Tourney What's Your Buy-In? (1 Viewer)

[MoscowRadio]

I wanted to get some feedback from some of the members here on how much your buy-ins for tournaments cost? I'm really trying to add a dedicated dealer into the mix and our tournaments are usually $30 per buy-in. I'm thinking of bumping it to $40 so I can pay our dealer $10 an hour. Do you think this is too much for a home game? Any comments or suggestions are greatly appreciated.

 

[slisk250]

I don't think it is too much. Only one way to find out. Invite the regulars and see how many you get.

 

[abby99]

If I understand your post correctly, the real question is, are your players willing to pay $10 each for dedicated dealers? Ask them.

 

[MoscowRadio]

If I understand your post correctly, the real question is, are your players willing to pay $10 each for dedicated dealers? Ask them.

That is mostly what I'm worried about, but I also wanted to know how much other members here set their buy-ins for.

 

[spikeithard]

I usually do $60 13-16 player tourneys that last about 4-5 hours

 

[RichMahogany]

Most of the home tourneys I've played in were $40 STT. Usually 9-10 players. Cheap enough that it doesn't sting if you bust out, but worth trying to win IMO. Cheaper than a night out drinking.

I also occasionally played in a monthly 3-4 table(20-32 player) tournament with a $60 buy in. The caveat being that one rebut/add on was already included with the buy in. Makes is a great value.

What"s considered too much is really player dependent. I've had some tell me that $20 was too expensive for a home game. Granted, they claimed to be very, very casual players.

Unless you're running a large, multiple table, high buy in tournament I'd skip the dedicated dealer. YMMV

 

[Trihonda]

I also occasionally played in a monthly 3-4 table(20-32 player) tournament with a $60 buy in. The caveat being that one rebut/add on was already included with the buy in. Makes is a great value.

Also seems like it'd make one crazy last hand before the rebuys end... Ok, anyone with less than starting stacks will be going all in automatically.

 

[Bloody Marvelous]

Here's something you might want to consider:

How about you be the dedicated dealer? Practice proper dealing procedures (www.truepokerdealer.com is a fantastic resource), and read up on the rules of poker (TDA / RRoP / WSOP Dealer Manual). It doesn't cost anything (except time), and I'm sure your players will appreciate it.

As far as buy-ins go, I host € 10 buy-in tournaments for those who just want to play, but can't afford higher buy-ins (or don't want to spend a more), and € 50 buy-in tournaments for those who want to have a chance at making a big profit. It all depends on the players.

 

[ChipTalker]

We usually do $80 +20 optional bounty which everyone usually partakes in (2 to 3 full tables).

 

[justsomedude]

We play low stakes... $15 buyins, $10 rebuys (for starting stacks), and $10 addons for half-stacks. We usually get 10-15 guys, buy pizza from the pot, and have $150-$200 for take-home once all is said and done. After a few bust outs, some one is usually happy hanging around being the dedicated dealer, and it works well.

We've also just added a $.25/$.50 NL cash game ($20/$40 buyins), which may reduce the number of rebuys in the tourney. Trying it out for the first time next Friday.

 

[MrWitti]

50$ buy in with rebuy

 

[RichMahogany]

Also seems like it'd make one crazy last hand before the rebuys end... Ok, anyone with less than starting stacks will be going all in automatically.

It could get crazy at times

 

[iblonger]

$20 friendly game. Between 10 and 15 guys, most of which are working on being drunk by the end of night.

 

[thorwilliam]

50$ buy in with rebuy

Same here.

 

[Junior24xx]

20 dollar tournaments.... Rebuts for first level. Cash games when busted out. No rules on cash game buy ins, but most people buy for 20 to 50.

 

[Mojo1312]

Two : A $50 tournament, and a $45 tournament that includes a $5 knock-out chip.

 

[MoscowRadio]

Thank you guys, and to Thor, your avatar is awesome. I should've snagged some of those Terrible's buttons!

 

[Mr. Cheese]

When we played tournaments we did 50 dollars with 5 dollar bounty. Now we only do cash games which also are a minimum 50 dollar buyin.

 

[thorwilliam]

Thank you guys, and to Thor, your avatar is awesome. I should've snagged some of those Terrible's buttons!

Yeah, the buttons turned out great. Only complaint is that the red is a bit too dark.

 

[MoscowRadio]

Here's something you might want to consider:

How about you be the dedicated dealer? Practice proper dealing procedures (www.truepokerdealer.com is a fantastic resource), and read up on the rules of poker (TDA / RRoP / WSOP Dealer Manual). It doesn't cost anything (except time), and I'm sure your players will appreciate it.

As far as buy-ins go, I host € 10 buy-in tournaments for those who just want to play, but can't afford higher buy-ins (or don't want to spend a more), and € 50 buy-in tournaments for those who want to have a chance at making a big profit. It all depends on the players.

I've thought about doing this, but I don't think I'd enjoy being the dealer all night. I do like dealing and have practiced over the years and always watch for the habits of a good dealer, but I'd like more to be able to give my full attention to the game.

 

[pokerplayingpisces]

Anything from $10 to $100. Buy-in, starting stacks, & structure changes depending on the group playing and stakes.

 

[p5woody]

Thank you guys, and to Thor, your avatar is awesome. I should've snagged some of those Terrible's buttons!

Thread jack - I still have the artwork if you want to organize a group buy!

 

[Psypher1000]

Our buy-in is $20 for a sit n go. It may increase over time, some of these people need to get acclimated to tourney play before we push the stakes up.

 

[slisk250]

Thread jack - I still have the artwork if you want to organize a group buy!

I need five of the black ones! Is that enough to start?

 

[Leonard]

My monthly tournament started at $50 ten years ago. I bumped it to $100 after a few years and last year we went to $200.
It's a multi-table (usually 24 players or so) with the very first person to bust gets the option to re-buy.

As a matter of fact, I need to go upstairs and get everything set up. Starts at 7pm tonight.

 

[CdnBeerLover]

20 dollar tournaments.... Rebuts for first level. Cash games when busted out. No rules on cash game buy ins, but most people buy for 20 to 50.

Ours are close to this. $20 buy-in w/one rebuy up to the end of the rebuy period.

We have also started playing cash game for people who bust out. We do limit the buy-in size, though. For 25c/25c, buyins are $10 to max stack on the table. Most people buy-in for $20 at a time.

 

[MoscowRadio]

Thread jack - I still have the artwork if you want to organize a group buy!

I would love to have one, but I don't really have a use for one as I don't own any Terrible's. However, if there was enough interest to get a group buy going I might buy one just for kicks.

 

[BGinGA]

I wanted to get some feedback from some of the members here on how much your buy-ins for tournaments cost? I'm really trying to add a dedicated dealer into the mix and our tournaments are usually $30 per buy-in. I'm thinking of bumping it to $40 so I can pay our dealer $10 an hour. Do you think this is too much for a home game? Any comments or suggestions are greatly appreciated.

We pay tournament dealers $15/hour for our league games ($60 or $40 entry fee, depending on which series). Dealers are paid from the league dealer pool, which is funded in two ways: A $5 or $4 dealer rake per player is deducted from the entry fees (depending on which series), and players can opt to buy extra starting chips (usually about a 10% bonus) for $5 'dealer tokes' which are also added to the league dealer pool. Dealer pool funds are used to pay dealers throughout the league season, including the Championship Tournament (which is a free-roll event). Any extra funds remaining in the dealer pool at the end of the season are added to the Championship Tournament prize pool (usually a very minimal amount, $20-$30 leftover). Although not required, most 1st and 2nd place finishers usually tip the dealers 5% to 10% of winnings.

For non-league games, we pay dealers $10/hour. The total dealer pay is deducted from the prize pool, with the remainder distributed to the prize-winners on a preset percentage basis. Most of our non-league game entry fees range between $20 (usually a multi-rebuy format) and around $40 on the high end. Again, tipping is totally optional, but most 1st/2nd place finishers usually throw the dealer an extra tip.

To keep the dealer rake at a reasonable percentage of the pot, I'd advise bumping your entry fee up to $40. Alternatively you could introduce the optional "dealer toke for bonus starting chips" concept -- it works very well for our group. Most (but not all) players participate in the voluntary dealer donation for a bigger stack.

 

[MoscowRadio]

Thanks for your input Dave. I can always count on you for some good, clear, and concise information. The local card room where I used to play (before Sheriff Arpaio shut it down) offered exactly what you're talking about: extra starting chips for a small fee and they called it "dealer appreciation". I've been thinking about doing this as well as most of the players would be happy to start with a bigger stack.

 

[66Divadnoj]

$100 buy-in with $10 bounty each week. I get between 30-40 players. We deal ourselves... I'm not sure, but I don't think it's legal in NJ to pay dealers at a home game. Does anyone know for sure? My understanding is the minute you start taking funds out of the prize pool for any reason you might be subject to legal action...