Internet Poker Texas Hold Em

How to Host a Home Poker Game

Playing poker with family and friends is a nice way to have a good time. When poker is played in a private residence, it is called home poker. If you want to know how to host a home poker game in your own house, read on.

Steps on How to Host a Home Poker Game:

First, invite the right people. If you do not want to spend time guiding a beginner and just want to play poker, then invite only those people who are already familiar with the game. If it is Texas Holdem for example, then invite only those you know who already play the game.

On the other hand, you may want to bring over family or friends who are still learning the home poker game you are about to host. In that case, review that specific home poker game with them. If, during the course of the game they forget the rules, gently remind them. It is very helpful for a newbie poker player to practice with a friend or relative than in a casino.

Now decide how many you are going to invite. It would be best to start with no more than 10 total players. For 10 players, a single playing table will do. The table should be wide enough to accommodate all players.

Buy poker playing chips. For home poker, you should get about 100 chips per player. Plastic poker chips are light and inexpensive. Use coin denominations as you please. Let one color represent one coin denomination, such as white for $1.

Get two brand-new decks. During the game, one player will shuffle one deck while the dealer deals from the other. This saves time.

Set a low buy-in for your home poker game. Make the minimum bets small as well. Avoid high limits as this can upset some players if they lose. You want to host a home poker game to have fun, not to make money.

Set the rules in advance. Make clear whether players have the option to show their cards after a hand; whether they can chat when they are out of a hand; what situations constitute a "no deal" and so on. To be sure, get three judges including yourself to settle disputes in case there will be any.

Set a schedule for raising the blinds. The less money that players bring to the home poker game, the smaller the raises should be. And the more money bought in with, the bigger the raised blinds. Raise the blinds every 20-30 minutes.

Now the home poker game you host can be either a ring game or a tournament. A tournament is better since there are definite rules for ending the game. Set up the home poker game so that play ends when one player has gotten all the chips. Then divide the total chips among the top 3 players.

As said before, you must not host a home poker game with money as the goal. You want your family and friends to have a good time. Provide snacks and drinks for everyone during the game. Set these on a side table and not the playing table. When it is time for your guests to leave, give them take-home gifts like snacks, fruits, desserts or wine. In this way, no one goes home empty-handed. (Just make sure that someone else will be the next home poker host!)

Hosting a home poker game is not hard to do. It is a nice way to bond with friends and family. It is also a stress-free environment for new players to practice in. Have fun playing poker. It's the way it should be.

in |


|