Hosting First Home Game! - Looking For Tips (3 Viewers)

[4SUMERZ]

As far as the game, ask the group about rules. Accept or veto them before the game starts. Make sure everyone is on the same page with basic rules like rabbit chasing, big chip rule, timer for player action, rat holing/going south etc.

Something I learned for the Bank is to keep the buyins separate from my change. I keep a few hundred in small bills for hosting. I had a game where my records were missing about 200 in buyins. It was just too fast and somehow I lost track. Also my cash box balance wasn't up to date, rookie mistake. This makes the chips the only record. And with all of the cash mixed together it was unclear if any other mistakes were made. One player said "just give him (big winner) whats left". They didnt understand all that cash wasn't just buyins. So next game I'll be keeping the buyins separate so I know said stack is all buyins and my change is out of the equation.

Good luck. Let us know how it goes.

We have all made that mistake by keeping the extra change in the same cash box as the buy-ins and re-buys. I now have a cash box with spring loaded clips for the bills. I only keep the buy-ins and re-buys in there, and the extra $$ that I keep for making change, I keep in the cabinet, or in my pocket. Whenever I have to make change, in front of everyone, I take out the big bill from the cash box, and replace with the smaller bills. That way, I know if things balance at the end of the sitting.

 

[Poker Zombie]

We have all made that mistake by keeping the extra change in the same cash box as the buy-ins and re-buys. I now have a cash box with spring loaded clips for the bills. I only keep the buy-ins and re-buys in there, and the extra $$ that I keep for making change, I keep in the cabinet, or in my pocket. Whenever I have to make change, in front of everyone, I take out the big bill from the cash box, and replace with the smaller bills. That way, I know if things balance at the end of the sitting.

That's a good point that I haven't seen elsewhere.

I do keep my change money in the same lockbox, but I have an envelope that I keep $200 in change in. If change needs be made, I clear my hands of everything except the bill that needs to be broken. Then I remove the envelope, and make change. I return the envelope before restarting any counts.

The envelope also serves as my Venmo-to-cash funds. If a player needs to make an electronic transfer, I place a plaque in front of them indicating the amount owed. When the funds are transferred (usually between hands), Mrs Zombie gathers the plaque (she handles the Venmos, as my phone is most assuredly lost or dead this late in the night). When I take the money out of the envelope and place it in the prize pool, the plaque goes into the envelope.

The most likely culprit in bank shortfalls are those extra transactions. By having a known amount in the envelope at the start of the night ($200) I know that there should be $200 in cash and plaques at the end of the night. If there were to be a bank error, the envelope would be my first check.

The next morning as I am doing clean-up, the stiff plaques in the envelope remind me to hunt down the cash to restock the cash/Venmo envelope, and to return the plaques to their case.

 

[krafticus]

We have all made that mistake by keeping the extra change in the same cash box as the buy-ins and re-buys. I now have a cash box with spring loaded clips for the bills. I only keep the buy-ins and re-buys in there, and the extra $$ that I keep for making change, I keep in the cabinet, or in my pocket. Whenever I have to make change, in front of everyone, I take out the big bill from the cash box, and replace with the smaller bills. That way, I know if things balance at the end of the sitting.

I do exactly this. I have an old cash register drawer (got for free in a local buy-nothing group). All cash buy-ins go into the drawer (which is above the chips). In a seperate cabinet, I have a bank envelope with ~ $250 in small bills (30 x $1, 30 x $5, remaining in $10). Anytime I need small bills, I open that drawer, pull a $20 from the cash drawer, and add the small bills to the register drawer. Then I pull the change/cash-out as needed.

Once I get too many $20's in my small cash envelope, I go to the bank and replenish the small bills.


I do the same thing for tournament buy-ins and bounties. I keep an envelope with about $300 in $10's. If a player needs a single bounty, I put a $20 in the envelope, and pull 2 $10's out. Once I get too many $20's, off to the bank to get $10's

Mark

 

[Corvarea]

I always have everyone's names on a pad of paper and then count the money and then highlight their name. Money stays in my pocket and i put checks on rebuys so i know how much should be in there once we hit the break so i can figure out splits. If the money is wrong at that point then its on me.. and i would pay the pot (never has happened). I also run timers on a TV so everyone can see blinds and know what the next ante is going to be. Hope your game went well!

 

[TX_Golf_N_Poker]

Thanks for the reply, it went very well! Most people showed up on time but I did have 1 no show. Ended up running 2 decks letting small blind shuffle and everyone picked up on it pretty quick. The action was good and we even showed the new guys a few hands of Omaha and a Bomb Pot or two. Game lasted about 4 hours in total and the blinds never changed from .25/.25. I think at its peak we had $160 on the table and and the biggest single pot got up to $40+. The bank sheet worked out and I’m glad I wrote down buyins/rebuys to balance everything at the end of the night because I did have a few Venmo’s as well. Probably unnecessary with close friends but good habit to make especially if the games get bigger. Getting a good bit of change was a must and I’m glad some guys on the forum commented on that. Probably made too much food and bought too much beer but that wasn’t a problem at all haha. All in all a good time. With that said I’m looking for this to become a bit more regular. This is probably pretty subjective but what do other hosts feel the best balance between games is?

Sounds like you are well on your way to hosting regular games. So what part of Texas are you located in?

 

[Nate_]

Sounds like you are well on your way to hosting regular games. So what part of Texas are you located in?

Grew up outside of Temple and live in Houston now

 

[TX_Golf_N_Poker]

Grew up outside of Temple and live in Houston now

Nice. If you are ever looking for more players, or looking to join in other games, let me know. As you can see, I'm in Kingwood. I host occasionally now, but looking to host more often in the future. I'm building some "man cave" space on my property later this year.

 

[fastcash124]

Find an ATM that gives multiple different denom bills and emphasize one banker. We had issues with people not because they’re dishonest but because at 3am people just can’t count the same.

 

[Larold]

Didn't take the time to read past first 4-5 responses, sorry if this is duplicate suggestions.

Don't be a rule nazi, but pick a few important ones for the new folks to know ahead of time.

A particular gripe of mine is people not being clear up front whether cash plays. Think of it like this:

Scenario. You've got the nuts on the river. You're against one opponent. They have $30 in chips and a $20 bill next to their stack. You say 'All in' and shove in $60. They say 'Call'. You show the winning hand. They slide you $30 of chips but not the $20 because they hadn't decided if they wanted to commit it to their stack. It's up to you as the host, but I personally always go with the rule 'Only chips play. Table stakes. No going into your wallet for more cash in the middle of a hand.' Whatever you decide, announce it up front.

Another tip - I like to cash out starting with the largest stacks and working my way down. A (very intelligent) buddy of mine recommended this a long time ago; I believe it was based on the theory that if someone is going to get screwed by a clerical error resulting in too little money in the bank, you want the folks that get screwed to be the ones entitled to the least money in the first place (because they had the smallest stacks). Or something like that - my description is probably flawed.

Another big pet peeve of mine - players making change from the big or small blinds, and players splashing the pot. While you don't want to be a rule nazi, try to remind players at the start of the night to let the dealer do all the change-making and to keep bets in front of them.

I like what someone said - rotate the deal including the new players - they need to learn to follow the action.

Good luck on keeping the game going in the future!

 

[Nate_]

Hey guys, I just wanted to say thank y’all so much for all the great write ups and tips about hosting. Everything has been very helpful and it’s great to get personal insights about experience y’all have had. Our second poker night is coming up this next weekend and it’s looking like we’re going to make this a monthly event. Really loving the PCF community. Y’all rock!

 

[4SUMERZ]

Didn't take the time to read past first 4-5 responses, sorry if this is duplicate suggestions.

Don't be a rule nazi, but pick a few important ones for the new folks to know ahead of time.

A particular gripe of mine is people not being clear up front whether cash plays. Think of it like this:

Scenario. You've got the nuts on the river. You're against one opponent. They have $30 in chips and a $20 bill next to their stack. You say 'All in' and shove in $60. They say 'Call'. You show the winning hand. They slide you $30 of chips but not the $20 because they hadn't decided if they wanted to commit it to their stack. It's up to you as the host, but I personally always go with the rule 'Only chips play. Table stakes. No going into your wallet for more cash in the middle of a hand.' Whatever you decide, announce it up front.

Another tip - I like to cash out starting with the largest stacks and working my way down. A (very intelligent) buddy of mine recommended this a long time ago; I believe it was based on the theory that if someone is going to get screwed by a clerical error resulting in too little money in the bank, you want the folks that get screwed to be the ones entitled to the least money in the first place (because they had the smallest stacks). Or something like that - my description is probably flawed.

Another big pet peeve of mine - players making change from the big or small blinds, and players splashing the pot. While you don't want to be a rule nazi, try to remind players at the start of the night to let the dealer do all the change-making and to keep bets in front of them.

I like what someone said - rotate the deal including the new players - they need to learn to follow the action.

Good luck on keeping the game going in the future!

Further to this great tip, I always give my players dedicated chip trays to put their chips as they count their chips. then I pay them. They are asked to stay at the table, with their chip trays, until all the players have counted, in case there is a miscount at the end That way, the chips don't get mixed in on the table. If the $$ doesn't balance, its easy to go back to the players dedicated trays and recount.

 

[Machine]

if someone is going to get screwed by a clerical error resulting in too little money in the bank, you want the folks that get screwed to be the ones entitled to the least money

Logically, you'd want it to be the person with the most amount of money due. For a few reasons, its better to 'owe or short' one person rather than 3. They are the least likely to bitch, as its likely a win for them. If you've lost in the game, the last thing you want is for the host to shit on you further by not being able to pay out. Your very smart buddy, was he the big winner that night?

 

[Larold]

Further to this great tip, I always give my players dedicated chip trays to put their chips as they count their chips. then I pay them. They are asked to stay at the table, with their chip trays, until all the players have counted, in case there is a miscount at the end That way, the chips don't get mixed in on the table. If the $$ doesn't balance, its easy to go back to the players dedicated trays and recount.

I second this idea although I've never tried it. I am just extra, extra careful about distinguishing chips that are "dead" (have been cashed out) vs chips that still need to be exchanged.

 

[Larold]

Logically, you'd want it to be the person with the most amount of money due. For a few reasons, its better to 'owe or short' one person rather than 3. They are the least likely to bitch, as its likely a win for them. If you've lost in the game, the last thing you want is for the host to shit on you further by not being able to pay out. Your very smart buddy, was he the big winner that night?

If you end up shorting three people, you shouldn't be hosting poker nights...

 

[Machine]

If you end up shorting three people, you shouldn't be hosting poker nights...