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Thoughts on frequency... (3 Viewers)

Agree that consistency is key. I try for the 2nd Friday of every month but summer months get tricky with vacations and other activities. I'm also very much a quality over quantity type guy and am very...particular?....selective?...about who I invite into my home. I've only recently added 2 guys to the list which puts me at 29 dudes that get an invite. If the "core" 5-6 guys can't make it it's unlikely that it'll go down but I'd rather not have a game than fill my basement with a bunch of relative strangers from our local bar/home poker scene.

Sorry for rambling.
 
links_slayer said:
Agree that consistency is key. I try for the 2nd Friday of every month but summer months get tricky with vacations and other activities. I'm also very much a quality over quantity type guy and am very...particular?....selective?...about who I invite into my home. I've only recently added 2 guys to the list which puts me at 29 dudes that get an invite. If the "core" 5-6 guys can't make it it's unlikely that it'll go down but I'd rather not have a game than fill my basement with a bunch of relative strangers from our local bar/home poker scene.

Sorry for rambling.
Click to expand...
Thanks for the input...over the last few days, and after reading several posts on here, I've begun my "list", tiered with players according to their skill and their frequency to the games we've already had.
 
Pointaker101 said:
Great feedback.

Mind sharing some ideas of what you do to keep the "want" to attend up for the casual/social players?
Click to expand...

Couples: Invite the wife, and the husband is free. Invite just the husband, and the wife might find something better for them to do.

Social: We cook a main dish. It might be spaghetti or burgers, it might be prime rib. The rest has evolved into a pot luck. One member said (during her Hall of Fame enshrinement ceremony) "I was always taught when you are invited to someone's house for dinner, you don't show up empty handed". This told me that one of my key players thinks of this as a dinner - not a card game. She can lose $20-$40 and have a good dinner, and might even win some money.

Value: Yeah, I'd like higher stakes, but not everyone does. You have to find that sweet spot of cheap enough to lose, expensive enough to make winning worthwhile. Nobody can tell you what that amount is. I have wealthy players that think long and hard about rebuying for another $20, and I have fairly modest incomes that would happily buy into a $200 game if they had the chance. It's tough to tell where the breaking point is, because nobody wants to admit that $X is too much.

Keep the Fish Happy: The guy that cashes out each night with a profit - he's coming back. You needn't cater to him. The guy that always finishes in the red - listen to his gripes, and adjust your game to him if possible. He's the one most likely to quit. He's probably the most entertaining person at your games.

NLHE: It might not be the "most fun" game, but I'd bet each and every person on this site that dislikes holdem got most of their early experience playing Holdem, unless they learned back in the day when we were all playing 5 card draw. So introduce new players to the easiest, and most common poker game there is - No Limit Holdem. People "want" to play in the WSOP. People have seen NLHE on TV. NLHE is available on Facebook in multiple forms for free. Don't try teaching them Badugi when there is a nice, easy NLHE game that you can play.

Reputation: Poker has a terrible reputation. "If you can't spot the sucker in your first half hour at the table, then you are the sucker" is perhaps one of the most famous lines in poker, but it tells most of your casual players that they are suckers for coming to your game. Most of Hollywood thinks poker is cowboys and gunfights, so America thinks that as well. You have to try to dissuade this idea. I do it by inviting couples and serving dinner, but you can develop whatever methods you like. Hot Dog rollers seem to be the rage around here lately, and I gotta say, I never saw a cowboy get shot while eating a hotdog.
 
Poker Zombie said:
Couples: Invite the wife, and the husband is free. Invite just the husband, and the wife might find something better for them to do.

Social: We cook a main dish. It might be spaghetti or burgers, it might be prime rib. The rest has evolved into a pot luck. One member said (during her Hall of Fame enshrinement ceremony) "I was always taught when you are invited to someone's house for dinner, you don't show up empty handed". This told me that one of my key players thinks of this as a dinner - not a card game. She can lose $20-$40 and have a good dinner, and might even win some money.

Value: Yeah, I'd like higher stakes, but not everyone does. You have to find that sweet spot of cheap enough to lose, expensive enough to make winning worthwhile. Nobody can tell you what that amount is. I have wealthy players that think long and hard about rebuying for another $20, and I have fairly modest incomes that would happily buy into a $200 game if they had the chance. It's tough to tell where the breaking point is, because nobody wants to admit that $X is too much.

Keep the Fish Happy: The guy that cashes out each night with a profit - he's coming back. You needn't cater to him. The guy that always finishes in the red - listen to his gripes, and adjust your game to him if possible. He's the one most likely to quit. He's probably the most entertaining person at your games.

NLHE: It might not be the "most fun" game, but I'd bet each and every person on this site that dislikes holdem got most of their early experience playing Holdem, unless they learned back in the day when we were all playing 5 card draw. So introduce new players to the easiest, and most common poker game there is - No Limit Holdem. People "want" to play in the WSOP. People have seen NLHE on TV. NLHE is available on Facebook in multiple forms for free. Don't try teaching them Badugi when there is a nice, easy NLHE game that you can play.

Reputation: Poker has a terrible reputation. "If you can't spot the sucker in your first half hour at the table, then you are the sucker" is perhaps one of the most famous lines in poker, but it tells most of your casual players that they are suckers for coming to your game. Most of Hollywood thinks poker is cowboys and gunfights, so America thinks that as well. You have to try to dissuade this idea. I do it by inviting couples and serving dinner, but you can develop whatever methods you like. Hot Dog rollers seem to be the rage around here lately, and I gotta say, I never saw a cowboy get shot while eating a hotdog.
Click to expand...
Couples - Have thought hard on the couples night potential and think we will explore this. Do you have the ladies playing or simply getting together? Not saying I don't think our ladies should play, just don't think they would want to, but then again, perhaps I'm wrong and they would see it as entertainment value as opposed to gambling, as you mention in the "Social" section.

Social - I very much like this idea...fun night out on the town generally costs much more than a night on the tables with good friends...the drinks are MUCH cheaper by the bottle :sneaky:.

Value - I have a rather small sample (5 games), but in our group, I don't think value is the issue. We are all young professionals who don't mind the gamble (speaking of our core at least). But, I will keep this in mind.

NLHE - yeah, tough to introduce random games, or even 1 or 2 games mixed in when trying to build the momentum solely based on the fact that most of our players know hold'em with only one or two others being versed in other games enough to be willing to throw money at it to learn. I'm all for mixed games, just not at the beginning stages of this game type.

Rep - couldn't agree more...years ago, when I was playing several times a week, it wasn't with the cream-of-the-crop type of guy. This group, given a few years of aging since our hay-day, is more clean-cut version, thus, we are trying to establish this as a nicer game, thus, limiting our players from the start, which we are completely okay with.
 
I've found that SOHE was a decent way to introduce my group to different games since, well, there's a hold em component.
 
Poker Zombie said:
Couples: Invite the wife, and the husband is free. Invite just the husband, and the wife might find something better for them to do.

Social: We cook a main dish. It might be spaghetti or burgers, it might be prime rib. The rest has evolved into a pot luck. One member said (during her Hall of Fame enshrinement ceremony) "I was always taught when you are invited to someone's house for dinner, you don't show up empty handed". This told me that one of my key players thinks of this as a dinner - not a card game. She can lose $20-$40 and have a good dinner, and might even win some money.

Value: Yeah, I'd like higher stakes, but not everyone does. You have to find that sweet spot of cheap enough to lose, expensive enough to make winning worthwhile. Nobody can tell you what that amount is. I have wealthy players that think long and hard about rebuying for another $20, and I have fairly modest incomes that would happily buy into a $200 game if they had the chance. It's tough to tell where the breaking point is, because nobody wants to admit that $X is too much.

Keep the Fish Happy: The guy that cashes out each night with a profit - he's coming back. You needn't cater to him. The guy that always finishes in the red - listen to his gripes, and adjust your game to him if possible. He's the one most likely to quit. He's probably the most entertaining person at your games.

NLHE: It might not be the "most fun" game, but I'd bet each and every person on this site that dislikes holdem got most of their early experience playing Holdem, unless they learned back in the day when we were all playing 5 card draw. So introduce new players to the easiest, and most common poker game there is - No Limit Holdem. People "want" to play in the WSOP. People have seen NLHE on TV. NLHE is available on Facebook in multiple forms for free. Don't try teaching them Badugi when there is a nice, easy NLHE game that you can play.

Reputation: Poker has a terrible reputation. "If you can't spot the sucker in your first half hour at the table, then you are the sucker" is perhaps one of the most famous lines in poker, but it tells most of your casual players that they are suckers for coming to your game. Most of Hollywood thinks poker is cowboys and gunfights, so America thinks that as well. You have to try to dissuade this idea. I do it by inviting couples and serving dinner, but you can develop whatever methods you like. Hot Dog rollers seem to be the rage around here lately, and I gotta say, I never saw a cowboy get shot while eating a hotdog.
Click to expand...

Lots of great points here. A big thing some folks overlook is that, for most people, poker is a social event first and a gambling event second. This is especially true for players who regularly lose. Having food and drinks keeps people happy and keeps them coming back. Your ideal game is made up of a handful of serious, profitable players (who will always make the game because they love poker and winning money) and a bunch of people who are there for fun. Whatever their fun is—eating, drinking, sports, smokin' the reefer—cater to it. Get the recreational people there, and the serious players will follow.

Try to avoid the hoodie-and-sunglasses people, though, or anyone who gets too upset at losses or berates other players. Poker is lousy with folks like that, particularly in public cardrooms. They're bad for the game; they take the fun out of it. Sounds like you don't have that problem, but if you get a good group together and more serious players start making appearances, you might see it emerge.

As to frequency, there's no one number that is perfect for any game. Key thing for a regular game is to make it predictable. If weekly, same day and time every week. Weekdays are actually good for this because weekends tend to have demand from other social activities, while lots of people can make it a habit to head over to poker right after work every Wednesday or whatever. If monthly, someone above said make it the xth Saturday or whatever of the month. That's on point; people will remember the date and plan for it.

Finally, be that fun guy yourself. Nose around and get yourself into other games (home games, though, not public rooms or sketchy underground games). Make friends, and hand-pick the players you think will be good for your game. In particular, invite the host of every decent game you attend—partly as a host-to-host courtesy, partly because he's another butt in a seat, but also because hosts know their players and may have people in mind who would fit well in your game.
 
Pointaker101 said:
Do you have the ladies playing or simply getting together?
Click to expand...

Most of the ladies play.

The first time a couple attends, I seat them at the same table (we are currently 2-3 table events). This gives them at least some together time. Occasionally a wife will attend but not play, but it is rare for them to return very often. Get them roped into the fun, and they will want to come back. Sure, some people just don't like poker. I accept that too. Don't take it personal if a friend or a coworker does not want to come back - some people just don't have good taste. :p
 
I've hosted a weekly game for almost 15 years. It started as small tournaments played on the weekend but I found that it was hard to get regular players because 90% of the events on a persons calendar happen on the weekend. I shifted it to a weeknight (Thursday) and haven't gone back. It's close enough to the weekend that people will want to get out of the house but still never really have other plans.

In the early days it was tough to keep the game rolling but I tried to make sure I always played. Sometimes it was just a heads up game. We figured "if you play they will come" and now we very rarely see less than 6.

I made the change to a cash game so that the players knew that regardless of how they were running, they always knew they could stay all night. Sometimes players would bust out early and spent more time driving to and from the game than they did playing.

I took the approach that if the game regularly filled up I would increase the blinds along with the max buyin. Started at .05/.10 and currently play at .25/.50 Which I hope to see change soon to a .50/1 as it already plays like that.

I'm a lot more bare bones than most as I have never provided food, and never provided booze, but always ensured that I had a nice setup of table, chips, and cards.
 
Pi
Pointaker101 said:
Will check it out.
Click to expand...

Pineapple and it’s variants are the first step to introducing Hold’em players to new games. It’s a 3 card game instead of 2 and since you discard down to 2 cards it plays exactly like Hold’em after that point.

But the winning hands will still be a little bigger than in Hold’em with the addition card.
 
Jimulacrum said:
Lots of great points here. A big thing some folks overlook is that, for most people, poker is a social event first and a gambling event second. This is especially true for players who regularly lose. Having food and drinks keeps people happy and keeps them coming back. Your ideal game is made up of a handful of serious, profitable players (who will always make the game because they love poker and winning money) and a bunch of people who are there for fun. Whatever their fun is—eating, drinking, sports, smokin' the reefer—cater to it. Get the recreational people there, and the serious players will follow.

Try to avoid the hoodie-and-sunglasses people, though, or anyone who gets too upset at losses or berates other players. Poker is lousy with folks like that, particularly in public cardrooms. They're bad for the game; they take the fun out of it. Sounds like you don't have that problem, but if you get a good group together and more serious players start making appearances, you might see it emerge.

As to frequency, there's no one number that is perfect for any game. Key thing for a regular game is to make it predictable. If weekly, same day and time every week. Weekdays are actually good for this because weekends tend to have demand from other social activities, while lots of people can make it a habit to head over to poker right after work every Wednesday or whatever. If monthly, someone above said make it the xth Saturday or whatever of the month. That's on point; people will remember the date and plan for it.

Finally, be that fun guy yourself. Nose around and get yourself into other games (home games, though, not public rooms or sketchy underground games). Make friends, and hand-pick the players you think will be good for your game. In particular, invite the host of every decent game you attend—partly as a host-to-host courtesy, partly because he's another butt in a seat, but also because hosts know their players and may have people in mind who would fit well in your game.
Click to expand...
Thanks for the input...the “hoodie-wearer” actually came up in a conversation the core group had...didn’t want the guy who took himself too seriously at the table. We aren’t pros, nor do we pretend to be, albeit, I don’t think pros wear hoodies.
 
Poker Zombie said:
Most of the ladies play.

The first time a couple attends, I seat them at the same table (we are currently 2-3 table events). This gives them at least some together time. Occasionally a wife will attend but not play, but it is rare for them to return very often. Get them roped into the fun, and they will want to come back. Sure, some people just don't like poker. I accept that too. Don't take it personal if a friend or a coworker does not want to come back - some people just don't have good taste. :p
Click to expand...
Interesting. Ever done a couple only tourney? Hadn’t thought about it until reading your quote, but actually intrigued by it now.

Perhaps even handicapping it via buy-in...not to come off as sexist, but I think the ladies of our group would appreciate being asked to gamble, but most would likely need printed hand rankings, so to perhaps even the playing field a little, maybe we give them money odds starting off in the tourney. Something like 2:1 odds, or half the price of the regular players. Thoughts?
 
BeesKnees said:
I've hosted a weekly game for almost 15 years. It started as small tournaments played on the weekend but I found that it was hard to get regular players because 90% of the events on a persons calendar happen on the weekend. I shifted it to a weeknight (Thursday) and haven't gone back. It's close enough to the weekend that people will want to get out of the house but still never really have other plans.

In the early days it was tough to keep the game rolling but I tried to make sure I always played. Sometimes it was just a heads up game. We figured "if you play they will come" and now we very rarely see less than 6.

I made the change to a cash game so that the players knew that regardless of how they were running, they always knew they could stay all night. Sometimes players would bust out early and spent more time driving to and from the game than they did playing.

I took the approach that if the game regularly filled up I would increase the blinds along with the max buyin. Started at .05/.10 and currently play at .25/.50 Which I hope to see change soon to a .50/1 as it already plays like that.

I'm a lot more bare bones than most as I have never provided food, and never provided booze, but always ensured that I had a nice setup of table, chips, and cards.
Click to expand...
Thanks for the input. I like the Thursday night game idea, just afraid with a lot of us having school aged kids a problem could arise with “Dad” being gone once a weeknight. I do see your point on weekends. A lot of time, we have “family” time on the weekend, so perhaps I’m wrong and the wives would actually appreciate a weeknight game (y) :thumbsup:
 
Rhodeman77 said:
Pi


Pineapple and it’s variants are the first step to introducing Hold’em players to new games. It’s a 3 card game instead of 2 and since you discard down to 2 cards it plays exactly like Hold’em after that point.

But the winning hands will still be a little bigger than in Hold’em with the addition card.
Click to expand...
I read up on it due to this thread. Will be trying out at next game!
 
Pointaker101 said:
Interesting. Ever done a couple only tourney? Hadn’t thought about it until reading your quote, but actually intrigued by it now.

Perhaps even handicapping it via buy-in...not to come off as sexist, but I think the ladies of our group would appreciate being asked to gamble, but most would likely need printed hand rankings, so to perhaps even the playing field a little, maybe we give them money odds starting off in the tourney. Something like 2:1 odds, or half the price of the regular players. Thoughts?
Click to expand...

I do provide a "cheat sheet" with hand rankings and blind structure to any that want it. Very helpful for new players, but we try to ween them. Anyone checking the hand rankings has just hit their straight/flush/full house and wants to see how strong it is.

We do a "Ladies night" once a year. This gets some of the most timid players to return at least occasionally. Beyond that, a couples-only event would serve only to exclude a handful of regulars. Of our 16 core players, 10 attend with their spouses, and 1 attended with her spouse until her divorce last January. She now attends alone.

I had considered a "teams" event, but scrubbed the idea because... it's just not that great of an idea.
 
Poker Zombie said:
I do provide a "cheat sheet" with hand rankings and blind structure to any that want it. Very helpful for new players, but we try to ween them. Anyone checking the hand rankings has just hit their straight/flush/full house and wants to see how strong it is.

We do a "Ladies night" once a year. This gets some of the most timid players to return at least occasionally. Beyond that, a couples-only event would serve only to exclude a handful of regulars. Of our 16 core players, 10 attend with their spouses, and 1 attended with her spouse until her divorce last January. She now attends alone.

I had considered a "teams" event, but scrubbed the idea because... it's just not that great of an idea.
Click to expand...
Understood...although, you have considerably more “regulars” than we do. May be worth a shot so that the wives/girlfriends can come see that we aren’t running some sort of underground gambling ring that they’ve heard about given the aforementioned social stigma of poker. Then again, this also gets solved by your point of simply inviting the women to the game, for a more social aspect.
 
There is no correct answer to your question. Players appetite for poker differ from area to area. You have to decide the type of game you would like to run and how often, and then make adjustments that will fit the people who support your game.

Atmosphere is an important driver to the success of anyone's game. Recognizing blind spots also helps.

For example: Most players are reluctant to leave early, so set a time for the game's end, and stick to it. Nothing good comes from a player arriving home to his wife at 2 a.m. or having to go to work on 4 or 5 hours of sleep.

Establish a set of written rules players are expected to abide by, such as one player to a hand, no string betting, etc.
 
Mojo1312 said:
There is no correct answer to your question. Players appetite for poker differ from area to area. You have to decide the type of game you would like to run and how often, and then make adjustments that will fit the people who support your game.

Atmosphere is an important driver to the success of anyone's game. Recognizing blind spots also helps.

For example: Most players are reluctant to leave early, so set a time for the game's end, and stick to it. Nothing good comes from a player arriving home to his wife at 2 a.m. or having to go to work on 4 or 5 hours of sleep.

Establish a set of written rules players are expected to abide by, such as one player to a hand, no string betting, etc.
Click to expand...
Thanks for your input. We have written rules, I agree it’s a must.

As for an end time, I think for our group, the opposite would be true. Perhaps we are lucky, but going from 7:00 pm to 3:00 am is our wheelhouse, of course pending pace of the specific game.
 
Most of the gals in our league are tough competitors, and many can hold their own in any amateur event.

We have four or five couples that play regularly plus some singles, and four of the top ten players (lifetime points) are women (and eight of the top 20).

No need for a ladies night here. They prefer to bust balls.
 
BGinGA said:
Most of the gals in our league are tough competitors, and many can hold their own in any amateur event.

We have four or five couples that play regularly plus some singles, and four of the top ten players (lifetime points) are women (and eight of the top 20).

No need for a ladies night here. They prefer to bust balls.
Click to expand...
HA, awesome!

After all the comments, I think getting the women involved (at any level) might enhance our chances of game regularity.
 
Pointaker101 said:
HA, awesome!

After all the comments, I think getting the women involved (at any level) might enhance our chances of game regularity.
Click to expand...

Definitely this. Take heed with BGinGA's advice though. Gender isn't a detriment - and many women play better than their spouses. In any Poker Fantasy team the smart money picks @Mrs Poker Zombie over me any day. The couples that drive the furthest have also shown the greatest improvement over the years.

A 1 hour post-game discussion eventually plugs the leaks in a wise couple's game.
 
Poker Zombie said:
Definitely this. Take heed with BGinGA's advice though. Gender isn't a detriment - and many women play better than their spouses. In any Poker Fantasy team the smart money picks @Mrs Poker Zombie over me any day. The couples that drive the furthest have also shown the greatest improvement over the years.

A 1 hour post-game discussion eventually plugs the leaks in a wise couple's game.
Click to expand...
Thanks for the input!
 
I am also working on building my local game and so far I have settled on trying to play twice a month. Of course that is flexible sometimes playing more and sometimes less.

One thing that has worked well is building a dedicated facebook group. I really don't like facebook and only joined it for the sole purpose of building a poker group. So far the group has 11 guys and expect it to slowly grow over time.

Also focus on the quality of the events you host. Without making it too pricey try to have a nice setup...quality cards, nice chips...maybe some drinks etc. try to make it a special event people want to take part in.

On big UFC events I get the PPV and we all share the cost. These nights get insane as we are betting on fights as well as playing poker. It makes for a really fun experience that no one wants to miss.

Just my 2c.
 
Lemonzest said:
I am also working on building my local game and so far I have settled on trying to play twice a month. Of course that is flexible sometimes playing more and sometimes less.

One thing that has worked well is building a dedicated facebook group. I really don't like facebook and only joined it for the sole purpose of building a poker group. So far the group has 11 guys and expect it to slowly grow over time.

Also focus on the quality of the events you host. Without making it too pricey try to have a nice setup...quality cards, nice chips...maybe some drinks etc. try to make it a special event people want to take part in.

On big UFC events I get the PPV and we all share the cost. These nights get insane as we are betting on fights as well as playing poker. It makes for a really fun experience that no one wants to miss.

Just my 2c.
Click to expand...
Your 2c is greatly appreciated!
 
Lemonzest said:
I am also working on building my local game and so far I have settled on trying to play twice a month. Of course that is flexible sometimes playing more and sometimes less.

One thing that has worked well is building a dedicated facebook group. I really don't like facebook and only joined it for the sole purpose of building a poker group. So far the group has 11 guys and expect it to slowly grow over time.

Also focus on the quality of the events you host. Without making it too pricey try to have a nice setup...quality cards, nice chips...maybe some drinks etc. try to make it a special event people want to take part in.

On big UFC events I get the PPV and we all share the cost. These nights get insane as we are betting on fights as well as playing poker. It makes for a really fun experience that no one wants to miss.

Just my 2c.
Click to expand...

Do you schedule the games around fights? I know for big games the guys usually like to have significant others attend, as well.
 

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