Unobvious tips to level up your home game (4 Viewers)

[BigGrizz]

If someone would just create a poker meetup playlist, with something for everyone, with nearly 45 hours of music.......wouldn't that be the dream?

I play fantasy tavern music. Huge hit with my nerds.

 

[CraigT78]

This artwork is part of the poker room. Fun pickup from soundwave.

View attachment 1689202

I love that!!

 

[Highli99]

I could listen to OAR on repeat for a four day meetup.

This is a fantastic idea.....

This artwork is part of the poker room. Fun pickup from soundwave.

 

[mickeydoo98]

Weirdly, games other than poker. When I run a tournament I set aside a board game table for those eliminated. They like it better than a cash game. Simple stuff like King of Tokyo, Secret Hitler, or Dominion are easy and keep the party going.

For our group, it's been Wingspan or Sushi Go! for the past few months

 

[mickeydoo98]

OP, someone hit the nail on the head with tailoring it to your specific group. Find out what your guys or gals like and cater towards that.
My two cents: Add a little variety to the mix... do a theme night (world cup coming up, dress up/bring food from a participant country?), maybe let someone different pick the music each time, order takeout from a new spot, etc. Something to keep it light and fresh.

 

[chipinla]

Be sure to offer hot dog sandwiches

 

[RadicusScout]

If someone would just create a poker meetup playlist, with something for everyone, with nearly 45 hours of music.......wouldn't that be the dream?

My buddies and I have been curating this playlist for our monthly game. It's only 18+ hours but we add to it from time to time.

(Shuffle recommended!)

 

[BarrieJ3]

I don’t mind a 10 or 100 or 1000 hour playlist.

Throw it in on random, totally fine.

Not just to be a contrarian, but I don’t really dig nirvana then sugar hill gang then Madonna then kid rock then slick rick. If I’m at bar poker and people are jukeboxing songs, sure.

Otherwise, just pick an artist/song/album and click play station.

After awhile, pick a different artist/song/album and click play station.

That way you can build and have an actual vibe(s).

Is a curated playlist with built in sub lists/genres/moods the nuts? For sure. And again I don’t mind the huge playlists randomized, it’s still awesome! But I prefer the app generated playlists over anyone’s personal giant one.

(And yes I understand I’m wrong)

 

[ekricket]

My buddies and I have been curating this playlist for our monthly game. It's only 18+ hours but we add to it from time to time.

(Shuffle recommended!)

Do you guys do your nails while playing?

I just can’t picture 8 middle aged men singing “I want it that way” while drawing to a flush

 

[RadicusScout]

Do you guys do your nails while playing?

Yes. Absolutely.

We. Are. Fabulous.

 

[BarrieJ3]

My buddies and I have been curating this playlist for our monthly game. It's only 18+ hours but we add to it from time to time.

(Shuffle recommended!)

I dig it for generic games. It’s an interesting curated list if it came from a group of similar guys with similar ages/interests.

It’s like a cross between those Music Now! cds and songs on Guitar Hero/Rock Band.

Like easy listening for the next generation (which might be exactly what you want for background music during a poker game!).

 

[RadicusScout]

I dig it for generic games. It’s an interesting curated list if it came from a group of similar guys with similar ages/interests.

It’s like a cross between those Music Now! cds and songs on Guitar Hero/Rock Band.

Like easy listening for the next generation (which might be exactly what you want for background music during a poker game!).

Yeah, we throw this on in the background and it's just mostly filler. Every once in a while someone recognizes something and makes a comment. It just builds from there.

And yes, even the Backstreet Boys track got a raving response (thanks to NonStopPop Radio from GTA5).

 

[CraigT78]

Do you guys do your nails while playing?

I just can’t picture 8 middle aged men singing “I want it that way” while drawing to a flush

Watch it Kevin or you're gonna make me play Taylor Swift again. Do you want it that wayyyyyy? Tell me why?

 

[GamingWithChips]

I dig it for generic games. It’s an interesting curated list if it came from a group of similar guys with similar ages/interests.

It’s like a cross between those Music Now! cds and songs on Guitar Hero/Rock Band.

Like easy listening for the next generation (which might be exactly what you want for background music during a poker game!).

I think curated playlists are the only way to go. Minor pet peeve when someone is constantly skipping songs in their shuffled 10,000 song playlist, or they are sitting on their phone constantly queing up songs in that same playlist.

I try to make a playlist with songs that hit a good vibe where generally speaking you can bob your head and jam out/sing a long a little, and there should be ebs and flows of higher and lower energy songs. I also like to have multiple genres mixed in while still fitting the overall vibe. Little bit of everything but it's most important that songs are not boring or "skippable"

 

[BarrieJ3]

I think curated playlists are the only way to go. Minor pet peeve when someone is constantly skipping songs in their shuffled 10,000 song playlist, or they are sitting on their phone constantly queing up songs in that same playlist.

I try to make a playlist with songs that hit a good vibe where generally speaking you can bob your head and jam out/sing a long a little, and there should be ebs and flows of higher and lower energy songs. I also like to have multiple genres mixed in while still fitting the overall vibe. Little bit of everything but it's most important that songs are not boring or "skippable"

I have started far too many playlists and always from time to time think when I hear a song ooo I should add that.

But realistically I just hand my phone off or randomly call out every hour for a new player to give me an artist. Early/middle nights should be more upbeat. Late nights/early mornings more deep cuts (with interjected upbeat if you’re starting to lose someone/people).

At this point, I can pretty much tell you everyone’s playlist because they’ve all been the same for decades, it’s just dive bar/pool party/poker/bday party music playlists. Like for the hip hop songs, every single playlist is going to have 90s gangsta rap with Snoop, Biggie, etc.

I just don’t quite think everyone’s curated playlists are all that curated when most often they’re the same as every single curated playlist by someone between 30 and 70 years old.

(But there’s a reason for it, no one wants to listen to your deep cut remix of xyz that sampled abc except yours uses the original sample and wasn’t released on the initial album but only on the live version)

 

[GamingWithChips]

(But there’s a reason for it, no one wants to listen to your deep cut remix of xyz that sampled abc except yours uses the original sample and wasn’t released on the initial album but only on the live version)

haha, I sometimes purposely choose the original version of a song (pending it'd good...) instead of the well known popular covers just to be different.

Also, my signature for most of my playlists is to almost exclusively use middle cuts. I rarely put the most popular song of any artist I choose, but I also don't put too many deep cuts that I know are great songs but most have never heard it before. One of my playlist "goals" is for people to be like "ohhhh, I know this song, I forgot about this one!" and then they can bob their head and secretly shazam the song to add it to their own playlists lol

My general playlists also range from hip-hop, country, jazz, metal, alt-rock, pop etc, but again, the vibes have to mix in some way.

Also...hot tip if you love a certain 100-300 song playlist that you want to play time and time again on shuffle but don't want to have repeating songs too often: Make 2 playlists with the exact same artists/albums, but curate it to have matching songs with the exact same vibe split between Version 1 and Version 2 of the playlists. This way any given night you can pop one on shuffle and the vibe will be the exact same but you'll never hear the same song until every other poker night.

 

[ekricket]

lol everybody telling 70’s boys how to make mix tapes

 

[Coyote]

Keep the game true to the supposed stakes/blinds: No straddles, max-buy-in no more than half the big stack.

Offer nice meatballs, to be eaten standing, with no sauce, one hand on the dish, one hand on the fork. Broke players in the end won't pay for their portion.

Rivers of soda and coffee, and some elementary booze (for specific quantities of booze or specific drinks, BYOB).

Either a shuflling machine with 2 decks, or a dedicated, non-playing dealer.

Jazz Bar classics and R&B as music.

 

[TheYeti]

Might be a dumb question, but what are some rules you guys have? And do you write them out or just tell them to the players at the start? I feel like my buddies know the deal pretty well by now, but might be good for new players especially since I’ve got some much nicer chips.

I migrated my house rules PDF to a website I built with Google Sites a few weeks back. Got a QR code posted on game nights. My players seem to find it more convenient than a printed sheet.

 

[TonyZur]

I can’t remember if I got this idea on PCF or not. I’ll get scratch tickets and give them out as the bounties. You have to scratch the ticket and then hand it off to the person who knocked you out. It adds an extra layer of good humored humiliation, especially if it’s a winner. Which doesn’t happen very often.

 

[TonyZur]

This for music.