Greetings from an absolute beginner (1 Viewer)

[Deablo503]

Hey everyone, just beginning my new journey with poker. A few weeks back, I was on a work trip in Reno and some coworkers wanted to hit the poker room at the Peppermill and I said let’s do it. Only ever playing on my phone, I didn’t know what I was in for. All I can I say is, Oh my god. Instantly fell in love and was since determined to make this apart of my life.

Last Saturday I was able to have hosted my first tournament with 5 other friends who have never played before. I’d say it was a success however, lots to learn but everyone had a blast and the bug has spread.

Between Reddit and YouTube videos I’ve seen the nonstop build up of PCF and needed to see for myself. So far I’m confused, and (in a good way) overwhelmed but navigating day by day.

Looking for advice and suggestions on all the gear to be a successful host and learning all I can along the way.

The community seems amazing and I am excited to learn and hopefully share experiences in due time. I just got my first sample pack from BRPOKER (king of the river and a size pack) and am currently trying to snipe a used table from a local marketplace. Chairs quickly became a second thought but one thing at a time.

 

[Sway]

Welcome to PCF !!

 

[Colquhoun]

Welcome!
If you’re looking for a table, the Barrington is on a great sale at Walmart for $179, delivered by FedEx to your door, most places the very next day.
Barrington 10 Player Folding Poker Table with Steel Cup Holders & Padded Rails

Or the LED version, with lights, a bit thicker deck and heavier hardware for $20 more:
Barrington 10 Player Folding Poker Table with LED Lights

I’ve ordered the Barrington through Walmart, and having it brought right to your door is a huge convenience.

Edit: maybe someone will be kind enough to post the proper links. I have the Walmart app and it will NOT give me generic URL links.

 

[Ben8257]

Welcome! While others here will give you the “get samples” stuff… I will stress that a decent poker table, good comfortable chairs, good lighting and positive fun environment are those most important things!

98% of normal players couldn’t give two craps about chips… except almost ALL appreciate denominations on the chips. The fact of the matter is $.25 casino royales or Monte Carlo’s from Apache will absolutely get the job done!

Here is a set worth ahh $12k ish

They are wonderful, bright and inviting… Paulson THCs, truly amazing set… but the truth is that this running T1 based tournies which I did for a decade with this crap set I got off eBay for like $150, man everyone went wild when I got these! They had “denominations” on them.

I found myself being invited to more games and asked to bring the “good chips”

Here is another one… haven’t really done the math because I don’t want to know… but about $30k

Again the “chipping bug” is real! I mean that’s a beautiful set… but you have to have the matching cash set

And again you can easily cover all of this with $.25 each for chips, most people probably won’t even know the difference. We do it for ourselves… honestly most of the time I don’t tell people how much the chips cost we are paying with so they don’t wind up as “in pocket souvenirs” (the oranges above are $35 each and I use them In $30 buy in tournaments. Again it’s a sickness and honestly quality chips should be the last thing on your mind when building a poker space. Plenty of time to get chips, build a great space first!

Fellow Chipper Ben

 

[Rich]

Welcome, where from in Oregon?

 

[FatStack]

Welcome to the addiction! Enjoy the journey!

 

[Deablo503]

Welcome, where from in Oregon?

Salem area

Welcome! While others here will give you the “get samples” stuff… I will stress that a decent poker table, good comfortable chairs, good lighting and positive fun environment are those most important things!

98% of normal players couldn’t give two craps about chips… except almost ALL appreciate denominations on the chips. The fact of the matter is $.25 casino royales or Monte Carlo’s from Apache will absolutely get the job done!

Here is a set worth ahh $12k ish
View attachment 1593630
They are wonderful, bright and inviting… Paulson THCs, truly amazing set… but the truth is that this running T1 based tournies which I did for a decade with this crap set I got off eBay for like $150, man everyone went wild when I got these! They had “denominations” on them.
View attachment 1593631
I found myself being invited to more games and asked to bring the “good chips”

Here is another one… haven’t really done the math because I don’t want to know… but about $30k
View attachment 1593633
Again the “chipping bug” is real! I mean that’s a beautiful set… but you have to have the matching cash set
View attachment 1593634
And again you can easily cover all of this with $.25 each for chips, most people probably won’t even know the difference. We do it for ourselves… honestly most of the time I don’t tell people how much the chips cost we are paying with so they don’t wind up as “in pocket souvenirs” (the oranges above are $35 each and I use them In $30 buy in tournaments. Again it’s a sickness and honestly quality chips should be the last thing on your mind when building a poker space. Plenty of time to get chips, build a great space first!

Fellow Chipper Ben

Beautiful stacks, appreciate the advice!

 

[Jers28]

Welcome to PCF!

 

[Fran]

Welcome to the community !

 

[soccerdadof3]

Welcome to PCF!!

 

[Machine]

Welcome!​

Thanks for sharing your adventure!

Chairs are typically rated as the highest impact on games.

As brother Ben points out, making sure to prioritize having the fun is of the actual highest importance of the game.

 

[TheChipVault]

Welcome!

 

[Tonysquander]

Welcome to PCF!

 

[valleychips]

Kiss your life as you know it goodbye... I started playing under two years ago. I speak from experience. One piece of advice if you're playing competitively/to win: tournaments, especially after the first few rounds, and deep stacked cash games are very different. A different mindset and play style.

After that dark prophecy... I really love poker soooo maybe it's worth it? Good luck on your journey!

 

[Boother36]

Get a decent setup or 2 of good plastic cards. There is nothing worse than playing with an old, worn out, swelled up deck of cheap paper cards. @justincarothers has some AWESOME cards at affordable prices HERE. You won't regret it!!! He also has other sizes and colors available.....use the search button at the top of the page to search on his name.

 

[Isorg]

Welcome! chairs, Facebook marketplace. that's my next thing to get too.

 

[club_pkr]

Welcome to the group!

 

[Goosefraba]

Welcome!

 

[SixSeven]

Welcome to PCF!

I echo what @Machine says about chairs. In this order - chairs, cards, table, nice chips. Most don't care about the chips other than the denominations, but sitting in a nice seat they will notice right away. Less so, they will notice nice chips but not realize they cost $35 like @Ben8257 says. Start with samples like you are doing, and check out @justincarothers options for a group buy as well.

You are in the right place to learn everything about hosting. In two years on here my knowledge has increased vastly. It's a big rabbit hole, but fun to poker around each hole and turn underground.

And yes, a fun environment is most important, creating a vibe that everyone has fun.

Good luck!

 

[Baldeagle9]

Welcome, tons of great info here, enjoy!

 

[bigblind]

Welcome

 

[FedorOfSpades]

Hello and welcome!

 

[KHarp1]

Welcome!

 

[GodStillBlesses]

Hello and Welcome!

 

[Felt_Lizard]

Hello from Portland!

 

[EVGoblin]

Hello from Seattle! If you happened to be space constraint, I went with cards, playing mat, then chips as my upgrade order. People here are so right in that most players only care about the denomination on chips and not much about weight, design, or texture though xD

 

[thePokerClub]

Welcome to all the wonderful information here! You have caught the bug!

Check out SeasonStack in the subforum if you are ever interested in a point system for a club. Enjoy the game!

 

[BPTDirector]

And here you go! The best find or worst(cost) depending you how you look at it. Nothing but the best resource for home poker. Like others have said, chairs will get a comment every time, then table surface(topper is fine) to make it easier to look at hole cards, and of course chips! Plastic cards from broken arrow are a great start too. Welcome aboard!

 

[WJP]

I would suggest to not settle with cheap/used goods. Obviously spend within your means, but one of the mistakes I made was paying for chips that weren't in the best condition, and kept buying and buying upgrades.