A year ago, my father pitched an idea to the family: a weekly activity to bring us closer. Everyone was really excited with the project; we decided to eat at a different restaurant every Wednesday night. His idea materialized into 2 or 3 successful events; then we started to get no shows, complaints or a low quorum. Family members started to complain because some restaurant options were expensive (especially for those with more responsibilities or a tighter income). Others complained because they ate less and had to pay the bill equally with those who went with all the courses and even dessert. Other times, my brother’s vegetarian wife will not be satisfied with the pick, and often my father felt obliged to pay for the whole meal. The family night event turned to be a real drag and the complete opposite of what we intended. My father started asking around what could we offer as an alternative activity: a movie? Different ages (even infants) made the choice hard. Concerts? No, too expensive. Dinner at someone’s house? The host will feel a lot of responsibility putting up the event, cleaning. What were we to do?

One afternoon he came to me with a package and unwrapped it excitedly: “Look, a poker set!” He thought that a poker home tournament would accomplish the goals he longed for. Amazingly, everyone loved the idea and now the Wednesday’s Poker Tournament at my dad’s house is an event no one wants to miss.

Let me give you a few pointers on how you, too, can make a successful event like this one at your house.

Choosing the game: Hold’em fever

The game I recommend for your home tourney is Texas Hold'em. It is, by far, the most popular game today and it is always a safe pick. Hold’Em is called the “chess of poker” because it involves a lot of skill and strategy. Also, it is the mainstream poker game due to all media coverage. Take advantage of the hype!

Limit: play and mingle for longer

Many players want to run a no-limit tournament because of the excitement they see on television. However, in a no-limit tournament one simple mistake can kick you out of the game, limiting the socializing time. You want your guests to enjoy as much time playing as possible so that they enjoy the evening – that is why a limit tournament is better for a social event.

Buy-In: prepare the guests

It is important that you set the buy-in in advance, whatever you want it to be. We normally charge $10, plus $5 as a contribution for drinks and snacks; but you can make it as much as you want as long as people are willing to pitch in. Give all players a set amount of chips for their buy-in. If you make the tournament without re-buys, once the player’s chips are gone so is their seat on the table. Don’t worry that people left out of the tournament will become bored because, from what I’ve seen, they tend to socialize and mingle in a sort of “losers lounge”, sharing experiences, making jokes and even making bets on who will take the pot. You can choose between different limits; since it is mainly a social activity, a low limit would be the best choice.

Resources: create the right atmosphere

You can use a kitchen table; however, I recommend you buy some felt to cover it. It is cheap, makes cards easier to deal and – most importantly – it creates atmosphere, adding to the playing experience. You will also need at least two decks of plastic coated high quality playing cards and a chip set.If you want to go over the top, or if the tournament becomes a popular ritual, you might want to get help from some electronic resources such as clocks like the Poker Genie or the Poker Clock, designed specifically to aid you in running your own home tournament.

Blinds: no surprises

Blinds should be established before guests arrive. The small blind goes right after the dealer button and the big blind right next to the small blind. Increment the blinds every 12-15 minutes. A popular blind structure is the one below, however for the first round you might want to skip the blinds so that everyone rehearses and gets used to the rules.

25/50 50/100 100/200 300/600 400/800 500/1000 700/1500 1000/2000 2000/4000

Dealer: it’s all about the rhythm

A good resource for home tournaments is to make the dealer button (the dealer is the one in front of the button) rotate so that everyone gets involved in dealing and a good rhythm can be acquired.

Prizes: the right percentage

I suggest you give prizes to the first three places, in which case you should pay out 50% of the total prize pool to the winner, 30% to the second place and the remaining 20% to the third place finisher.

Late Arrivals: you can handle them

Inevitably, there will be people that arrive late and you should let your guests know that you are prepared and can handle this situation. Since you will not be likely to collect the buy-in ahead of time and may not be sure which guests will make it, you may wish to use the following suggestion to handle this situation: since the recommended tournament here is the one with no re-buys, penalize the late arrival with fewer chips based on the level at which the guests joined the tournament.

Hopefully these few pointers will help you make a good home game for you, your family and friends and you can bond through poker like we did.

Note: One important recommendation is that you check your regional legislation; in most U.S States it is legal to host a home poker game as long as you don’t make any profit from it (rake).

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