They saying “I didn’t know what all I didn’t know” applies here. This will probably be lengthy and slightly rambling so I apologize in advance.
A little history. We had a fairly often occurring card game back in the late 90’s early 2000’s with my father in law and a group of close friends. We usually rotated dealer and played 5 draw or 7 stud with a .05 ante for stud and .25 ante for draw games. Raises were capped at .50 or $1 depending on who was playing that night and crazy wild card games would get thrown in as the night progressed and the alcohol flowed. There was very little structure and terms like spread limit weren’t known even though that’s loosely what we were playing. It was absolutely some of the best nights of my life. Sadly, everyone moved away or passed on and the game died.
Fast forward to today and I’m at a time in my life I want to get these games back together but this go round I’ll be the old timer and almost everyone else will be inexperienced or absolute beginners. These will include my children, son-in-law, brother and sister-in-law, and eventually other friends we find to bring in. I want to keep things fun and stakes low so they can learn and I can remember. As everyone gets more comfortable, stakes might be raised but these will never be big games with $100 or more multiple buyins. The “beginners” in this group are young and starting out in life and the thought of gambling and losing $30 or $50 frightens them. To them, a $20 buyin is a fairly mid stakes game right now.
So to do this right I’m trying to learn structure so they can be taught correctly from the start. I would like for them to be able to leave my table and play at another’s and know enough rules, structure, and etiquette they aren’t lost.
So, with that in mind…here are my thoughts on how to set this up so it’s fun and educational for all.
-We will be using an octagon table with 6-8 players max with a rotating deal.
-I plan on introducing them to spread limit first..I think I fully understand it myself but there are so many small changes from the random rules we had back in the day.
-The chips I bought are .05, .25, $1, and $5 denominations so that should lend itself well to continue with the .05 or .25 ante structure I grew up with and perform with a .05/.10 blind structure when we play holdem games.
Here is a very rough sketch of house rules I made up to pass out to all the players. I read and used parts from multiple ones I found on here so if some of the rules or wording looks familiar, just know plagiarism is the sincerest form of flattery! I also tried to add enough information that the absolute beginners would have some idea of what to expect without completely writing a how to play poker tutorial. Please look them over and let me know your thoughts. Let me know if something is structured wrong or if I’m headed in the right direction. What changes would you make for this to be a fun and educational experience for everyone?
A little history. We had a fairly often occurring card game back in the late 90’s early 2000’s with my father in law and a group of close friends. We usually rotated dealer and played 5 draw or 7 stud with a .05 ante for stud and .25 ante for draw games. Raises were capped at .50 or $1 depending on who was playing that night and crazy wild card games would get thrown in as the night progressed and the alcohol flowed. There was very little structure and terms like spread limit weren’t known even though that’s loosely what we were playing. It was absolutely some of the best nights of my life. Sadly, everyone moved away or passed on and the game died.
Fast forward to today and I’m at a time in my life I want to get these games back together but this go round I’ll be the old timer and almost everyone else will be inexperienced or absolute beginners. These will include my children, son-in-law, brother and sister-in-law, and eventually other friends we find to bring in. I want to keep things fun and stakes low so they can learn and I can remember. As everyone gets more comfortable, stakes might be raised but these will never be big games with $100 or more multiple buyins. The “beginners” in this group are young and starting out in life and the thought of gambling and losing $30 or $50 frightens them. To them, a $20 buyin is a fairly mid stakes game right now.
So to do this right I’m trying to learn structure so they can be taught correctly from the start. I would like for them to be able to leave my table and play at another’s and know enough rules, structure, and etiquette they aren’t lost.
So, with that in mind…here are my thoughts on how to set this up so it’s fun and educational for all.
-We will be using an octagon table with 6-8 players max with a rotating deal.
-I plan on introducing them to spread limit first..I think I fully understand it myself but there are so many small changes from the random rules we had back in the day.
-The chips I bought are .05, .25, $1, and $5 denominations so that should lend itself well to continue with the .05 or .25 ante structure I grew up with and perform with a .05/.10 blind structure when we play holdem games.
Here is a very rough sketch of house rules I made up to pass out to all the players. I read and used parts from multiple ones I found on here so if some of the rules or wording looks familiar, just know plagiarism is the sincerest form of flattery! I also tried to add enough information that the absolute beginners would have some idea of what to expect without completely writing a how to play poker tutorial. Please look them over and let me know your thoughts. Let me know if something is structured wrong or if I’m headed in the right direction. What changes would you make for this to be a fun and educational experience for everyone?