Seems like a simple question right, but I don't remember it ever being asked so.....


Why do you play home poker?

Personally, I love the competition that poker allows along with the fact that anyone can play the game. Unlike basketball I can play with the pros (LOL full tilt) and actually have a chance of beating them because of things like luck. I realized at a very early age that I need some type of competition in my life and even though I started out with chess I gradually drifted away from it because the skill gap in the game is very apparent from a novice to a grand master.

I've played poker of some sorts all my life and although a large degree of playing was done online I always remembered fondly the times during my youth of sitting around the kitchen table playing with my family. These memories sparked me to reach out and find a decent home game. When that failed I figured I should start my own...

To me the atmosphere is vastly different at a casino and even more online where people are largely driven by profit/money to play whereas at a home game you will find more people just looking for a night out that want to have some fun. For me home poker serves as my outlet for competition, but also gives me my "night out" where instead of shooting the **** with people at a bar I get to use my brain a bit and handle chips/cards in the process of having fun.

my buddys bring the bong and the pot ....all i have to do is show up and be funny. I think the only reason they keep me round is they know I am better then 90% of them and they want cheep lessons.

Since I was a wee lad, I've always had a penchant for playing card games. I'd play anything I could play with anyone I could play it with. Cribbage was my favorite. I insisted that someone teach me when I was 9 or 10, and then I pestered people to play with me all the time.

Finally, when I reached my family's official gambling age of aww-he'll-be-sixteen-in-a-couple-months, I sat down at one of our family reunions with some change I'd scraped together. I won, by dumb luck, but at the same time I realized that there was obviously some strategy to the game, just as there was in cribbage. I also had a blast, with all of these interesting (read: insane, wild-card-infested dealer's choice) games we'd been playing. Beat the hell out of that boring five-card draw game that people had told me was poker when I was a little kid.

Year after year, I kept coming back, thinking harder about the game, and winning more consistently. I became almost obsessed with that game, which we only played for a couple nights in the summer once a year for piles of change, but which I thought about for months in advance. A strategy game I can win money playing? Yes, please! I looked forward to it the way some kids look forward to trips to Disney World. I'd look up new poker variants on the internet and try to invent stuff myself. The rest of the reunion was a lot of fun too, but the poker game was the focal point for me. I'd show up and want the cards in the air as soon as possible. I wouldn't go to bed until I was broke or everyone else quit. I still play in that game every year, all night for two nights in a row.

My current impetus to host poker games is probably an extension of that pestering kid who wouldn't leave people alone until they'd play cards with him. I think I'm obsessed with poker.

I love the mind games that you can have with your regular home game friends. The whole "I know that he knows that I know" thing.

That and having the more relaxed nature of a home game to try out new strategies and tips that I read on 2+2.

+1 on the cribbage.

I spent many a night playing cribbage with my Grandfather.

I like my home games because I like the game and it gives me a good excuse to socialize.

I have loved cards since my first attempt at college. I majored in Hearts, Spades, and euchre! Discovered poker a few years later. We don't have casinos in Kentucky and online is gone. Home games (Social) and underground rooms (protected) are very common. I tried bar leagues and charity events and there is where I got invited to both kinds of groups. I had plenty of space so some buds and I pooled some resources, recruited a few more and set up a "Social Game"! It has hung together for years with the same base. It is some decent weekly rec poker and a semi party for old friends. Poker outside of my home game is rare any more. Casinos are 100 miles or so away and the local "donkaments" are outrageously bad. So it's my home game Fridays, then FTP play money (wow) and Club WPT (yes I admit it). I love my home game!

I actually covered this topic in my 5K post about 18 months ago.

I think that post sums up my POV pretty nicely.

Poker has been in and out of my life since I learned the basics in the back of my fifth-grade math class (It's OK, poker is applied math, right?). Games of all sorts were a mainstay in our home, but in my teens I was drawn to card games, specifically poker, sheepshead, and cribbage. Like jz I enjoy using my brain, and I thrive on the competition.

Home poker games combine the best aspects of the game in a social, relaxed, and protected setting. I have lots of poker buddies and have developed some great friendships through poker in recent years. I've even traveled to meet-ups near Boston, Louisville, and Dallas several times to play in what are essentially extended low-stakes home games. There is also the meta-game factor when playing with many of the same players over extended periods.

It's tough to imagine a weekend without poker, and I really miss the game on those few weekends when life interferes with my passion.

1. No rake
2. To make money
3. Camaraderie
4. Because we know each other, the leveling makes it interesting.

I play home games for social interaction, competition, and self-improvement.

Most of my close friends live far enough away that "just stopping by to say hi" doesn't happen. On top of that, a demanding job and three school-age kids make it difficult to do almost anything that isn't scheduled in advance. Home poker fits into this gap perfectly - games are on my calendar, often weeks in advance, and are always local. Sometimes I don't even have to leave the house!

By nature I'm an introvert. Contrary to what many believe, that doesn't mean I'm anti-social. I enjoy regular social interaction just like anybody else, and I start to crave it when I don't get enough. But it also means that I'm very comfortable being alone, and I sometimes need a kick in the butt to go out and do stuff with other people. Home poker is a perfect social outlet for me - it's like a regularly scheduled party. (Fortunately I'm already married, because most of these parties are sausagefests.)

I've never been much for sports, but I have a competitive streak when it comes to mental games. Low-stakes home poker is a healthy outlet for this. My home games are at stakes that aren't big enough to make a significant difference in my life, so I can play for fun and competition without worrying about the money.

Finally, I'm also very interested in self-improvement, and I believe that an active brain is critical to ongoing mental health and happiness. And no matter how good a poker player you are, there's always room to get better. And trust me, I have a lot of room for improvement.

Pretty much what everyone else has said. I started young playing cards and teaching myself card games at age 10 from the "Official Rules of Card Games" that my dad had. My dad played poker & my mom played bridge. I liked the idea of playing for money so I was hooked on poker & baccarat.

I'll just stick a little +1 on what Schmendr1ck posted. It pretty much hit the nail on the head for me.

Speaking of being competitive, I try to count PLO pots faster than jz. It ain't easy.

Because I'm masochistic?

I love them because its a chance to shoot the ** with your friends and relax at weeks end. Another excuse/reason to get out a chip set to stack, play with and at the end of the night which is my favorite part almost, re-racking them

Trying to fill in the blank with only two characters...

It is fun to do while drinking, and NL games are hard to find in casinos around here.

Fish and no rake

A night out with the guys.
Side splitting laughs.
Friendly competition

Without that, I'm not playing each week. When it wasn't fun, I wasn't happy. Despite the bonus perks.
Bonus perks:
time and place to smoke cigars
make a few bucks most nights

I play with friends because, for them, it is a cheap night of entertainment with friends, while for me, it is a chance to improve my "reading" ability on some baseline players. This allows me to play better in more "competitive" situations for higher stakes.

I play because, darts and golf aside, it is one of my few outlets to engage my competitive side. The camaraderie, lack of rake, and relatively inexpensive cost are all factors that make Home Poker more attractive than a casino. Well, that and I suck . . .

I'm pretty sure he meant to say "shoot the pp." He was clearly referring to the 1960 French crime drama Shoot the Piano Player. Apparently he and his friends have a strong affection for obscure French art films.

To defend my title. Obv.

LOL

Normally:



Although if I'm a few beers in or it is getting late then I feel like Ken Jeong is watching me:

Similar to mine, but tweaked a little:

1. It's really fun owning noobs - seriously, I'd probably get bored after a while of whaling dodgeballs at 2nd grade girls all day, but there's something insanely gratifying about beating a player in poker who doesn't realize you're much better than him or her.

2. Make money. Having extra spending money doing something you love that's literally a game is just an amazing perk.

3. No rake. I get depressed sometimes when I look at how much rake I've contributed online or think about how much of my money disappeared in the drop box at B&M casino, but at home games, every penny goes to the players.

4. Camaraderie. If I wasn't playing poker, I hope I'd be doing something sociable, but you can multitask and accomplish your social goals while playing poker. Win/win.

As pfapfap has pointed out in another thread, this is something I need to work on. I push for maximum edge as much as possible, every game I'm in. As a result, my "style" can often look like mega-LAG with a side of insanity. But it's gotta be obvious after I cash out half the purse 9 out of 10 consecutive games that I'm not just a maniac getting lucky.