Home Game "Fee"? (1 Viewer)

It’s like I told my buddy at the last game. He said to me, “bro, I don’t care if we were playing with plastic cheap chips.” to which I responded, “when you come and play here, you’re not just playing poker, you’re experiencing poker.” ;)
 
I don't charge my friends simply because they show up. If they want to bring food and drink, there will be food and drink. If they bring nothing, I'll extend hospitality to them in the form of whatever beverages/snacks I have on hand (which may or may not be enough).
 
I host the games for my group, and believe as a host I am responsible for my guests. With the exception of beer, everything else is provided by me (to include a stocked bar which I wish they would partake in more often to allow me to increase my winnings). Even got a hot dog roller thanks to this site.... I am into BBQ, so it isn't uncommon for me to cook a brisket or pork butt for the group. My family is blessed that we are able to defray the costs of the food and drinks, and my friends are appreciative of our efforts. Sometimes they bring snacks and leave them, but nothing is expected of them.
 
Has anyone on here had their game busted by the cops?
Does this count? One night a bunch of us played at my house after golfing, and the group included a bunch of guys we don’t normally play with. We were going strong at about 3:30 am when my doorbell rang. Dog goes crazy. Wife wakes up, kids wake up. I run upstairs to answer the door and am greeted by a friendly police officer. “Is Billy Chang in your house.” I reply, “Uh, yes, I’ll go get him.” I go downstairs to get Billy, who I don’t know very well. He goes and talks to the friendly officers. Apparently, his girlfriend reported him as missing because his phone had died earlier in the day. WTF???

So much for the game at that point. Poker was done. And my wife wants to know what criminals I’ve got in our house.

Needless to say, Billy was not invited back.
 
Has anyone on here had their game busted by the cops?

No, but I bust cops in my game on a regular basis! :p

My best friend is plain clothes narco and another regular is a Sargent with another department. Funny thing is my best friend’s younger brother is on that department and they all think he is some kind of poker god lol. I guess against a bunch of guys that only play once or twice a year he is the big shark, in my game he is just another fish.
 
no fees or rake at my cash games, I ask to bring the booze instead
For tournaments I add a rake between 10% and 15%, usually I round up the buy in, this is to cover the cost of the hall.
I made profit on drinks, (wine, beer, soft, coffee) available to players
 
Has anyone on here had their game busted by the cops?

Nope, but my old poker room have been burgled twice.
Second time the door was open and a card on the poker table, "Police department blah blah blah , please call us back on xxxx regarding our intervention" so I said to myself, i'm f*cked...
But it was to tell me that they where called because there was a robbery in the building, my door was opened and they invite me to report if something went missing to add to the case.
 
Nope, but my old poker room have been burgled twice.
Second time the door was open and a card on the poker table, "Police department blah blah blah , please call us back on xxxx regarding our intervention" so I said to myself, i'm f*cked...
But it was to tell me that they where called because there was a robbery in the building, my door was opened and they invite me to report if something went missing to add to the case.
Damn that's intense. It would be awful if some guy ratted out a game and all your shit gets confiscated.
 
Does this count? One night a bunch of us played at my house after golfing, and the group included a bunch of guys we don’t normally play with. We were going strong at about 3:30 am when my doorbell rang. Dog goes crazy. Wife wakes up, kids wake up. I run upstairs to answer the door and am greeted by a friendly police officer. “Is Billy Chang in your house.” I reply, “Uh, yes, I’ll go get him.” I go downstairs to get Billy, who I don’t know very well. He goes and talks to the friendly officers. Apparently, his girlfriend reported him as missing because his phone had died earlier in the day. WTF???

So much for the game at that point. Poker was done. And my wife wants to know what criminals I’ve got in our house.

Needless to say, Billy was not invited back.
Holy shit. Billy's phone dies and the cops get called. Trust issues.
 
Damn that's intense. It would be awful if some guy ratted out a game and all your shit gets confiscated.

Even better, A tournament was organized in the back room of a bar, the buy-in was going on and the players were hand over their stack at the "cashier" (yep, no one cared of the rule "Chips in Transit")
So there was this guy, that probably was too stressed, that decided to go out to smoke some weed. A police patrol passing smell something that definitely was not Virginia tobacco and decided to proceed to an identity procedure followed by "please, empty your pockets"... And the guy had the tournament chips on him.
So reinforcements called over, tables, chip, money confiscated and bar closed and owner fined..

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Well aware. As I'm sure many here are. I knew what I was asking when I did this. I have edited the OP a bit though if my asking this is taboo.

Not taboo, but I don't know what you know. I do know that there will be new people reading the thread, so I just wanted to make sure it was in the thread.
 
When I hosted 3 to 4 times per month, I had a bar that was stocked better than most restaurant bars. We even were brewing our own beer.

I had prices on all the booze to cover my cost. For example, a shot of Patron was $3, a double was $5. This allowed me to keep stocking a large amount of high quality booze, including good Bourbons and Scotch. It gave my players a chance to try expensive shit without having to buy a bottle. They loved it. It worked well. I even kept a tab open for the regulars. For stuck players, I would give out free drinks from time to time. Never made a dime off of it all. I would even pay into the bar fund for my own drinks. It all went into the bar.

When things were winding down and I knew that I wasn't going to be hosting much longer, it become "open bar" until the booze was gone.

All of this was totally illegal, of course...but I figure that the statute of limitations has run out. It's been 11 years.
 
*Scratches Georgia off the possible relocation area list*
Georgia

Lol! My wife and discuss different states to retire to (still have about 20 years) and one of my criteria is that wherever we go has a casino or some kind of poker network I can find beforehand.

Being snow birds, wintering in FL may be the best option.
 
I agree with DrStrange. When I host i provide all food, beverages of choice and gaming supplies. At the end many will throw a some money but, I am not expecting it and am glad to get together to play cards.
 
Lol! My wife and discuss different states to retire to (still have about 20 years) and one of my criteria is that wherever we go has a casino or some kind of poker network I can find beforehand.

Being snow birds, wintering in FL may be the best option.

Take a look at MS. Cheaper than FL. They have lots of casinos, And they don't charge state tax on retirement income!
 
I mainly play online and in casinos/card rooms, but when I do play home games, I much prefer to bring a nice bottle. I spend a great deal of thought into which bottle I’m bringing and why. I always try to bring bottles that are hard to find. $150 is my cap, although I get a lot of rare bottles close to or at MSRP rather than secondary prices so average is $100 id say.

There is a guy here who hosts who I’ve given some special bottles to in place of a cashout tip. Hakushu12, Blanton’s, EH Taylor single barrel, Yamazaki12, Little Book, HWAMWND, etc.
Come to think of it, I’d probably save money if I handed him A $50 bill every time rather than give him booze. But it’s more fun this way!
 
I mainly play online and in casinos/card rooms, but when I do play home games, I much prefer to bring a nice bottle. I spend a great deal of thought into which bottle I’m bringing and why. I always try to bring bottles that are hard to find. $150 is my cap, although I get a lot of rare bottles close to or at MSRP rather than secondary prices so average is $100 id say.

There is a guy here who hosts who I’ve given some special bottles to in place of a cashout tip. Hakushu12, Blanton’s, EH Taylor single barrel, Yamazaki12, Little Book, HWAMWND, etc.
Come to think of it, I’d probably save money if I handed him A $50 bill every time rather than give him booze. But it’s more fun this way!
If you are ever in the Seattle area, you have an open invitation to come to my home game. :tup:
 
Take a look at MS. Cheaper than FL. They have lots of casinos, And they don't charge state tax on retirement income!
No state income tax in Florida.

Also, the poker's pretty good in Tampa and South Florida. Orlando, not so much... :(
 
And back on track: I agree with @DrStrange's sentiment. I never charge when I host, and I typically provide alcohol, soft drinks and snacks. My players will often BYOB and share or round down their cash out and leave me the extra, and I always appreciate it even though it rarely covers my costs.

I don't mind because I enjoy hosting, I enjoy playing, and I enjoy spending time with the guys in my group.
 
I host a monthly game with 6 to 8 players. I serve beer and snacks. If people want to order pizza we all pay our own way, but I cover the drinks and snacks.

It's not breaking my bank to buy 2 bags of chips and a bag of pretzels and two 12 packs once a month.
 

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