How important is winning for you in your home game? (1 Viewer)

My home game is fairly brutal from a competitive perspective. Everyone is reasonably skilled and there are 2-3 excellent players when they're on their game. I'd be thrilled with a break-even history from a poker perspective and I'm happy to spend out of pocket for things like beer, snacks, etc.

I have scattered records as I've started and stopped with various poker trackers over the years. I am slightly (and I do mean slightly) up in home games and meetups and I can track my slim profitability back to probably 4-5 hands (a couple of which I've gotten fantastically lucky in, and a couple more I honestly don't remember due to massive intoxication).

Cliffs: Not really important if I win or lose as long as I don't consistently take beatings that force my roll to $0 (which is entirely possible in our games if you don't know what you're doing or run horribly bad).
 
Generally, as a rule, and I may be alone here, but I prefer to win more than I lose. This is not a hobby that can make it up on volume. But I'm also not looking to skin anyone.
 
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I only play with money that I can afford to lose, therefore by definition winning cannot be that important.

But more seriously, I don't really care at all. It's about the social aspect. Playing cards is just an excuse for everyone to get together.
 
It's an imperative. If I wasn't a winning player, I would stop playing. That being said, I don't expect to win every session.
 
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I only play poker once a month, which happens to be at the game I host. I drop about $150 on food and beer, then spend the night winning as close to that as possible in order to break even. I don't use winnings to fund my chip purchases, nor do I use them to play more poker. It's purely a social event to prove to myself that I'm not a complete fucking weirdo who hates people.

Cliffs: I'm jacked up in the dome and only try to break even
 
I have absolutely no plans or willingness to ever play poker professionally - as soon as I have to play it's no longer fun for me. If I was forced to do anything professionally in the gambling sector that does not involve developing software, I'd rather work as a dealer.

That being said, as a serious hobby player I see myself as, I still absolutely have the goal to make money with it in the long run. No matter how small the winnings, as long as I'm making some money rather than losing some I'm happy. I also do not expect to win every single session - it's simply impossible - the only important thing is being on the plus side in the long run, and that's absolutely possible. I certainly do not want to keep feeding my bankroll with earnings from real work or other sources regularly because I kept playing games where I lost more than I won.

I initially funded my online bankroll once with a reasonable amount for the stakes I started with, and from there I kept (and keep) increasing that bankroll purely by playing with what I already have in the respective appropriate stakes. The same strategy will be applied for when I start playing in brick-and-mortar casinos here (separate bankroll for live play).

This also implies that I'm only ever playing with money that I can afford to lose: Even though it still would hurt, it's never going to get me into any trouble.

If at any time my bankroll happens to be way over what I need as backup for playing the stakes I play, and if I also have no plans on cashing out a chunk of the over-the-top money soon, I might consider occasionally playing "fun" type poker games that have less +EV or higher variance than what I usually play or even slightly -EV for a newbie player (but never any "versus the bank" casino games that are already guaranteed to cost you money in the long run). Omaha Hi, or maybe also Hi/Lo, on lower stakes than the usual stakes for NLHE would be at the very top of this "fun games" list but I might try other poker variants as well. All in all, it still is a region where I can't and don't expect to reliably win more than I lose, so I regard anything I wager there as an expense (not investment) and therefore would only sparingly use money for it relative to what I make with NLHE at any given point in time.

Now, if I host or join a home game, it's going to happen with people I personally at least know if not even being friends or colleagues with. So even if I turn out to be way better than them, I'd try to slow down just enough to keep them happy and in ATM mode, and myself in the game with them. You can shear a sheep many times but only butcher it once. Social aspect? Yes, definitely there is one to it, and I sure will also enjoy that part in some way. But being not exactly a people person, this aspect takes a much lesser rank for me than for most others.

When I'm hosting myself, I would however try to make sure in advance that any expenses around the activity like drinks and food (as well as the occasional new pack of plastic cards and replacement chips for broken ones) are handled in such a way that they are reduced for me as far as possible or evenly split, and that they don't drag me into an overall loss. Either it's a bring-your-own-booze policy, or some kind of everyone-brings-something-for-all, or some form of strongly encouraged donations that get capped once enough has been "donated" to pay for all expenses of that night. After all, it's not just me enjoying the night - the others can definitely pay their share as well for what they get. If I happen to have a very good run, I can of course also be a bit more generous.

In a casino with random strangers, I wouldn't give a shit though and happily mercilessly felt anyone I can if I get the opportunity. The casinos we have here in DE, especially those in Bavaria, are deliberately placed out in the sticks near health resorts, so while there of course always are a bunch of local regs, the most people playing in those casinos are random wealthy foreigners who stay for some temporary medical treatment/recovery or who spend their holidays there.
 
I want to have fun and it is not fun to lose more than you win. Sometime I get unlucky and don't sweat it. Sometimes We play games I don't know very well and I no longer feel that I'm playing in a game for fun.
 
I enjoy wining but it is not why I run the game but I do spend a lot of time playing TD, running the computer, coloring up, so I probably don't give myself as much chance to win as If I was not running the game.
 
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Winning is pretty important. But "fun" is just as important. That's why I like home games with friends and low stakes. Of course, stakes are relative, but I wouldn't want to feel like I took too much off a friend. And if I have a losing night, I don't want to have to be annoyed by it.
 
There is nothing more fun to take your friends money in a home game. I feel like if a loss of a couple buy ins is devastating you are playing to high.

That being said, if i was playing in a 2-5 or higher game with a good friend i would probably not enjoy it as much since the money at that point becomes pretty real.

Winning.jpg
 
If I don't win I kick everyone out of my place and lock the gate so that they have to climb out.

On better nights, I don't put a big emphasis on it, however I am there to win. I don't take it as seriously as I would a big dollar tournament but as someone who is very competitive, I'm in it to win it. Same goes for Monopoly or Scrabble.

So, it's not the most important thing to win, but to have fun, however winning is fun. If I don't win, I still try to have as much fun as I can.
 
To be quite honest, I play and host for the social aspect of it. I'm not there to take everyone's money, not that I'm good enough to do so. It doesn't matter to me if the buy in is $5 or $100, I'm there so that I can be around friends. If I were ever to take poker seriously enough, I'd just play in the casino.
 
T_Chan said:
If I don't win I kick everyone out of my place and lock the gate so that they have to climb out.

On better nights, I don't put a big emphasis on it, however I am there to win. I don't take it as seriously as I would a big dollar tournament but as someone who is very competitive, I'm in it to win it. Same goes for Monopoly or Scrabble or Talisman.

So, it's not the most important thing to win, but to have fun, however winning is fun. If I don't win, I still try to have as much fun as I can.
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FYP Tony!
 
I love winning but that never should kill the fun part of my game. What I do is preparing myself well for our tourneys. For example if a Razz tourney comes up I play the whole week before just Razz and I read strategy about the game and go early to bed the night before.

Lucky for me my home game might be one of the weakest in the world.
 
In my family game, I actually have to drop some hands on purpose to not crush everyone. That isn't at all my goal or reason to host, so I'm happy to keep everyone interested and buying in. I fill the table monthly and we always have a ton of fun. I do have a couple uncles who constantly whisper in my ear at every game that they're gonna stake me at a big event one day lol Plus, all of us cousins use the game as a reason to get all our kids together and get to play together in a big group, which is great.

My friendly games are a lot of ballbreaking fun and a few regs are just terrible players who come for the fun, food and drink only. Mostly married guys, so its really their rare "guys' night out". And we've all known each other since high school... But for the most part, the game is pretty damn cutthroat. Humbly, I admit I'm the best player of this group of ours and its always a foregone conclusion that I'll have a good night unless lady luck kicks me square in the balls. But the game is competitive enough. I liken it to a solid $2/5 casino table where everyone is your good friend. I wish financially it played like a $2/5 though... It's important to me to do my best and win at this game.
 
I play to win my fair share, or more, of the buy-in.

That said, I never come out ahead on the balance sheet after laying out for food and drink. My job as host is to make sure my guests (win or lose) have a good time.
 
I play to win, but playing poker is really just an excuse to buy nice chips and cards to play a interesting and complex game with friends and family.

Even on a good night, you can't win enough $5 buy ins to cover food and beverages, although I do keep my poker money separate.
 
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I track detailed records in our tournaments. Finishing order, who KO'ed who, what table you started at, and who had position on you, among other things. What I don't track is the money. Sure I could go back and calculate the prize pools and determine if I'm up of down, but why? The money isn't to make or break anybody - not financially and not their "bankroll" (which is a term most of my players would not be familiar with). It's just enough to make winning interesting.

When I host, I'm on my "B" game. I don't target a fish, and I don't always jam when I know I could in the early levels and clean them out - but I still play to win.
 
I spend roughly $2,500 in direct costs to host my 50 +/- games each year - things like food, drink, paper goods and snacks not poker chips, cards, tables, chairs or other items. The players do leave tips and loose change, but they do not come close to covering the cost of hosting the game. I help defray the cost of hosting by winning more than I lose.

Let's not forget there is a hundred plus hours of work each year, prepping food and such for the games and cleaning up after the game is over. My games often come with a full meal + snacks + soft drinks. Making home cooked food for a dozen people isn't a trivial project - 28 games a year have food, 26 games are snacks only.

Hosting poker is not putting a drain on my family's finances. If I were losing money playing and also putting up the money to host, I think the drain could become an issue. As it is, poker is a great hobby from my wife's point of view. Most of my time is spent at home. The net costs are minimal. The only capital costs are a "few" buck on poker chips.

Not saying what "few" turns out to be -=- DrStrange
 
All members who like poker for its social aspects and do not particularly care about winning are invited to our local home game. Blinds and buy-ins are cheap, even though the action resembles a $/$2 table full of loose agro drunken players who never fold a draw. Table talk is considerable, and no subject/topic is off limits. As a group, we don't have time for math, so all Omaha hands are no-limit. (Why let math get in the way of poker?)

Basically, this is your kind of game. Money is of little or no value. Good conversation trumps the action at the table, and you are guaranteed to find someone to share with you whatever it is you like to partake in to unwind after a hard day at work.

You are welcome!
 
bergs said:
My home game is fairly brutal from a competitive perspective. Everyone is reasonably skilled and there are 2-3 excellent players when they're on their game. I'd be thrilled with a break-even history from a poker perspective and I'm happy to spend out of pocket for things like beer, snacks, etc.

I have scattered records as I've started and stopped with various poker trackers over the years. I am slightly (and I do mean slightly) up in home games and meetups and I can track my slim profitability back to probably 4-5 hands (a couple of which I've gotten fantastically lucky in, and a couple more I honestly don't remember due to massive intoxication).

Cliffs: Not really important if I win or lose as long as I don't consistently take beatings that force my roll to $0 (which is entirely possible in our games if you don't know what you're doing or run horribly bad).
Click to expand...


My records are weak but I think I'm a small winner in this game. It's a brutal game, and I have 2 very small edges: I think I tilt less than the average player, and I drink less than almost all the players. This makes up for being a middle of the pack player skill-wise.

I love this game.

Winning is not important to me. But I really want to win!
 
Pinball said:
How important is winning for you in your home game?
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Not very important to me. If it were, I'd be playing bigger games at the casinos and card rooms. Home games are mostly for fun. That said, I do try to win when I play, and I track my sessions, so I can't say that it's not important at all. In my experience, the only players I've encountered who claim that winning is absolutely not important at all are the worst of the worst players, none of whom are capable of winning, even if they wanted to.
 
Losing is part of the game. Nur nonetheless I play every game for the Win. No matter the stakes or the game itself. Funny thing is, I care less if a player is uninterested in the game if Money is involved than I do in a boardgame or so.
 
Mojo1312 said:
All members who like poker for its social aspects and do not particularly care about winning are invited to our local home game. Blinds and buy-ins are cheap, even though the action resembles a $/$2 table full of loose agro drunken players who never fold a draw. Table talk is considerable, and no subject/topic is off limits. As a group, we don't have time for math, so all Omaha hands are no-limit. (Why let math get in the way of poker?)

Basically, this is your kind of game. Money is of little or no value. Good conversation trumps the action at the table, and you are guaranteed to find someone to share with you whatever it is you like to partake in to unwind after a hard day at work.

You are welcome!
Click to expand...

Mojo's post brings up 2 interesting points that I've noticed over the years.
  1. The OP reads "How important is winning for you in your home game?" As soon is I walk out the door, 'host' mode is off and 'beast' mode is on. My bankroll is still financed by the "Entertainment" portion of my budget, so losses get replenished a little bit every paycheck, but I am bringing my "A" game (which admittedly isn't that great) when I'm not hosting. I still treat it like the social event it is, but yeah, if I'm in your house - I'm doing what little I can to win.
  2. Some home games have little to no appreciation for money. Or at least they have no appreciation for it at the stakes I am comfortable playing for. I'm a working stiff, that pulls in a little more than $15 an hour, and I literally risk my life to do it. If each chip on the table represented 1/1000th of an individual's salary, it would level that portion of the playing field. Unfortunately, I occasionally get into games where there are lawyers and accountants - white collar workers who look at my stakes as "freeroll" stakes. Similarly, if I'm in a cash game and my opponents are afraid to lose a $20 buy in, then My play drops to true degen form, able to jam with air, as I know I'll get that all back in a couple hours in the salt mines.
Finally, like @DrStrange , my outlay for food is considerable, but we're entertaining friends. If I go on a losing streak, the main dish is likely to be a little cheaper just to balance the coffers, but I expect to be money down when I entertain 13-20 people. I just know I don't like people enough to stand and just talk for 4-5 hours. I need something else to occupy my mind when you are talking about your child's latest recital or bitching about your job. Poker does that extremely well.
 
I almost never get to play live or for real money due to where I Iive so I don't have a real expectation about winning consistently. However to me I would use it as my metric for what I need to do to improve my game. If I'm losing a lot then why is that and what can I do to change my game? That being said if you are in a game with enough players that vastly out experience you or are primarily in a home game for the money over the social value that can suck both the fun and financial metric out of the game.
 
Always felt like multiple chances to win in some fashion in my prior life home games; side bets, buying a stake in others, heck half of the time once the game was over we'd play blackjack or WAR or bet each other on sports so winning the actual game never felt like a big deal although coming up empty across the board was never any fun.
 

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