Cash game with close friends - what stakes? (1 Viewer)

[ThrowBack]

If you raise the stakes you will lose players

 

[Taghkanic]

Our stakes have steadily increased over nearly 15 years of play with multiple hosts. Began as a $35 tourney. Tourney rates slowly climbed up, reaching as high as $120 plus rebuys, plus a $20 add-on. We stopped doing tourneys with the pandemic.

There were some who played cash after busting from the tourney, and this was initially .50/1, then 1/2, and now has reached 2/5.

This is a level which many would start to think is “unfriendly,” and it does create some occasional tension. However there are too many regs who don’t want to play *lower* than 2/5—a few are 5/10 players when they go to a casino.

I have considered bumping down to 1/3 or maybe 2/3 as a compromise to make lower-rolled players more comfortable. There would be a few longtime regs who might bail out or just show less regularly; certainly there would be grumbling. OTOH my guess is that they would just straddle more and the game would wind up playing the same way.

Ultimately I’d say it depends on your players’ incomes and bankrolls. For some it has to be microstakes to still feel friendly, for others it can play much higher and not get nasty.

That said, I notice that even very rich players (and I have at least two in my game) don’t much like losing $3K+ in one session.

 

[elemeno]

. For some it has to be microstakes to still feel friendly, for others it can play much higher and not get nasty.

Since making this thread, I’ve noticed this. There are some people that are very, very well off and they play for $5 to $20 buyins and don’t allow match the stack. Others live nearly paycheck to paycheck but prefer $0.50/$1.00+ and 200-500BB starting stacks.

 

[chamber2skipped]

Our stakes have steadily increased over nearly 15 years of play with multiple hosts. Began as a $35 tourney. Tourney rates slowly climbed up, reaching as high as $120 plus rebuys, plus a $20 add-on. We stopped doing tourneys with the pandemic.

There were some who played cash after busting from the tourney, and this was initially .50/1, then 1/2, and now has reached 2/5.

This is a level which many would start to think is “unfriendly,” and it does create some occasional tension. However there are too many regs who don’t want to play *lower* than 2/5—a few are 5/10 players when they go to a casino.

I have considered bumping down to 1/3 or maybe 2/3 as a compromise to make lower-rolled players more comfortable. There would be a few longtime regs who might bail out or just show less regularly; certainly there would be grumbling. OTOH my guess is that they would just straddle more and the game would wind up playing the same way.

Ultimately I’d say it depends on your players’ incomes and bankrolls. For some it has to be microstakes to still feel friendly, for others it can play much higher and not get nasty.

That said, I notice that even very rich players (and I have at least two in my game) don’t much like losing $3K+ in one session.

I wouldn't even want that much floating around a house game. Makes too tempting a target.

 

[Taghkanic]

I wouldn't even want that much floating around a house game. Makes too tempting a target.

I really don’t worry about robbery. I’m not in a city or even a suburban area... I’m at the end of a dead-end dirt road in a rural area. It’s a pretty forbidding location at night, even when you know it, and there is no real way to approach it stealthily. More importantly, pretty much no one except players know exactly when the game goes off, or its stakes. Players are likewise aware that there are cameras on the road and on/in all buildings. So if some disgruntled reg ever thought of having someone to rob us, they’d have to do so knowing (a) they would be the prime suspects; and (b) it would all be captured on video.

 

[chamber2skipped]

Oh that's not bad then.

 

[JustinInMN]

For those of you that regularly host or play in a monthly game with close friends, how did your group choose the stakes and what stakes do you play? What should the rebuy/add-on rules be? How many big blinds do your players start with?

You almost answered your question here.

Half the players are willing to rebuy 2-3x, while the other half only buys in once. Incomes are all over the place, but everyone is doing above average. Some players want to play for higher stakes, while others want to keep the buyin low.

If your stakes are such that most players are doing 2-3 buy-ins, then you are at the right spot.

If you have enough players that want to play higher, I suggest you host that on a different night and see who shows and see if you are still getting players willing to buy in 2-3x.

 

[Seven2Wizard]

You’re in a cash game with close friends. It’s 75% about just hanging out and having a good time and 25% about poker. Maybe even 90%/10% for some attendees. The group enjoys some healthy competition and trash talk, but no one should be hurt financially or leave with hard feelings.

Half the players are willing to rebuy 2-3x, while the other half only buys in once. Incomes are all over the place, but everyone is doing above average. Some players want to play for higher stakes, while others want to keep the buyin low.

For those of you that regularly host or play in a monthly game with close friends, how did your group choose the stakes and what stakes do you play? What should the rebuy/add-on rules be? How many big blinds do your players start with?

Host sets the limit and opens the seats up to the club. First come, first serve.

 

[APatHand]

The stakes should be high enough that losing (losing a hand and losing for the night) should sting.

If it doesn't sting when you lose it is just a circle jerk - not that that is necessarily a bad thing.

 

[TheJestyr]

I read the first few responses, but then fast forwarded to posting since most people are saying the same things I’d say. Start small. My non-poker playing buddies and I play 5c/10c or even 5c/5c. We usually try to stick to hold ‘em but sometimes we do PLO or mixed games. No one loses more than $200 in a night (and that’s usually a rarity). We cap the buy in at $20. For most of my non-gambling friends, $60 by the end of the night can sting.

But I also run Super Tecmo in the background comp v comp. I set the line and guys can hang out and place bets (no vig or anything)…this way if guys don’t want to play poker but they still want to hang out, they have something to do. They can bet up to $5 on the game, but usually we keep it around $1 or $2. There’s been times I’ve been up heaps in poker, but down heaps in Tecmo. (We’ve been doing this for years, so I’ve got copious records as to what teams scores what lol…I’ve gotten pretty good at setting lines, but definitely not great haha)

 

[QuailValley]

I read the first few responses, but then fast forwarded to posting since most people are saying the same things I’d say. Start small. My non-poker playing buddies and I play 5c/10c or even 5c/5c. We usually try to stick to hold ‘em but sometimes we do PLO or mixed games. No one loses more than $200 in a night (and that’s usually a rarity). We cap the buy in at $20. For most of my non-gambling friends, $60 by the end of the night can sting.

But I also run Super Tecmo in the background comp v comp. I set the line and guys can hang out and place bets (no vig or anything)…this way if guys don’t want to play poker but they still want to hang out, they have something to do. They can bet up to $5 on the game, but usually we keep it around $1 or $2. There’s been times I’ve been up heaps in poker, but down heaps in Tecmo. (We’ve been doing this for years, so I’ve got copious records as to what teams scores what lol…I’ve gotten pretty good at setting lines, but definitely not great haha)

That Tecmo idea is fantastic. I may have to use that myself.


Also I throw out what we do, as my game is very similar (mostly hanging out vs trying to make money). $25 buy in 0.25/0.25 blinds. Barrel of $1 and Barrel of $0.25. Keeps everything super simple the whole night. Then if they felt I'll let them buy back in up to $25 per buy in unlimited times. Since we are casual usually one to two people buy back in once, and rarely we will have some one buy back in twice.

$25 buy in is pretty much the cost of going out and getting a couple craft beers anyways so no one is stung if they lose it all. We once talked about increasing to $50, but it was quickly voted down because that would be a tougher pill to explain to the wives.

 

[wcsmik]

We do $25 buy in .25/.25 games where we also get pretty hammered. We’ve discussed doing $100 buy in with less drinking to have a more serious game.

 

[GeeOhVee]

Most of my crew has dialed back over the years to .25/.50 NLHE, to keep it relatively friendly but still make people pay attention.