The player on your left should take the cards and deal.

Almost any table can do for starters, although I'd look for better options than an uncovered, unprotected nice dining room table, or folding card (4 player) table. Putting down a 'topper' of some sort helps, and there are ways to rig it tight for not much money.

Game day(night). Having change for the bank is a must. Providing soft drinks and non sticky snacks (pretzels are better than cheese puffs) is always nice. As you are hosting, it would be OK to ask what the guys plan to bring, in order to coordinate and drop the hint. If it's going to be long enough or timed for a meal, decide and either pick up some subs (usually my choice when I have people to my house) or plan to order in some pizza. Quick, easy, relatively clean.

I have a printed copy of Robert's Rules, and few "House Rules" docs but neither is perfect. I do make decisions based on RROP, and incorporate fairness over everything else. People need to protect a lot; their hand, their action, and their chips. Encourage people to be clear, to act in turn, and to ask for clarification, even when they know how a casino would rule (oversized chip rule, calling a bet with a single chip, etc). Perception means a lot, and procedures are there to make sure everyone knows there isn't funny business.


+1 - You will have less players than you think
+100 - You need to run the game regardless of how many show, if you want those that showed up to show again.

There are some short handed games that you can play, if the 3 or 4 of you don't want to play NLH short all night. We've been playing Chinese poker before and after the NLH games when short. We play Chinese, Open Face Chinese and Pineapple Open Face Chinese. We also play with and without the bug in all variations. FWIW, POFC w/bug is a VERY swingy game.

Wow thanks guys this has actually been really helpful. I overlooked so many little things like having the required change as the bank!

And yeah one thing I definitely don't want to cheap out on is the cards.

Also a nice bonus, my friends uncle has an antique poker table he said I could have, it looks freaking sweet. I'll snap a picture of it when I can, couldn't believe he's just giving it to me, it looks freaking nice.

Great posts, DrStrange and BigBlue. Very helpful for new hosts

Lots of good advice eh ? Told ya so in the other thread. LOL Great development about the poker table especially if it is in good shape. Even if it needs a little work it's a big plus for your home game plans. Sooner or later you will need to consider how to recruit players and keep the ones you have. Different hosts have crews from different sources and their opinions will vary some on where to look and how to operate a game to keep folks coming. Good luck!

I am eager to see this poker table.

I can give you some suggestions about poker chips. What is your budget for chips? How much money do you expect to have on the table on a big night?

Chips:
Looking around online just now, I found 500 chip set-ups for as cheap as $56 with a case, dealer button, and bb/sb buttons that are not dice chips. You can go up from there depending on what you want. You can always start with a reasonable 11.5 gram set and if the game keeps going, look at upgrading down the line.

Cards:
Just mirroring what everyone else has said. Spend money on quality cards. Poker sized decks are good if you're just going to play hold 'em. If you're going to play any other games that require more cards, I would suggest bridge sized. Everyone will have their own feelings on what the best cards are. I prefer Da Vinci bridge sized. Others prefer Copag. Others Modiano, etc, etc, etc. Just find something that works for you and your players.

Table:
Sounds like you have that covered. If you're going to self-dealt, a round table is the way to go. If you're going with a set dealer, then an oval table is great.

Chairs:
Folding chairs work fine. You can later look at upgrading to whatever (I have banquet chairs).

For the rest, good advice I'd just mirror has already been given above.

These chips are quite a bit nicer, but are about $200 for 500 chips.

Did a link not post correctly or something? I kinda wanna see them.

I'm looking at chips/cards that are a bit on the pricier end, but I mean I feel like it's something I gotta do. Can't stand cheap chips/cards if I'm playing for any significant money.

There's a mid-grade chip thread already that should give you links to your heart's content. My personal favorites are the claysmith Milanos.

As the other thread will tell you, tho, order samples so you'll know what you're getting.

The one thing I didn't see is whether you wanted to have a cash game or a tournament. We generally have good numbers when I'm hosting but that is directly related to having a tourney with a cash game after. Straight up cash games tend to suffer a bit in the attendance department. Usually, I just have 20-30 players over for the tourney and then one 1/2 HE and one dealer's choice cash game usually breaks out. As long as you don't get crazy on the tournament length, you can start at 7pm, have a cash game start at 9:30pm, and then run the cash games until 1-2am and then kick everybody out of your house. Makes for a fun night.

Here's the chip thread:

http://forumserver.twoplustwo.com/24...-tour-1096906/

Oops. Missed the link. This is for 600 and a nice case.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/600-Piece-Mi...item4190b3d579

And it's...the same Milano chips the Bull recommends!

The general advice is to get a few sample chips first, though, before you commit.

Wow, some pretty bad news.

The other game that's hosted (which is the only one I know about in this pretty small town) might have been 'robbed.'

I wasn't there, but people made it seem like whoever did it had a grudge against the host. From what I've heard three people barged in at 12:30 am last night all wearing masks. The biggest guy went right to the host, slammed him against the wall and told him if he didn't give him $1100 he was going to kick the **** out of him in front of everybody.

The host went to wherever he keeps the money, and paid out the guy $1100 straight up, and the guys all left.

My friend who was telling me this is 6'4, and he said the guys were HUGE.. so that's kinda scary a couple of behemoths barged into their home game.

I'm leaning toward it not being a true 'robbery' but maybe the host screwed someone over or owed someone money or something. The buy in there is minimum $200 and there were 8 people there at that time in the morning, so I'd bet on there being at least two grand there assuming a couple people bring a reload or two. The guy wanting exactly $1100 and nothing more is what makes me think he just owed whoever it was money.

It's still scary though, and everything I typed is hearsay.. so until I found out exactly what went on I don't think I'm gonna proceed with hosting my own game. If I find out the host just owed some pretty shady people money that's different.

Sounds like a collection. IMHO, robbers would have brought weapons (not going to get into carrying at 'home games'), and would have robbed everyone. They knew exactly who the host was.

Yeah, I suppose that would make me rethink some things.

So this is the guy running the game with 10% uncapped rake plus mandatory tipping, right?

He obviously set up his 'business' with no thoughts to security for this to happen. He was playing with fire being so greedy in the first place.

Although this could happen to anyone, I would think it would be a lot less likely in a true home game.

A little late to the party, but if you're still checking out chips, check out this site

http://www.apachepokerchips.com/morechips.html

Lots of different chips in lots of different price ranges

There are some nice chips there. Although the words "solid clay" make me throw up in my mouth a little, because it is a bald-faced lie, I do like the looks of these for a low priced chip. Has anyone ever bought samples of these?

http://www.apachepokerchips.com/cham...er-series.html

If those are any good, they're tempting to get for tournament chips simply because of how much they look like the WSOP chips.

I've handled them and am not a fan at all. They look great no doubt, but something about the feel isn't right. Can't put my finger on it, but I was sorely disappointed with them after messing around with them. I know some people love them, but personally I wouldn't buy a set.