Are you hosting cash game or tourneys?
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How long did it take for your home game to actually take? (2 Viewers)
- Thread starter Salmonblaster
- Start date
OP
OP
Salmonblaster
Two Pair
Cash game so far, but I am looking to branch out into tournaments with some other friends/colleagues who seem more interested in having a set amount to be won or lost as opposed to it being as nebulous as it can be with a cash game sometimes.
Tournaments is how I grew my game. Back in its heyday I’d have 35 to 40 players each month because they liked being able to quantify their risk. Then after a four plus year hiatus 18 of them are still ready to go. We range in age from early forties to mid sixties with one player who is 80 and a retired math teacher that’s still very sharp. Emphasize good food, drink, and fellowship and people will come. Create a newsletter kind of post or email to friends after each game putting a spotlight on the final 2 or 3. That will get their competitive juices flowing. Growing your game is both work, and fun. Oh, and nice chips, chairs, and decent room for playing are appreciated more than you know.
DeeVee8
Flush
I had success using meetup.com to get new players. From time to time, I posted my game and picked up several players. They charge to have a group on their website, so I would leave it posted on for a while, then dump it once my players got comfortable with the game (I have FB and a website for game information).
Any update on how your game is going? Have you been able to get more consistent players in the recent month?
I've been dealing with a similar struggle with getting seats filled in my games. Usually I'll send out invites 5+ days early in hopes that others wont have created plans already (I usually host on Friday night). But some people take days to respond and many say they won't be able to make it for various reasons. Kids, not feeling well, don't have the money ($20 max buy in).
I've been dealing with a similar struggle with getting seats filled in my games. Usually I'll send out invites 5+ days early in hopes that others wont have created plans already (I usually host on Friday night). But some people take days to respond and many say they won't be able to make it for various reasons. Kids, not feeling well, don't have the money ($20 max buy in).
Seeking Alpha Social Club
4 of a Kind
My advice is to start less frequently, and to start with a small buy-in tournamemt followed by cash.
Why you ask?
Because I assume at least some of your friends have spouses or some kind of significant other that they need to answer to. They will immediately jump to, "how much will you lose, and why so often?"
Starting with a tournament provides a definitive, small, amount of money. Nobody needs to mention cash game losses, but it's hard not to if you don't have a tournament cover story. It also makes new players more comfortable knowing how much they will lose. And after they have a great time in the tourney, they're eager for a cash game.
I also think it's important to start infrequently and increase the frequency over time. In my old neighborhood, we started with a couple of tournaments per year, then moved to monthly, and then every Friday.
Just look at it from a crack dealer's perspective.
1. Convince them that it is NOT expensive, e.g., a small tournament.
2. Slowly increase the dosage/frequency.
Both of those worked for me.
Oh yeah, also offer food and lots of alcohol.
On a serious note. You will want to define whether or not this is poker, a social event, or a mix of both; and then recruit new players based on your goal.
I have a mix of both, but it can be painful dealing with drunks sometimes. At least that's what they tell me...LOL.
Good luck!!
OP
OP
Salmonblaster
Two Pair
I've had to step back for the last little bit as my life has gotten extremely busy and some of my friends' lives have had the same thing happen to them. That being said, there is a lot of talk about a game coming up soon, which is exactly why I purchased a tournament set of chips and will likely hosting my first tournament in the next 2 or 3 weeks. I've found another few players that are excited to get in and are more comfortable with the idea of a fixed loss tournament and then deciding afterwards if they'd like to continue playing cash or hang out/head out. Most of them will stay and continue on for the cash game, but at the very least there would be a bigger game happening beforehand which is what I've been pushing towards from the beginning.
My advice is to start less frequently, and to start with a small buy-in tournamemt followed by cash.
Why you ask?
Because I assume at least some of your friends have spouses or some kind of significant other that they need to answer to. They will immediately jump to, "how much will you lose, and why so often?"
Starting with a tournament provides a definitive, small, amount of money. Nobody needs to mention cash game losses, but it's hard not to if you don't have a tournament cover story. It also makes new players more comfortable knowing how much they will lose. And after they have a great time in the tourney, they're eager for a cash game.
I also think it's important to start infrequently and increase the frequency over time. In my old neighborhood, we started with a couple of tournaments per year, then moved to monthly, and then every Friday.
Just look at it from a crack dealer's perspective.
1. Convince them that it is NOT expensive, e.g., a small tournament.
2. Slowly increase the dosage/frequency.
Both of those worked for me.
Oh yeah, also offer food and lots of alcohol.
On a serious note. You will want to define whether or not this is poker, a social event, or a mix of both; and then recruit new players based on your goal.
I have a mix of both, but it can be painful dealing with drunks sometimes. At least that's what they tell me...LOL.
Good luck!!
Thank you for the well wishes and the advice! The first game I hosted had a TON of food and drink, which ended up being a comically obscene amount once the cancellations were factored in.
I'm hoping for it to be a mix of both in the sense of the tournament being for the social/casual players in the group and then the cash game afterwards being for our more degenerate gamblers of the group. The tournament chips I purchased just came in the other day and should be hitting the felt within the next few weeks with a 10-15ish (outside chance at 20) player tournament.Pic of chips for reference just because I like them so much and want to show them off everywhere!
Let me know if you ever need an extra playerI've had to step back for the last little bit as my life has gotten extremely busy and some of my friends' lives have had the same thing happen to them. That being said, there is a lot of talk about a game coming up soon, which is exactly why I purchased a tournament set of chips and will likely hosting my first tournament in the next 2 or 3 weeks. I've found another few players that are excited to get in and are more comfortable with the idea of a fixed loss tournament and then deciding afterwards if they'd like to continue playing cash or hang out/head out. Most of them will stay and continue on for the cash game, but at the very least there would be a bigger game happening beforehand which is what I've been pushing towards from the beginning.
Thank you for the well wishes and the advice! The first game I hosted had a TON of food and drink, which ended up being a comically obscene amount once the cancellations were factored in.
Pic of chips for reference just because I like them so much and want to show them off everywhere!
View attachment 1201547
I've had to step back for the last little bit as my life has gotten extremely busy and some of my friends' lives have had the same thing happen to them. That being said, there is a lot of talk about a game coming up soon, which is exactly why I purchased a tournament set of chips and will likely hosting my first tournament in the next 2 or 3 weeks. I've found another few players that are excited to get in and are more comfortable with the idea of a fixed loss tournament and then deciding afterwards if they'd like to continue playing cash or hang out/head out. Most of them will stay and continue on for the cash game, but at the very least there would be a bigger game happening beforehand which is what I've been pushing towards from the beginning.
Thank you for the well wishes and the advice! The first game I hosted had a TON of food and drink, which ended up being a comically obscene amount once the cancellations were factored in.
Pic of chips for reference just because I like them so much and want to show them off everywhere!
View attachment 1201547
I love the lavender 5K's of your set much more than the orange ones that were traditionally used with those at WSOP. Very cool set.
Regarding your game; just keep throwing event invites on the wall. Eventually one will stick. Also, motivate your friends and family members to recruit for you.
That very mindset helped me profoundly. My prior group disintegrated during covid; however, even before that I'd struggle to get more than six players much of the time.
I frequently mentioned to my wife that I wanted more players for a bigger game. It turned out that one of her coworkers and her husband were part of a poker league at a nearby VFW post. Through her they extended an invite to my wife and I. Now two years later I play with them every Thursday; PLUS, I've hosted several 2-3 table tourneys with them at my home, helped them run tourneys at their own homes on two occasions, AND helped them replace their VFW dice chip set with something a lot nicer.
So, definitely get your friends and family to network and recruit for you. With any luck you'll be hosting your own games soon enough.
I always see people say this but have never heard of, or seen, poker in a bar. Is this just not advertised and something I need to go to bars to see myself? I'm not much of a drinker but would love to play some free bar poker.
Just google “bar league” or “free poker league”. There is a league called World Tavern Poker that has established games in lots of different states. Also, you can probably work with World Tavern Poker to start a free game at a place near you.
I'm not sure I could do this, for a couple of reasons. First, "free" poker is not really poker at all, so I'm questioning how fun it would be. Maybe you could think of it as practice, but ultimately not many people will play free poker the same way that they would play real poker for real stakes. So I mostly discount the practice angle as well.
And much more importantly, I don't think I could go to a bar, meet someone cold, and then invite them into my home for a real poker game. I'm not letting a nearly complete stranger come into my home without more thoroughly vetting them myself, or having them vouched for by someone I know and trust.
I believe the league coordinates with the bar to establish the game which would be at the bar not at your home. The two leagues by me in north jersey have anywhere from 7-30 people a game on Wed and Sat nights.
The one league I play at has three turbo tournaments a night. Blinds are like 12 min and 1500 stack . It’s fun and good for practice. You win points and once a month will get gift certificates. before the pandemic you could win buy ins to real tournaments in Atlantic City.
In NJ playing for money is legal so players can put money on the side all they want. Sometimes people will throw $10 into the hat and the last one standing wins the pot.
That's all fine, but the subject of this thread is building up a home game, and it seemed that you were suggesting using the bar league as an avenue to recruit players for a home game. I'm simply stating that I would not personally be comfortable doing that. But to each their own. Others might be fine with it.
SpaceMonkey420
Full House
Wise men once said: If your game is not growing, it’s dying. Always be looking for players and make sure to educate the new players when they arrive. Teach them and even if they lose they will come back and learn.
I always suggest starting with a small tournament,or even an FREEROLL, even if it’s only three or four people!!! Everyone knows tournaments usually parlay to the cash games later in the night and esp future dates. Keep the stakes LOW and realize that humans are creatures of habit so if they come to your place and sit to play poker, and then have a good time, they WILL come back and usually sit in the same exact seat.
So to get it going, Start small on a levels, host well, and remember PLO is a way better game than hold-em, esp short handed. Lol
Never give up.
I always suggest starting with a small tournament,or even an FREEROLL, even if it’s only three or four people!!! Everyone knows tournaments usually parlay to the cash games later in the night and esp future dates. Keep the stakes LOW and realize that humans are creatures of habit so if they come to your place and sit to play poker, and then have a good time, they WILL come back and usually sit in the same exact seat.
So to get it going, Start small on a levels, host well, and remember PLO is a way better game than hold-em, esp short handed. Lol
Never give up.
Ohhhh yeah my bad I got off topic lol I’m saying I joined a league and after a couple of months I was comfortable with about 6-7 other players to host home games with.
Don't get discouraged. People can be fickle when it comes to participating in new things. The important first step is to commit to a date and not cancel. Put your best game face on as a host and make it as enjoyable experience for others as you can. Provide a couple of snack bowls or a platter. Point out the fridge for beverages.
Keep in mind that poker, like many other activities in life, is a joint effort. Your can improve your chance of success by checking the boxes of your player's wants. Do the players in your group want to play once a month, twice a month, or are they looking for a weekly game? Do they want to play tournament or cash? Is the buy-in too low to catch their interest or too high? Etc.
I bought a full size poker table that sat ten, a china clay cash set from Apache, Da Vinci poker cards, folding chairs and thick, comfy seat cushions from Bed, Bath and Beyond, the works. I sent out invites a week in advance and follow up a day or two before game night. I would hear back from a couple of players that they were backing out, which lead me to cancelling the game for lack of interest.
I went through this cycle three or four times. Each time, I complained about my bad luck in not being able to get enough players for a game to a poker friend of mine. Fed up, he told me to -- "quit being a bitch and host the damn game!" I took his advice. The first week, five players showed up. The following week, eight showed. Every week after that I had a full table.
Preditor
Pair
Bit of an old thread I know, but I'll echo this here.
I'm just 3 games in to a monthly tournament, but I've hosted movie and cigar nights monthly for a while, so I know a thing or two about building a steady group of people to do "X" together.
For my poker event, we've had consistently 7-8 people. Pretty good, in our estimation, for just starting. Like I've done with my other hosting events, we focus on recruiting people who already knew each other/we think will gel well together; as opposed to people who just wanted to play poker. Before we invite anyone, we really think through: "OK... we want to invite Craig. Craig knows Sally. Sally and Craig don't know Ross, but Ross works in the same industry as Craig, so we think they'll bond... Ross doesn't know Jack and Jessica, but they have the same sense of humor" and so-on.
And that strategy seems to have worked. People are meeting people, we're combining friend groups.
Also, I highly encourage an app like E-vite or Paperless Post. It makes the night feel a bit more eventful and cool, you can keep track of who is coming, and send event reminder texts to automatically go out once or twice before the night. And if the date approaches and you find yourself lower than you hoped, you can reach out to some people individually to try to push that number up.
EDIT: Finally, I highly encourage food... food, food, food. Make this something WORTH it for people, even if they lose. For us? $40 means people get dinner (even if it's cheap pizza) and 2-4 hours of entertainment and play. We don't do a cash game, but so far the group is so tight everyone sticks around until the end, even when they bust out!
Charge for that if you like, but I believe hosting should come as some sort of loss for the host. I do this to build community, not to make money.
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4SUMERZ
Flush
I kind of know what you are going through. I attended cash games at a Friend's brother's place, as he had trouble recruiting players. The most he had at any game was 4-5, then the guys that regularly play at my home game would help fill his table. That is fine, as most of my regular players don't mind playing every Friday or Saturday night for a 5 hour game. (BTW, we are all retired, so it does make it easier.)
I have always been part of sports teams, and on most of those teams, in between games or at night, many of us played poker and had a few drinks, so when I started my home game (1 table) it was no problem filling the table on any weekend. I had about 12-15 guys that would play if asked, either at my game, or at the other game I mentioned above.
My table only sits 8, so I have no problem filling it each time. I have about 5 of my closest friend that are on the invite list automatically, then the other 2-3 are
texted or emailed about the time and day, and first to respond are in for that night. At my game, once a month, I supply the drinks, ice and light snacks, but some bring their own, although I never expect them to, but appreciate it. I have a bar fridge and ice making machine in my poker room.
At the other game mentoned, he has BYOB and snacks.
Good Luck with your game.
I have always been part of sports teams, and on most of those teams, in between games or at night, many of us played poker and had a few drinks, so when I started my home game (1 table) it was no problem filling the table on any weekend. I had about 12-15 guys that would play if asked, either at my game, or at the other game I mentioned above.
My table only sits 8, so I have no problem filling it each time. I have about 5 of my closest friend that are on the invite list automatically, then the other 2-3 are
texted or emailed about the time and day, and first to respond are in for that night. At my game, once a month, I supply the drinks, ice and light snacks, but some bring their own, although I never expect them to, but appreciate it. I have a bar fridge and ice making machine in my poker room.
At the other game mentoned, he has BYOB and snacks.
Good Luck with your game.
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