Starting a Home League but a Dilemma (1 Viewer)

nbrun

High Hand
Joined
Jul 5, 2022
Messages
52
Reaction score
69
Location
Manitoba, Canada
Hey PCF!

I’m really wanting to start a home game / league with my guys. For background; we play every 1-2 months a $60 tournament and get between 8-10 guys consistently. Everybody has a great time and we love it.

I’m looking to start a regular game (first Tuesday/every second Tuesday…etc) with possibly a league system built it. Here is my dilemma that I’m sure many people have had and I’m looking for advice.

Right now, we have a home built hex table that works great. Our chipset is horrible and can hardly play an effective structure. I love hosting the games, providing all the needs (snacks, house, drinks, tv setup.. etc) but in order to run a regular game, we need to do some upgrades.

I’m hoping to buy a used kidney table, 1000pc selected denom chipset, new chairs, TD Software. But all of this is looking to cost upwards for $1500-$2000. With the upfront cost I cannot afford.

I was hoping that since were all regulars, everybody could chip into the “league fund” each $150-$200 to buy everything we need. I’ve pitched the idea and everybody seems down and is excited. Now that’s the dilemma.

If I ask everybody to chip equally, become all “partners” in the league, what happens when we need to decide expenses? What do we buy first? Do we need new chairs or another TV? Do we want a hot dog roller or do we want side tables? I couldn’t imagine continuously polling the league each time to get a majority. It seems like running the league as a democracy or majority rules will be a nightmare and I can foresee issues.

What do I do. I feel the league/regular games won’t happen if we don’t buy a new chipset and table, but I can’t afford to pickup the cost on my own. I feel getting everybody to chip will bring issues in the future and don’t want to potentially have friends breakup after being emotional with money involved. Anybody had experience with group buys and running the league as a group?

Thoughts?

* I am really new to PCF and have learnt a ton from you guys!! Just want to say thanks in advance!! Cheers!! *
 

Attachments

  • FF789046-6E55-4ABB-82B5-45936F6E3A4F.jpeg
    FF789046-6E55-4ABB-82B5-45936F6E3A4F.jpeg
    142.2 KB · Views: 105
  • C0A5484B-6AF2-4C44-94C6-CDFD947A0FFF.jpeg
    C0A5484B-6AF2-4C44-94C6-CDFD947A0FFF.jpeg
    140.1 KB · Views: 110
Table looks nice enough. Is the problem that you need to seat more than 8? Comfy chairs? Sure, but are people complaining about the current ones? TD? It’s nice but there are a lot of free alternatives.

A chipset that you can run an efficient game with seems like #1 priority. I wouldn’t want to own it collectively though. You can get a nice cards mold set for not that much money
 
Thanks dude, no it’s not an issue with seating, but when the idea of new stuff wash splashed around, people were into it and wanted to collectively chip in.

Me, as probably the one who would head this league, am just cautious of taking peoples money and giving everyone an equal say on future additions.

Just to add:

When u say “ I’m cautious of taking peoples money for a chip in and giving them equal say”

It’s not because I want things the way I want and that’s that! Absolutely not. It’s for the players and for the boys. I would do anything the guys want because without them, we don’t have a game. I just don’t want a 60/40 vote and guys getting upset with each other.
 
I meant more in terms of ownership of the actual stuff. I don’t want to share. But also, as host you should have final say of what goes and what doesn’t. You can hammer out rules of play and league and all together, but there should be like a tournament director who interprets and decides.
 
There are plenty of ways to save money on this. Ceramics can get you a very good chip set to get things going. The TV in my poker room came from a pawn shop but everybody loves it the same. One of the casinos near me replaced all their chairs during the pandemic and the contractor they used to do it put all the old chairs on Craigslist. Some time spent with cleaning products and my players want to borrow them for their family functions. I really doubt you need $1500 to get your poker room up to the standards you are looking for, and disputes over money have a way of ending friendships. Do this yourself man. It might take longer, but it will save on problems and headaches.
 
There are plenty of ways to save money on this. Ceramics can get you a very good chip set to get things going. The TV in my poker room came from a pawn shop but everybody loves it the same. One of the casinos near me replaced all their chairs during the pandemic and the contractor they used to do it put all the old chairs on Craigslist. Some time spent with cleaning products and my players want to borrow them for their family functions. I really doubt you need $1500 to get your poker room up to the standards you are looking for, and disputes over money have a way of ending friendships. Do this yourself man. It might take longer, but it will save on problems and headaches.
This is the way I’m leaning. Thanks for the message! Checking in with local casinos for things is a great idea. I’ll ask next time I’m around!
 
I agree with the other guys. You're hosting. If the game were for some reason to break up, you're not going to split up a chipset or a table 8 ways. Everyone is not going to take one chair home. So ultimately it needs to be your stuff.

Decide EXACTLY what you want to purchase to upgrade your league. Write it down in priority order. But this has got to be YOUR list. Then present it to the guys, and see if they want to help out. Come up with a plan that is fair and equitable, but I would say the boys should not be paying for even half the cost of stuff that you are going to keep. Maybe present as this is our poker club and we're going to have a membership fee. Something reasonable like $10-20 a month, with 100% of that fee earmarked for a specific purchase. Once that item has purchased (or paid off if bought in advance, then you move on to the next item on the list.

You definitely need an effective chipset first and foremost, and as pointed out there are plenty of nice ones that are economical, depending on what your tastes are. Let's say you budget $500 for chips. And you don't need anywhere close to 1000 chips for a single table tournament. 400-500 is more than enough. Check out some of the many threads here on effective chip stacks and distributions. The 8 of you kick in $10 each month when you meet up. After 3 months, you have $240. Assuming you bought the chips up front (because you needed them to play the game) you then take that $240 and the following month you start collecting the $10 each for the next item on the list. $30 each is more than reasonable for each guy to contribute to the chips that they may be using for years, and you're still paying more than half for chips that you will keep.

If your table works as is, then why get a new one? And by the way, it's an octagon. (8 sides) Not a hexagon. (6 sides) But if everyone wants a new table, then get together and build one. There are lots of great plans here on PCF and many guys who have laid out the exact procedures and are willing to advise if you don't already know exactly how to build what you want. And I apologize that I don't know what a kidney table is, but most here will tell you that for 8 players, the best table is either a 60ish inch round or a pub table, which is a smaller oval. I believe they are about 72 x 42 inches. Sorry, us Americans still mostly use inches, so you can convert if you want that in centimeters.

The only other way I can think to do it if you want everyone to pay for one eighth of everything is to form an even more formal club. Then everyone has an equal say, you gotta vote on everything and someone will always be disappointed if they don't get what they wanted. Then everything is owned by the club, so if it breaks up, you've got to sell everything and split up the money. If someone leaves, you've got to buy them out, or bring in a new member to reimburse them for some (but not 100%) of what they paid in. Seems like a HUGE hassle to me.
 
Prioritize needs.

It sounds like chips are the first stop, and then just replace the felt.
you don't need 1000 chips for a STT, start with the New Member Start Here thread and figure out the break down you want / need for 10 players. Its likely closer to 400 chips than 1000, there is even a STT break down from our Forum site Tourney Director, and you can do semi-custom Dia De los muertos for .80 cents a chip, that's $320 for the break down.

I would suggest picking up a BR PRO Ceramic set, stock design, something you can easily buy more in the future if your tourney grows. You want votes, find the two you like the most and let the guys vote on it.

One ideal is you can gently explain that if they wanted to tip for you hosting, that you plan to match all tips, and it all goes to better equipment. Run $10 raffles, split the raffle money with the winner and the poker fund, or do a 1 hand showdown flip for 10 bucks and split the pot with the poker fund. I would stay away from group ownership.

TD software, meh, you likely have a 400-1300 USD smartphone that has a timer on it, that coupled with a blind structure print out (or two is going to be better time spent for a STT) besides others will want to see it.

TV is okay, you're there to socialize and play a game, sure sports is okay on the tube, but music is more important imo, you don't want people watching the game, focus on poker. Play music in the background, shouldn't be loud but should be able to hear it.

Hot dog roller, maybe after you get that felt fixed, don't do red.

I would suggest a custom felt by Chanman, before you do that come up with a Theme or a name and color pallet that you like, it will give it an over all custom and nice feel.

If you are patient and time to wait you can find amazing deals on STT sets, I was lucky enough to get This Set.


And Welcome!
 
Last edited:
I don’t think it works any way other than you buy the stuff yourself. It’s tough enough getting players to show up regularly - charging them extra money might be a good way of discouraging them. People always talk a good game, like “sure, a weekly league sounds great, sure, we’d like to chip in” but when push comes to shove, does that actually happen?
And what happens when nee players come into the game - do they have to pay up too? Do you want to limit your games to every-week members? Because as a guy who tries to keep a regular game going, I have to tell you, I’m greatful for that guy who isn’t a regular, but who still joins us once in a while. But if I told him there was a membership fee or a door charge or a rake, he might never come back (not to mention there are legal issues.)

My opinion is that if you want to ask for donations and pass the hat so to speak, fine. But creating a formal payment structure creates a whole host of problems.
 
I know you are in a dilemma of wanting to startup something but didn’t have enough capital to do so and want to do crowd funding with you friends

Speaking from experience, it generally not a good idea to do. There will be too much potential issues you will need to face in the futures

Either go for a lesser upgrade in the short term or save up more money before going big.
 
Thanks everyone for their input!

I've decided that yeah, I'm not going to pool the league with everyone. I'm just going to wait an extra month or two and pool some disposable cash together to buy a starting chipset and a few other things. A new table can come after the league is developed and consistent!

Not interested in managing a league + 8 grown men.
 
Co-ops still have a board of directors. They are democratic without being a direct democracy. Do you see what I'm saying? :)
 

Create an account or login to comment

You must be a member in order to leave a comment

Create account

Create an account and join our community. It's easy!

Log in

Already have an account? Log in here.

Back
Top Bottom