Cash Game Home Game Cash Game Structure (1 Viewer)

lane_robert_s

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My friend has been hosting low stakes tournaments for years, 8-20 players every 3 months. NLHE, $25 buy-in with unlimited rebuys in the first hour and add-ons in the first break. Draw for seats. That is essentially all the rules.

He is going to start hosting a 25c/50c cash game and I am trying to help him determine the structure.

I don't necessarily need your advice on how to structure it.... I want advice on determining all the decision points we have to make.

Examples:
Buy-in minimums and maximums.
Re-buy and add-on minimums and maximums.
Straddles. Are they allowed? From what positions?
Can you run it more than once? If so, when does the decision have to be made?
All NLHE or allow other games like PLO hands?
Are there games within the game allowed? If so, what games? (7-2. Stand up game. High Hand. Etc)
How is seating position determined?
What is the minimum number of players at the table? (Does the game break at 4 or 3 players or can it continue even at head to head?)

Like I said, I am not looking for answers. I am looking to see if we have asked all the questions. What other things do we have to determine before we deal the first card?
 
Has your friend considered lowering the proposed blinds? Players should expect to lose about $100 on a bad day at an average 25c/50c game, which is higher than the expected loss for a $25 unlimited rebuy tournament.

Try polling the players about how much they are comfortable losing on a bad night. You want the stakes to be meaningful, but comfortable. Essentially, you want the stakes high enough so players are attracted by the opportunity to win some extra cash, but low enough that no one will experience serious financial hardship after some bad luck.
 
Has your friend considered lowering the proposed blinds? Players should expect to lose about $100 on a bad day at an average 25c/50c game, which is higher than the expected loss for a $25 unlimited rebuy tournament.

Try polling the players about how much they are comfortable losing on a bad night. You want the stakes to be meaningful, but comfortable. Essentially, you want the stakes high enough so players are attracted by the opportunity to win some extra cash, but low enough that no one will experience serious financial hardship after some bad luck.
All great points. Yes, the tournaments are $25 buy in but I suspect a 25c/50c cash game would have to have a $50 buy in, minimum.

Based on our tournaments, it seems to me that most people are comfortable losing $50 to $100 in a night, so if we went 25c/50c with 100BB max initial buy in and max rebuy then that might work. But maybe it makes more sense to do a 25c/25c game and let people ease into 2, 3, or 4 rebuys rather than felting and then having to rebuy and be in for $100 so quickly. Of course, we could go lower stakes but he we don't have the 5c fracs chips at this point.

Appreciate the response.
 
You want the average player to be comfortable at 3 buy ins. Consider starting with whatever that number is and adjust your stakes accordingly. It’s probably lower than .25/.50. Regardless of blinds the game will play to stack sizes so be thoughtful of how big you allowsee buy. More than 200 BB and just be aware you are making the game a lot bigger.

Straddles increase stakes so be careful with them. I love them but my .25/.50 game plays more like a 1/2 game and players are rolled for it so the game isn’t jeopardized by straddles.
There are a milllion gimmicks like bomb pots and 72 game and stand up but those complexities will quickly break an unestablished game. Tread carefully at first.

A lot of your items can be boiled down to “what do players want”, with the hosts opinion being paramount. If players don't like the hosts decisions they are may vote with attendance. So discussion upfront helps.
 
I agree with all the above that suggest asking the players. Starting a home game can be a challenge, but expanding the games a group plays is much easier because you already have a player base.

When I introduced my multi-table tournament players to cash I ran different stakes at different tables. This way the players that were less comfortable with big losses could play at smaller stakes. It also turns out that those players tend to be the nittier players, so the table as a whole will play smaller. Since my players had been playing tourneys for years, I still ran a clock so we could have scheduled breaks. The scheduled breaks allow me as a host to check on stack sizes at other tables and allow short stacks to top-up. Having to deal with cash rebuys for a table you are not sitting at can be a nuisance, as rebuys aren't as easily pre-packed as they can (should) be in a tournament.
 
A lot of your items can be boiled down to “what do players want”, with the hosts opinion being paramount. If players don't like the hosts decisions they are may vote with attendance. So discussion upfront helps.
^^^ This

In my game (25c/50c) here are the options selected:
Buy-in minimums and maximums: $40 min - $100 max
Re-buy and add-on minimums and maximums: Rebuy at any time between hands, up to table maximum stack or $200 whichever is smaller.
Straddles. Are they allowed? From what positions: Allowed from left of the big blind. Re-Straddles (double straddles) allowed from the left of the prior straddle.
Can you run it more than once? If so, when does the decision have to be made: Sure... whenever the two participants agree.
All NLHE or allow other games like PLO hands: Other games too. I start the night with 2 hours of 10c/10c PLO8 and then go to 25c/50c NLHE. There are other nights when we play all sorts of mixed games. The type of night is advertised during the invite phase... that way no one is surprised come game time.
Are there games within the game allowed? If so, what games? (7-2. Stand up game. High Hand. Etc) We do a high hand pot... everyone interested pays $5 to enter. High hand of the night gets the pot.
How is seating position determined? Sit wherever you want.
What is the minimum number of players at the table? (Does the game break at 4 or 3 players or can it continue even at head to head?) We don't have a set minimum, but we've played three handed into the wee hours.
 
My friend has been hosting low stakes tournaments for years, 8-20 players every 3 months. NLHE, $25 buy-in with unlimited rebuys in the first hour and add-ons in the first break. Draw for seats. That is essentially all the rules.

He is going to start hosting a 25c/50c cash game and I am trying to help him determine the structure.

I don't necessarily need your advice on how to structure it.... I want advice on determining all the decision points we have to make.

Examples:
Buy-in minimums and maximums.
Re-buy and add-on minimums and maximums.
Straddles. Are they allowed? From what positions?
Can you run it more than once? If so, when does the decision have to be made?
All NLHE or allow other games like PLO hands?
Are there games within the game allowed? If so, what games? (7-2. Stand up game. High Hand. Etc)
How is seating position determined?
What is the minimum number of players at the table? (Does the game break at 4 or 3 players or can it continue even at head to head?)

Like I said, I am not looking for answers. I am looking to see if we have asked all the questions. What other things do we have to determine before we deal the first card?
My game is .50/1 NL
minimum buyin $40 which is very rare if ever. Max is $200 at start and as game goes on its tables stakes. Top up or rebuy anytime.
Up to 2 straddles allowed utg and utg+1
Never ran it more than once, was actually curious about this. Would probably allow it in pots $1k or bigger.
Only ever played NLHE
Games within games have only been 7-2 so far and splash pots
Pick your seat when you show up. When two tables run we sometimes redraw or allow seat changes
Theres no minimum players but game usually doesnt go lower than around 4-5 players at the end of the night.

I agree with @Highli99 try to listen to the players and gauge what they like. Ask for feedback if needed.
 
Buy-in minimums and maximums.
I do fixed buy-in at 100bb

Re-buy and add-on minimums and maximums.
First re-buy up to 200BB or half the biggest stack rounding to the nearest 50 BB (Example biggest stack is 512BB you can buy up to 250BB)

Straddles. Are they allowed? From what positions?
Straddles is allowed and welcome but only from UTG UTG+1 etc and up until CO

Can you run it more than once? If so, when does the decision have to be made?
The players involved can decided how many time they want, decision have to make after at least 1 All-in and 1 Caller and no more action left

All NLHE or allow other games like PLO hands?
It depend on your group of player but I figure NLHE will be the one since they came from NLHE Tourney background

Are there games within the game allowed? If so, what games? (7-2. Stand up game. High Hand. Etc)
Yes, they are allowed and welcome. You can play anything as long as the table agreed

How is seating position determined?
I draw seat using the playing cards, while I will always take the same seat in my home game as I be dealing and doing hosting duty

What is the minimum number of players at the table? (Does the game break at 4 or 3 players or can it continue even at head to head?)
No minimum, it depend on your group but my game usually break when there is 4 left. I always start the game when we got 5 to go
 
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I don't necessarily need your advice on how to structure it.... I want advice on determining all the decision points we have to make.
I think I understand what you are asking, I will see if I can answer accordingly.

Buy-in minimums and maximums.
In NL 10x BB or 20x BB are pretty standard for minimums. (I use 20BB.) I think maximums between 100x BB and 200x BB are pretty standard depending on your groups preferences for how "deep" a game should be. The deeper the maximum the more bets that can be made before players are "all-in." It's pretty subjective whether or not that's desirable, so again, up to your players, though the trend is in favor of "deeper" cash games. If you set the maximum lower to around 50x BB, there will be many more situations in which players are "all-in" on early streets.

The other factor that influences the blinds and the max buy in is your players comfort level in real world money. Exactly as @Highli99 said above, you want players that are comfortable with 3x the max buy in as a possible nightly loss. Otherwise if you set it high enough where players are going to be "one-and-done" the game will break early.

My concern is that 0.25-0.50 is going to play much too high for people that are comfortable with $25 tournaments. 0.25-0.25 may be a better starting point.

Re-buy and add-on minimums and maximums.
I have a rule that you have to buy at least the minimum buy in if adding on. So if you have a table with a minimum of $10 and a maximum of $100, the player would have to be below $90 to add on. This just guards against me having to go bank for $2 of chips every time someone posts a round of blinds.

Straddles. Are they allowed? From what positions?
Can you run it more than once? If so, when does the decision have to be made?
Absolutely up to your players. But rules on this should be consistent for the whole session. If straddles are permitted, that should be made clear at the start. If the rules forbid multiple run-outs, that should be made known at the start. Otherwise, specific to multiple run-outs, the decision can be made before the dealer runs out the hand. If you decide to permit this, remind dealers to pause a couple moments before completing the run-out.

Are there games within the game allowed? If so, what games? (7-2. Stand up game. High Hand. Etc)
Absolutely up to your players. Typical 7-2 prize is 2x BB from each player that was dealt in.

All NLHE or allow other games like PLO hands?
That should be made known at the outset and in some sort of fixed rotation. (For example: 30 minutes of each, 8 hands of each, one orbit of each, two orbits of one and then one of the other.) What you don't want is PLO haters "sitting out" so if this game is going to be in, it should be known at the time of invitation.

How is seating position determined?
First come-first serve is the normal paradigm for cash.

What is the minimum number of players at the table? (Does the game break at 4 or 3 players or can it continue even at head to head?)
That's up to the players, but I think most home game players should be comfortable in 5 handed games at least. I typically start the cash game as soon as 5 players show up. However if the game becomes shorthanded, and players still want to play, by all means continue.
 
I don't necessarily need your advice on how to structure it.... I want advice on determining all the decision points we have to make.

Some of these may already be worked out by the way you conduct your tournament play, but:

Whether players should give a certain amount of advanced notice before ending their session (it may cause some animosity if someone cuts and runs right after winning a big pot early into the evening).

In split pot situations, what will be done with the odd chip where the pot cannot be evenly split.

Whether check raising will be allowed.

If you will be playing games that allow for a low hand, determine what the default low will be when the game does not specifically identify it.

If you play games with wild cards determine if they have a value when standing alone or whether they can duplicate a card in hand.

Determine the number of raises allowed in limit games.
 
For your consideration:

When do late arriving players get to be dealt in? (post a blind, wait for the blinds to come around, or just play).

In our home game, late arrivals simply take an open seat and are dealt in next hand as long as this wouldn't disrupt the blinds i.e. cause someone to pay the same blind twice in a row. This works for our long-running game of friends but YMMV.
 
For your consideration:

When do late arriving players get to be dealt in? (post a blind, wait for the blinds to come around, or just play).

In our home game, late arrivals simply take an open seat and are dealt in next hand as long as this wouldn't disrupt the blinds i.e. cause someone to pay the same blind twice in a row. This works for our long-running game of friends but YMMV.
That is how we do it as well.
 

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