Poker Experience

Starting a poker night

Starting out, give special attention to a few things that will short cut you to a successful and enjoyable evening of Poker friendly interaction. Start with the guest list. Invite people that are interesting to you. Poker appeals to a wide range of people, from all walks of life so this should be wide open. experience is not necessary either because the game is the attraction not winning a lot of money. We played for $5.00 buy in texas hold-em game and after 10 yrs, the buy in has remained. Those hungry for more juice (a higher bet), can bet on the side with out affecting the others in the basic bet. If you are the house man or woman, it is your responsibility to monitor and adjust the guest list. People sporting aggressive or reactive personalities are usually avoided. Once established in the group, it is difficult to  address the subject of why they are not asked back, once a night is designated as poker night. So have a few random nights of play and get your comfort zone set before establishing an official “Poker Night!”

Your direction, what do you want to create? Do you want a night that you an your wife can enjoy dinner and a special group of friends playing a friendly game, or a guys or girls in your circle of friends, family and people in your community, that offer random people coming and going depending who is available that night. They both can work well. You will be the one who stabilizes the invitation list with the help of the favored participants. you will know when you are ready to set the official Poker Night. It might sound like this. Hey you guys, this is a great group, what do you say we play every Tuesday, or the first Wednesday of every month, or what ever… You get the point. Play a few nights, decide on the basic core group that you want, and then proclaim you Poker Night! Hallelujah!

Picking the Poker Games

So, after playing wild card games weekly for over 20 yrs. and that's over 1,000 poker nights, I have decided that simpler is better. As much fun as dealers choice is, confusion ensues with each new game being explained. I had a good understanding of all the games we played and I still had trouble from time to time. I would advise anyone to start with Texas Hold-Em as a good game that is easy to deal and fairly simple to learn. Once your group has it down, they can play in tournaments where ever they go, or enjoy a cash game at the casino's. One nice advantage that tournament style has to offer is that you can only lose the entry money. Keep the basic game a low entry amount and encourage those who want to bet more to offer a side bet. This method has worked for us for over 10 years with terrific results. More about wild card games later. they can be a lot of fun... 

Bragging Rights

A few years back, I went down to the trophy store and had a trophy made for our Super Bowl Poker Tournament. For or about $40.00 we have enjoyed trophy presentations and conversations about bragging rights.  A traveling trophy is fun  to take home and put on your mantel as a conversation piece. We play 2 or 3 tournament style games per poker night. only one table so it's like we all made the final table and when you are out, you have to wait for the next game to start playing again. Even if the bet is low, you don't want to be out, so you are careful about going all in. We don't have re-buys, you have to wait... Now we do settle the game and restart, if the two final players can reach an understanding on a fair split of the pot. Since our game is a dinner party atmosphere with friendly poker as it's aim, we regularly settle early and start a new game to keep the night interesting for everyone. Too often I have found myself cleaning

up the kitchen while my lovely wife liberates our friends

remaining chips.  Go for it sweetheart... I'm Out!