Hello all!! I’ve been running my own freeroll tournament for a few months. My player list is really building & I wanted to start hosting my own cash game. The problem is I don’t know where to become as far as making it profitable for not only the players but myself. Any advice on rakes & a good place to start as far as buy ins for players
The best way to make it profitable for yourself is to be a better player than all of the other players. The best way to make it profitable for others is to be a worse player than them. But you need to decide whether the goal is to have fun or to make money. If the former, then most people won't really care if they win or lose, as long as they are having fun doing it.
-1 for the rake idea. In most jurisdictions it can potentially open the door to a world that you probably don't want to visit (think police raids, legal bills, possible seizure of assets or even jail time). Low probability of anything actually happening but high consequences if it does.
As far as buy-ins, why not ask a few people on your growing player list what stakes they might want to play in a cash game. It sounds like everyone is playing for free at the moment, so don't be surprised if a lot of the current players won't want to put up any real money. But you will probably find several players who will jump at the chance to play "for real". Some of those might think that $20 is a lot to risk (.05/.10 or .25/.25 is a good place to start for them) while others may be fine with bringing a couple of hundred for an evening's entertainment (.25/.50, .50/$1 or even $1/$2).
As mentioned above, there are a few threads here with advice on hosting for the first time. Start by building a good breakdown cash set of chips for the stakes you decide on. Good cards (plastic) will be nice, as will a good table and chairs. Clearly understood rules (written down) are not important until they are, so make sure if you have any house rules that everybody knows them.
A nice ambience (beer cooler or bar, snacks or food, music or a TV in the corner, parking, etc.) will help a lot. Remember that you are trying to make an environment that people want to come back to again and again.
You might start by connecting with a few other PCF members in the Dallas area (I believe that there are several) and attend a few of their games to get a feel for how a well run home game operates. You may even make a few new friends and get a few more names on your player invite list.
Best of luck!