Host can't pay out everyone, what to do? (3 Viewers)

All that means is that the state won't take up your case for you, you have to proceed through civil court...where the burden of proof is less then in criminal court.
You, however, will have to pay for getting an attorney and suing.
IANAL, but I'm pretty sure this means gambling contracts in Florida are null and void. That's what Florida Statute 849.26 says, and there are a number of civil cases that seem to support this.
 
I will assume this is something like a true home game. No rake among people with passable connections to each other. If this is somehow an unraked game acting like an underground casino, that is a wholly different thing . . .

As I see the comments, they look to me like people want to play heads and Hero wins, tails and the host sucks up the loss. It is an unraked game. The host has no way to recover losses with "profits" from hosting the game. That seems like a pretty unrealistic ask to me.

As noted, the stakes are huge and there are good reasons not to have cash in full at the table. It seems preferable to have cash transferred when chips are handed over. No doubt the host would prefer that too.

Most of us know "those" sorts of players who seem to never have enough bankable cash, for all sorts of reasons. We like them because they spew chips. We are happy the host isn't sending them home, rather extending credit to keep the game going and juicy. No doubt the big winners often can trace their good fortune to the whale dusting off buy in after buy in.

This time the whale cannot/ will not cover the marker. I can't help but note that Hero didn't object to host extending unsecured credit to the weak spot at the table. And only now finds his voice to object. Tough luck. Hero and the other big winners have feasted off the whale for a while. This is the cost of doing business. Hero is well advised to carefully consider what is in his long term benefit. Making an ass of himself doesn't seem to be the obvious best choice.

These sorts of losses should be shared somehow among the winners and the Host. The host shouldn't be incurring all the risk since he/she isn't getting the bulk of the profits. If Hero doesn't like that answer, then play in "safer" games - maybe there is a rake/fee. maybe the host runs the deadbeats off at the first whiff of trouble. Perhaps hero should be cashing out early when parts of the bank are "on the books" Though Hero might find his ability to find nose-bleed stakes games quite limited by these sorts of restrictions.

As for the more exotic suggestions:

Gambling debts are often not enforceable contracts. Litigation is expensive. lawsuits are slow. and you might lose but still have the costs. Litigation also creates a trail easily followed by tax authorities.

Violence and the threats of violence are poor solutions. Even assuming that Hero is going to be on the winning side of a violent exchange is a risk in and of itself.

If Hero makes himself into a pain in the ass, a more likely outcome is he gets uninvited rather than he gets paid. There is a delicate balance here - hero can ask about the marker some, but not too much. Again, taking part of the losses on markers is the cost of playing and normally being a big winner.

Let's just say asking the losers and breakeven players to forgo their cash outs to keep the big winners whole is short sighted at best. Come-on we know better than this.

TLDR suck it up, buttercup. This is part of the price of playing poker at these stakes. Don't like it? Find a game with fees, rakes and tips expected where the state regulates the house. -=- DrStrange
The more & more you wrote, the further & further you got from the actual situation as described by OP.
 
IANAL, but I'm pretty sure this means gambling contracts in Florida are null and void. That's what Florida Statute 849.26 says, and there are a number of civil cases that seem to support this.
Never seen that acronym before and immediately chalked it up as an overshare of personal information

Funny acronym based on the reputation of some within the profession though!
 
This time the whale cannot/ will not cover the marker. I can't help but note that Hero didn't object to host extending unsecured credit to the weak spot at the table. And only now finds his voice to object. Tough luck. Hero and the other big winners have feasted off the whale for a while. This is the cost of doing business. Hero is well advised to carefully consider what is in his long term benefit. Making an ass of himself doesn't seem to be the obvious best choice.

These sorts of losses should be shared somehow among the winners and the Host. The host shouldn't be incurring all the risk since he/she isn't getting the bulk of the profits. If Hero doesn't like that answer, then play in "safer" games - maybe there is a rake/fee. maybe the host runs the deadbeats off at the first whiff of trouble. Perhaps hero should be cashing out early when parts of the bank are "on the books" Though Hero might find his ability to find nose-bleed stakes games quite limited by these sorts of restrictions.

TLDR suck it up, buttercup. This is part of the price of playing poker at these stakes. Don't like it? Find a game with fees, rakes and tips expected where the state regulates the house. -=- DrStrange
Couldn't disagree more.

OP beating BL at a game of poker does not make him party to the agreement to let BL run up the debt. Host did that on his own, from the sound of it. The fact that OP "didn't object" to an arrangement that was being unethically foisted on him without his express knowledge does not make him a bagholder. Host may as well have signed up for a credit card in his name too.

OP probably figured the same thing most players figure: that the banker would manage the bank and everyone would be made whole at the end, and the rest are details for the banker to manage. Unless stated otherwise, this is a reasonable expectation.

Again, can't emphasize this enough: cash in, cash out, and this is never a problem. Every time I play at a game where people start talking credit, it makes me anxious that I'll end up dealing with sleazy shit like this when cash-out time comes.
 
Surely the host realizes that it’s these kinds of situations that lead to games getting reported - or worse, robbed.
I'm surprised that after five pages of responses, only one person has noted this. It's not the only reason, but certainly one of the reasons why some places get robbed or raided -- an unhappy customer looking to get even.

And a winning player who doesn't get paid is definitely an unhappy customer, especially when he's getting the run-around from the host regarding non-payment.

Is BL still playing at this game? Or anywhere?
 
Cash in, cash out as others have stated. Other players are welcome to make staking deals between themselves in my game, but no chips are ever exchanged from the bank without cash.
 
Another idea:

If invited, agree to play at the next game.

Dont buy in upon arrival. Once everyone else is there, audibly let the host know that you need to get paid immediately for what you won last time.

If paid, don’t play. Leave and never go back.

If not paid, at least everyone else there has been warned what they are risking. You’ll probably never get the money, but at least some consequences get meted out.
 
I will assume this is something like a true home game. No rake among people with passable connections to each other. If this is somehow an unraked game acting like an underground casino, that is a wholly different thing . . .

As I see the comments, they look to me like people want to play heads and Hero wins, tails and the host sucks up the loss. It is an unraked game. The host has no way to recover losses with "profits" from hosting the game. That seems like a pretty unrealistic ask to me.

As noted, the stakes are huge and there are good reasons not to have cash in full at the table. It seems preferable to have cash transferred when chips are handed over. No doubt the host would prefer that too.

Most of us know "those" sorts of players who seem to never have enough bankable cash, for all sorts of reasons. We like them because they spew chips. We are happy the host isn't sending them home, rather extending credit to keep the game going and juicy. No doubt the big winners often can trace their good fortune to the whale dusting off buy in after buy in.

This time the whale cannot/ will not cover the marker. I can't help but note that Hero didn't object to host extending unsecured credit to the weak spot at the table. And only now finds his voice to object. Tough luck. Hero and the other big winners have feasted off the whale for a while. This is the cost of doing business. Hero is well advised to carefully consider what is in his long term benefit. Making an ass of himself doesn't seem to be the obvious best choice.

These sorts of losses should be shared somehow among the winners and the Host. The host shouldn't be incurring all the risk since he/she isn't getting the bulk of the profits. If Hero doesn't like that answer, then play in "safer" games - maybe there is a rake/fee. maybe the host runs the deadbeats off at the first whiff of trouble. Perhaps hero should be cashing out early when parts of the bank are "on the books" Though Hero might find his ability to find nose-bleed stakes games quite limited by these sorts of restrictions.

As for the more exotic suggestions:

Gambling debts are often not enforceable contracts. Litigation is expensive. lawsuits are slow. and you might lose but still have the costs. Litigation also creates a trail easily followed by tax authorities.

Violence and the threats of violence are poor solutions. Even assuming that Hero is going to be on the winning side of a violent exchange is a risk in and of itself.

If Hero makes himself into a pain in the ass, a more likely outcome is he gets uninvited rather than he gets paid. There is a delicate balance here - hero can ask about the marker some, but not too much. Again, taking part of the losses on markers is the cost of playing and normally being a big winner.

Let's just say asking the losers and breakeven players to forgo their cash outs to keep the big winners whole is short sighted at best. Come-on we know better than this.

TLDR suck it up, buttercup. This is part of the price of playing poker at these stakes. Don't like it? Find a game with fees, rakes and tips expected where the state regulates the house. -=- DrStrange
This take was made in a lab for bad takes.
 
Unfortunately your only recourse is to hound the hell out of the host, it is his responsibility to make good at cashout, after all he provided the credit, he should be good to make payouts.

To beat a dead horse, this is why the bank should always be cash in, cash out. If hosting I never extend credit but I have no problem if others wish to extend credit to another player. However there will be no chips given out that aren't covered by cash. The lender must provide cash for the borrower to get chips from the bank.

A game that doesn't have cash funds to cover everyone at cashout is a game to avoid. I would spread the word about this game to everyone I could until you are made whole. Good luck on retrieving you winnings.
 
Another idea:

If invited, agree to play at the next game.

Dont buy in upon arrival. Once everyone else is there, audibly let the host know that you need to get paid immediately for what you won last time.

If paid, don’t play. Leave and never go back.

If not paid, at least everyone else there has been warned what they are risking. You’ll probably never get the money, but at least some consequences get meted out.
I like this, but bring a friend. There is a non-zero chance this gets ugly.
 
I like this, but bring a friend. There is a non-zero chance this gets ugly.
lol, ask OJ how this kind of thing turns out. “I’m just recovering what’s mine”.

Honestly this is my first instinct as well, just go get it. However I have been involved in a few things that ended up with the “victim” actually being the one that gets punished because their reaction was similar - take matters into their own hands and restore justice to America.

Pretty much your only recourse is social pressure I think.
 
Host a game with good friends. Invite the host that owes you. Set the buy-in a bit above what he owes you. 5 minutes into the game, have your wife announce a family emergency. "Apologize" to your friends about breaking up the game. Send them on a drive around the block. Pay out the host, less what he owes you. Kick him out of your house (and life). Have your friends come back and enjoy an evening of poker.
 
You mentioned this is a month old at this point - has the host continued to schedule games?
 
been mulling this over for a bit.
1) As a host, I can certainly understand not wanting that much cash in my house, as those things find ways of getting out. I've been hosting for 16+ years, and never had an issue. One neighbor, who was renting at the time, would host an uncapped $1/$2 game and get upper 5 figures on the table. The neighborhood heard about his game (a good 6 years after I had started hosting) and wanted him to stop as it could bring "something bad" into the area. I respect that. Make that 6 figures into my house and HELL NO.

2) Continuing on point 1, I also wouldn't want that much flowing through my paypal/venmo/zelle etc. I feel like that would be something that gets caught and would have to be reported. Given that, I wouldn't know the best way for this problem to not occur again in the future.

As many have stated though, as a host, their responsibility in the game is to have everyone whole on the way out; whether you have to dip into your pockets or not. Once the host allows players to play on credit, they should be able to then cover that amount on the night. I would love to know what would have happened if the host was up huge and BL said "sorry, I don't have it" Ain't no way that ends well. As others have stated, I probably wouldn't have left without being made whole, even if that means I leave with collateral or something.

@Rhodeman77 , have you been informed of the next game (does your invite still stand), or have you been ghosted on that front as well?

I honestly can't think of any situation where any of this ends up good.
 
Just curious, did the BL not have any money to pay the host (was he planning on freerolling the whole time) or did he just get in way over his head, and he couldn't make up what he owed?
 
I wouldn’t go back and would have to consider it a loss if you don’t get paid. That type of money involved comes with bigger problems down the road if it goes south.
 
Someone earlier asked, what if the host was a PCFer? I think that’s an even more interesting question ripe for analysis.

What if a PCFer invited you to his game, with the result as the OP described?

I know what my response would be.
 
I’m no Ohio lawyer either, but at first glance, it looks like Ohio isn’t interested in gambling losses.

On my reading, this say that if I lose money to you in a poker game, I can sue you and get it back. Am I reading that wrong?
It doesn’t sound like the courts would be helpful on this one.
Anybody in Ohio know about this?
https://codes.ohio.gov/ohio-revised-code/section-3763.02
IMG_0027.jpeg
 
Bad debts aside, blockchain technologies and certain cryptos are literally perfect for this kind of use case. If I hosted high stakes (which I don't), I would have dedicated crypto wallets for each player. I would have the keys, but they could send funds and observe balances at all times. Pretty easy to set up actually.
 
I’m no Ohio lawyer either, but at first glance, it looks like Ohio isn’t interested in gambling losses.

On my reading, this say that if I lose money to you in a poker game, I can sue you and get it back. Am I reading that wrong?
It doesn’t sound like the courts would be helpful on this one.
Anybody in Ohio know about this?
https://codes.ohio.gov/ohio-revised-code/section-3763.02
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Commas make it confusing, but it almost sounds like the loser can sue the winner for what they know was paid to them because they know they should have the money or property? Or because the wager was illegal?
 
Commas make it confusing, but it almost sounds like the loser can sue the winner for what they know was paid to them because they know they should have the money or property? Or because the wager was illegal?
That's how I read it. That's a funny strategy, play at big poker games and keep the money if you win, and sue the winners if you lose.
 
If it’s been a month paychecks have came in.
Bad debts aside, blockchain technologies and certain cryptos are literally perfect for this kind of use case. If I hosted high stakes (which I don't), I would have dedicated crypto wallets for each player. I would have the keys, but they could send funds and observe balances at all times. Pretty easy to set up actually.
As a host…this is great. But realistically 10-20% of your players will participate.

When I play big stakes, it’s usually a rake free game, and you gotta bring cash.

If a player goes broke, players will help players out if they’re close enough in the games I play.

The only time credit should be involved w the host is a raked game. And if it’s not raked, what r u doing as an host offering credit past a few hundred dollars.
 

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