Running a Good/Successful Poker Game

Theres only so much you can do....u named most of them but here is what I c best for house games...

1. A/C- must keep players cool during hot day's nights

2. Dealers- Its nice to have dealers to avoid cheating

3. Two Warnings then tossed out- to avoid confrontation

4. food/drinks- this is the obv..if u can have someone bartend that would be great so players dont have to move often

5. Tv's- gamblers play more than poker and could have money on the game....computer could be handy as well

6. You as a host put bounties on certain players heads and if they bust them in cash or tourney they get x amount of dollars

7. Have fresh decks of cards ready to play...plastic kem cards preferably

Great suggestions. I'd add:

1. High hand(for the night) jackpot - maybe $25

2. An ongoing bad beat jackpot - my local game is up to about $1,800

3. Waitress is DEF a plus - and a Dealer is a MUST

4. Always make players feel secure

Good luck with your game

i will add:

if you are short a person to play right away, YOU should sit and play until another person arrives.

do not ever give a time limit to stop a game.  the players should determine this, especially since you are taking a rake.  so be prepared to have long nights and even into the next day afternoon games. 

Good thread.

There are about a half dozen really good private games in my area. All of them have all the points you guys bring up.

But i would say the #1 thing is security if we are talking about real stakes.

There have been alot of robberies outside of games with decent stakes. Even guys breaking into the club and holding everyone up.

So just be carefull of who you bring in to your game because 95% of the time it's a person who plays in the club who sets this all up.

Also think about charging an "food and entertainment" fee.

And have everyone who plays in your games sign a form stating that they are paying for food and entertainment not paying you a rake for Poker.

Trust me on this one.

It should say that all the players in your game(s) are paying you for food and entertainment and not to host a Poker game. Thats all it should say.

Because collecting a rake is illegal and if your game gets big enough with enough players people start to talk and you run a good chance of getting raided. I have been in a game when the cops have raided. Not only will you (not your players) spend a night in jail if you get a D.A. who wants to bust balls you have a problem on your hands.

Now if your just talking about a friendly game with buddies, maybe 2 tables and you know all the players this probably wont happen to you. But if your looking to make money and start a club you need to protect yourself as much as you can.

But back in the day of New York City clubs (14th Street Playstation, Mayfair Club, ect.) a simple waiver and a monthly fee associated with it was pretty standard.

My biggest gripe with many of the small clubs I play at is they don't control the game properly.  I have a lot of options where I live, so I try to avoid places where the rules are not really enforced.  I'm talking about regulars showing their cards to each other when they're mucking, people talking when they shouldn't be, etc.  There is usually one or two A-holes in these places who can ruin the game for people.  I have a million particular examples, but suffice to say that I'm not shy about getting up and leaving after only a few minutes if I see anything that pisses me off.  And I'm the type of player that these rooms should be praying comes in.  I tip well, I rarely open my mouth, and I put money in play (unlike some people who come to the game with the minimum buy-in and try to make a score).  I'm going to pay rake/time somewhere, so if you run your room like a friendly home game in your basement, I'll just go somewhere else.   

Quote Originally Posted by Weathered:

But then again now that I think about it that still did nto stop them from getting shut down so who knows. Just be carefull and remember you can get in trouble if you get caught collecting a rake

Going back about five years ago, there was a club by me called the Chess & Checkers Club.  They even had a big, visible sign on the door with that name on it.  It wasn't hidden or discreet.  When you went in for the first time, they gave you a membership card with your picture and name (I used a fake name), and they gave you a quick tour.  It was a beautiful new building with two floors.  Downstairs, they had the cage, four poker tables, two pool tables, two dart boards, and about ten hi-tops with chess/checkerboards on them.  They also had a full kitchen, fully stocked where you could pour yourself a drink, make a sandwich, or look for something else to snack on.  In the small upstairs, they had about six computers hooked up with all the poker sites downloaded, so you could just go there and play if there was a crowd, or no game.  The upstairs also had about eight tables, and this is where they had their tournaments.  Really nice place.  When you walked through the door, they charged you $20.  That got you two hours.  They wrote down what time you walked in, and when you left they either gave you a refund (if you left in less than 2hrs) or they charged you more ($5 per half).  These were 'club dues'.  No money was taken from the poker games (rake/time).  I thought it was a flawless setup.  Some people went there and didn't even play cards.  They would play chess, or shoot pool, or just hang.  It lasted a little more than a year, and got shut down. 

It was in the papers locally.  This was the only thing I could find online:

https://www.baristanet.com/2006/09/new_jerseys_new_gambling_resor.php

I actually have been there. I was far from a regular but I would say I was there 2 or 3 times.

I know we have been to the Borgata at the same time, we might have played against each other there as well.

I think a couple of those guys were also running a bookmaking shop and thats what got them caught. Or at least they were involved somehow with one or two of the larger bookies in NJ.

Just a rumor I have heard a couple of times, but it would seem to make sense to me.

Years back, there was another room near me called the Park Ave Social Club.  That was the first room around that I played in regularly.  I think that was even before I had been to the Player's Club in nyc.  They eventually got busted too, and I think that was because they began to dabble in things other than poker as well. 

I've been in many rooms around my area, and none has lasted longer than a year or two, except one that's still going strong for at least five years now.  And I hate it and rarely play there.

My usual day at the Borgata is Tuesday, but I wasn't able to go today.  I'm either going tomorrow or Thursday.  Did you play in any of the Summer Open events?  I went to play in the H.O.S.E. event, but they only got 41 people.  Only paid 5 places.  That's pretty awful.  In the blog it said when they were down to three handed, the big stack had less than 6 big bets.     

I live in Bergen County so I dont really have a normal day I go to A.C. but I end up making it down for about 4 or 5 sessions a month.

I have not played a live tournament in about 3 months. I have always been primarily a cash game player. And I play all the games. In fact the Pot Limit Omaha action at the Taj has been my main focus over the past 90 days. I have only logged 2 NLHE sessions at the Borgata.

But I know the overall turnout for alot of the Borgata events was pretty low. I think it will only get worse once the action gets going at Philadelphia Park. I fear all the mid to higher limit Omaha games are gonna go bye bye and I'll be back to grinding $2 - $5 and $5 - $10 NLHE at Borgata again.

Also once Football season gets here that cuts my Poker playing down as well...focus alot of my bankroll on the NFL and NCAAF.

We are actually trying to get a weekly $2 - $4 No Limit game going in Wayne. I dont know if you live close to there. I'm hoping it gets off the ground and we start playing sometime in August. If your interested add me as a friend and send me a pm. But like I said probably at best we are still about 6 weeks away from getting a full 9 or 10 handed game going. We have 5 commited right now.

Just added you.  I'm in Bloomfield, so pretty close to Wayne. 

When I was at the Borgata last week, they called a 1/2 PLO game.  Hadn't really seen that there before.  I'm more of a cash game player myself, but I'll play a tourney usually once a month or so. 

An old poker buddy of mine called me the other day to tell me he got a job dealing poker at one of the PA casinos (I think Parx).  He said he starts in early August.

Yeah I actually know a few A.C. dealers who are leaving for PA. They are hiring left and right.

I accepted your friend request. So once I know whats going on with that game I will let you know. Your pretty close in Bloomfield. It's going to happen only a matter of when.

And yeah I have seen a few 1/2 PLO games go at Borgata. In fact I went to eat dinner over at Harrah's last month and they had a 6 handed game going there that I sat in for a few hours.

PLO is great. Alot of weak players who are burned out from NLHE and they are trying to learn a new game. It's kinda like the mid-2000's all over again when if you were already a seasoned No Limit player (I have been playing NLHE since 1996) it was basicially a license to print free money for a couple of years.

While most of the games are still filled with tons of fish nothing will ever come close to 2004 - 2006 ever again

Weathered - that 2004-2006 easy $$$ sounds like loan officers in that time. $$$ was so easy to come by.

Anywho - I'm one of those average AT BEST players who wants to get better. I've read a few books and am reading more advanced ones. Any suggestions on how to get to that next level? I know you mentioned a few of your friends who've stepped up from smaller stakes to high stakes. Also, in you opinion, would you say I focus on Omaha? It sounds like that's where the money's at. I just get nervous wondering if I'm the donk at the table full of seasoned omaha pro's or if, like you said, I'm actually playing players burned out from hold em. Any thoughts are appreciated.

There is no substitute for experience.  Pay attention to every hand, whether you're in it or not.  Always take a guess (mentally) at what the players are holding.  Eventually you will get better and better at this.  And don't give any info away ever.  I love sitting next to people who think they're great.  They're always showing their tough laydowns and talking a ton.  I'll talk sports or the weather or etc at the table, but I never will talk poker.  I have friends who I can discuss stuff with after I'm done playing.  I don't need to give insight to anyone I'm playing against.   

Jelax -

What level of Omaha do you play? Online or Brick and Mortar?

If you are playing anything above $1 - $2 the odds are your playing with at least 4 or 5 really really good players.

Be honest and ask yourself if you understand some of these concepts:

1. The gap between premium and marginal starting hands in Hold'em is not reflected in Omaha. Because PLO is a drawing game, suited and connected cards are more powerful than in Hold'em, making the coveted pocket aces not nearly as much of a powerhouse.

2. With more players seeing flops, the average pre-flop pot size is typically much larger than in Hold'em. The bigger the pot going to the flop, the bigger the bets will be post-flop, making Omaha play much larger.

3. You need a stronger hand to win at Omaha. The majority of Hold'em pots are won by a two pair or weaker hand. These types of hands do not hold up as often in Omaha, meaning there is a paramount need for made hands with redraws.

4. Omaha is a more hand-driven game, affording you far fewer opportunities for bluffing. If there are three to a suit on board, you can almost always assume someone has the flush in Omaha, and a paired board yields a very high probability of someone holding a tight (full house), whereas that would only be a minor concern in most Hold'em hands.

5. With the multiple combinations of draws being played in every hand, value betting properly becomes far more crucial in Omaha. If you are not able to fully exploit the situations where you have the most equity, you're going to have a hard time beating the game consistently.

6. Position is just as important in both forms of poker, but for different reasons. In Hold'em the player with the best position will win the pot the most often, while in Omaha success is more hand-driven. However, the player with position in Omaha is best situated to properly modulate and control pot sizes.

7. Tight-passive players are less likely to be steamrolled in Omaha than in Hold'em. Reduced opportunity for bluffing reduces how effectively you can bully a passive player. It's not impossible; it's just far more difficult.

This is just a tip of the iceberg start to PLO. Real basic stuff.

If you feel like right now you already knew all of that then your ready to at least start taking lower level PLO seriously.

One really great way to learn is to pay very close attention to the sharp players at your table. Try to get a feel for what they are doing. And in time you will start to learn to incorporate alot of their tendencies into your own game.

There is no golden path to being a good Poker player. Unfortunately the only way to get better is to fail. Fail. And fail again.

I would suggest just having very good bankroll management skills and playing as much as you can at a level you can afford and go from there. Just take it more seriously. If your in a Poker room to have fun then your not going to get better. If your in a Poker room to beat other players and make money then thats the first real start.

So to sum it all up I would say yes, if you have more than an average understanding at Omaha I think right now the games are softer. If not focus on Hold'em. There is alot more game selection when it comes to Hold'em at the lower levels anyway, thats always a major plus for anyone who is trying to improve and move up.

thx danno . I very rarely give information but will make it a habit to never give info. Appreciate the insight.

Weathered - I really appreciate you taking the time to put this list together. I feel pretty comfortable with those concepts but #5,6,are VERY important and I need to work on that part of my game. I also never thought about #7. I typically play .5/1 online or 1-2/3 live. I'm not close enough to any casino to play regularly but would prefer to work on my live game. It tough to think that 4-5 players at the table are much better than me but I guess in the scheme of things if there are 4-5 weak players then it really doesn't matter.  I will definitely take your advice and will master these basic concepts and work on my game. Again, appreciate you taking the time to share your thoughts.