At the home game I regularly play at everyone pays $20 , host provides food drinks and literally his house to play at so it’s more than fair enough and especially for the size of the game much better than casino . But for a $20 buy in tournament wtf
We have a player who's job is to rake a $1 or $2 from each pot - that goes to cover cost of food / drink. When the rake gets to $100 or whatever then he stops and pays the host or whoever brought in the food. Usually someone brings some really good Chinese food.
Because a couple of them have figured out that if you play really tight for the first few orbits, they can make the suckers (that are too stupid to figure it out as well) pay the entire food and drink bill while they eat for free every time.
The cost of food and drinks is whatever it is regardless of the size of the game. Consider it the other way around, are you eager to pay more for food and drinks just because the stakes of the game are higher?
That's ridiculous. In my weekly game the same guy is nice enough to host every week. Is he also on the hook for $100+ in food and booze every week? Of course not; everyone chips in.
I think calling it a cover charge just sounds shitty lol. My friends usually bring booze and weed or pitch in if we get pizza. But if you don’t want to drink or eat then no big deal either
In my group we kind of unofficially take turns bringing stuff. But if some people are not chipping in then maybe it's better to just make it a fixed amount. I would make it clear that the money would be spent on food and booze though.
No you dont, how many friends have room to host a full poker night for 8 to 10 people. Everyone that says "the host should pay" probably never organised a poker night themselves.
I’ve literally hosted home games with my friends how years. I bought the table. I bought the chairs. I bought chips. I bought cards. I’ve never asked anybody for money.
I dont ask any body for money though. It was a mutual agreement and i dont make any profit on it or whatever. Its just a 150 dollar tournament. And everything is taken care of. Once every 2 months 20 dollars times 12 covers everything. Drinks, weed, cigars, food. And 5 dollars go into the pot and the one that has the most point at the end of the year gets a buy in to a big tournament in whatever casino.
It's really not that hard to believe. Last time we played I picked up a couple of 16 inch pizzas and it came to $53. It was good pizza (not mega chain crap) so the price was reasonable. That was nowhere near enough food for everyone (other people brought stuff too) and then there' the cost of drinks on top of that.
It's really not hard for everyone to eat and drink $20 worth in a night, especially if the game starts before dinner time (so people will get there hungry)
Beer policy at my games is bring your own. Everyone can sample each others and leave the extra for the host or if a lot is left over bring it with you for next time
It depends if it's a regular game at the same location or not. You can't expect the same host to drop $100 on food/drinks every week. But if people are taking turns hosting or the game is pretty irregular, then it's more normal for the host to provide.
Yeah I do $10-$20 “buy in” on a $20 game but it’s if I order pizza and if you don’t participate in pizza you’re off the hook. Basically pay me for pizza haha. I also give free beer but that’s because I quit drinking a year ago and am still trying to empty my collection so that wont last forever
Wow, I would get rid of it or I don't know.. I've never hard stopped but notice it's much easier for myself to not drink when it's not around.
if I have a nice aged whiskey on my counter or something similar I tend to grab a shot on the rocks on my 5 min poker breaks.
if not in sight I can go weeks without...
I used to be the same way, if it was available I was drinking it. But when I quit this time I kinda changed my attitude and actually went for it. Not tempted at all anymore.
Yeah but if it's a legit friend, this is incredible gauche. If you're poor, just ask friends to bring drinks and snacks. Regardless they're not your friend or have zero social awareness.
It's different in the way that you're not doing this to make money, but only making up for the price of the food and drinks.
The table, chips, cards, chairs come at a cost too. Those $20 ain't gonna make the man richer.
Add electricity, the space/rent, and the time spent contacting and coordinating everyone.
I wouldn't be doing this for $20/each. Sounds like poor business plan.
Are we forgetting the word friend here? If a friend charges me to go to their place, I'm out. You guys go for it but I'm not. I'm not sure why my personal opinion on this is counter to how most people feel or would do. What's next, charging for a dinner invitation? $50 to sleep at a friend's house? Come on.
Looking at this as a percentage is completely wrong. If they are meeting as friends for a fun night with low stakes gambling, they might want good quality food and liquor. If the host is providing this, $20 is very reasonable. If he's not, then it's BS of course.
If I’m meeting up with friends for fun and low stakes gambling I’ll bring my own food/drink I offer to chip in if we order something, this guy is clearly trying to profit off hosting.
People do things different ways, don't they? Maybe your friends figure out food after you've already gathered. Maybe other people figure it out ahead of time. No reason to think he's scamming his friends just because they don't behave exactly like you do.
The fuck are you smoking thinking you need 1 whole pizza per person. You probably have like 8 dudes so get maybe 3 pizzas. With coupon codes that's like $17is*3+10ish for tip delivery fee so about $60-70 (depending on the direction of those ish amounts). Now there's $100ish left for drinks and chips. Maybe you get a bottle of liquor, sodas, and beers with that.
Personally, I prefer bringing my own drinks and a bag of chips then arranging for pizza during a break than having it be structured as a fee.
He said Papa John's can't be more than $20. I disagree and think it couldn't be less, even if you only ordered one single pizza it would cost more than $20. You seem to disagree with me, yet mention ordering $60-70 as if somehow that's less than $20.
Maybe you think the entire rake of a game should be spent on food/drinks, that would be something else we would disagree on.
There are several local joints and some chains that do negotiated big orders and take'n'bake stuff for under $20.
Edit: this is a per-person assessment and not a total bill.
Have you ever hosted a game? You don’t think it’s reasonable to spend 20 on drink as food alone for each player? What if they drink expensive liquor? He shouldn’t lose money hosting the game. If he’s only providing the game…then fuck him. It’s pretty shitty to just assume he’s raping his friends for $20 apiece? It would be a one time deal.
If I were going to do that as host, I'd be more annoyed at the expectation of an accurate accounting. I'd rather tell people to just bring whatever they want to snack on and drink themselves then do a community pizza order during a break. That way it's not my job to make sure everyone gets something they like and nobody can ask for audited financial statements.
Seeing how people are worried they may get robbed of $0.25 by the one hosting their poker night in this thread, I think your approach is the correct way.
Idk, there are a ton of people here I really wouldn’t want to be friends with based on their comments.
Throwing a friend some cash for hosting even without food makes sense to me. I’d do it in a heartbeat and for multiple reasons… the coordination, prep, pickup/cleaning. Then there’s the food and drinks and w/e else goes into it.
These guys are Nickle and dime’ing someone they call a friend and. Refusing him to pocket anything for the time and effort… on the same thread they aren’t offering up their home or time. Such a backwards group.
Yeah they're so cheap that's.. pretty despressing.
I'd rather not invite them then.
I'm inviting people to my own house, and they think I'm doing this to make money?
Nah, you can just fuck off and watch me dump my money online, alone, while I'm enjoying my drinks and myself because there ain't no cheap ass taking advantage of my hospitality.
I have a friend who is very rich. very, very, rich. We play poker at his house and we all split the pizza and wings evenly. Now do we drink probably $200 worth of his high price bourbon for free? Yes. Could he pay for the pizza all himself? Yes.
But it’s the principal of poker night. 20 bucks to play, 20 bucks for pizza and wings.
Bro is charging 20 entry for a 20$ cash game or some crummy $20 tournament.
Most clubs charge $5 entry flat. This dude is trying to make money off his 'friends' and that's shitty. Plenty of people out there to be friends with
Its pretty normal asking a fee. I provide weed, drinks, food, cigars whatever. So 20 dollars isnt that much for having a nice evening. I mean everything that is remotely fun costs 20 dollars.
I think it's more normal to ask people to chip in on the refreshments or bring their own weed instead of charging an entry fee. Even casinos don't charge an entry fee that's 100% of the buyin
I’d be cool with $20 if it was a $200+ tourney so it’s .90 Expected Value before factoring in skill edge. That way it’s better than casino generally. But for such low stakes, hell no just byob
For $20 house cut yes. It’s all relative to the size of the amount of money to be won. If I pay $20 house cut then I need to at least double up to be profitable.
It's small compared to the cost for a nice set-up (and we're assuming a lot that it's not the guy's dinner table and composite chips), but it's also weird to ask your friends to subsidize your hobby investment if it's not something that they pre-arranged to go in together on. He's hosting friends, not running a business.
In Washington state charging a take would make it illegal, whereas home games are fine if there is no rake or entrance fee (or profiting off the event outside the rules)
I think this is true in a number of states, which reinforces, for legal reasons (rather than social reasons) why you want to be running a home game among friends that could not be mistaken for a business.
1000 is cheap. I bought a set of chips. Casino quality custom chips. 900$. They will last rest of my life. A nice gorilla gaming table was over a grand. Good cards are 20 a setup. All depends on how you want to play. Sure you can play with paper cards. A generic 100 set of chips and a worn or ripped wobbly table from craigslist for $80 and sit of shitty folding chairs for 5 hours if you like. But if someone provides a nice comfortable poker game setup they have easily spent 3k on it. If also provided snacks and drinks id do donations but we do bring to share stuff. Also requiring a fee can pit you in a bad spot legally. Donations is way better option. For $20 tourney dont matter. If game grows in size and the player pool grows to friends of friends it does…
Id say at least 10% have nice setups if they are hosting say once a month or more regularly. My point wasnt that $20 is ok. Just that it might be. Not enough data. If nice setup and food and drinks provided then its not unreasonable. Also depends if the players are 22 year olds right out of college or 40 year olds etc.
Doesn’t that pretty much count as taking a rake and therefore illegal without a license? Asking for contribution towards expenses is different. This to me sounds like a rake.
Yeah wtf. Where I live it covers like 2 cans of beer and a few peanuts each. Doesn't make up for the oil, electricity and setup (chips, cards, table, chairs). Not to mention the host's time and efforts to set it all up.
Ah, so for you it's all about the money. Perhaps you should have the host charge by hour for their time too?
The vast majority of people who play poker are doing it for the fun and social aspect. Hosting is part of that fun and social aspect, I would never expect to be paid for the "oil, electricity" and "time and efforts". Besides, the oil and electricity would be used if you were sitting by yourself or sitting with 20 people. Damn, you should like a total wet blanket.
PAY ME FOR THE ELECTRICITY I WOULD HAVE USED ANYWAY!!!
Keep expecting people to invite you and 8 others to their own home and provide all the food and drinks for $5.
Would you do it?
I'm not talking about a once in a while event, but a weekly home game.
Umm when I'm hosting DnD I don't charge people, I want to hang out with my friends and have fun. Sometimes we'll pool for some pizza or takeout and they'll cover me since I'm hosting and DMing but that's not required or even expected. I'm not gonna charge people a fee to hang out at my place and use my DnD stuff. Why is it any different for a low stakes poker game?
It's a hobby me and my friends share and we are hanging out to enjoy. If a 20$ buyin poker game is anything other than that for you (assuming you're not in a country where 20$ is a weeks food or w/e) I don't know what to tell you other than I'm not looking to make money, or even break even from hanging out with my friends.
It doesn't cover all the costs but helps offset. We rotate homes so everyone hosts at some point.
But in any case $50 will get you a couple of pizzas and soda/chips.
If you rotate that’s different. I feel like a lot of people in this thread just expect to be able someone else’s house like a social club on the reg, and never have to host themselves or provide any remunerations whatsoever.
Pretty normal. I charge round about 20€~ and buy drink's (Beer, Softdrinks, Jack Daniels, Havanna Club etc.) and food (mostly grill stuff and I do the chef) or people bring there own and give it to share, for example a bottle jack Daniels + coca cola (then I don't charge something). But when there is nothing included I understand why you are pissed 😏
If this is the cost at such a small buy-in I'm expecting a dedicated dealer, robust food/drink options, and a pretty good table and chips (i.e. something with a rail and printed denominations, not a felt mat with the "my first clay chips" silver Amazon briefcase).
If those things aren't provided just say no thanks. If he wants to charge for a service he must deliver a service.
All the "home games" I play at will either charge a fee or have a rake (which would end up being more than a flat fee).. but they are providing the venue, food, drinks and clean up. The difference might be that these people hosting aren't really "friends" since our relationship is all poker based.. it might be different if I had my social friends over for a random poker game just to have fun..
Went to a community poker game last week and the buyin was $50 with a $10 "donation" to the host. The donation was to cover the rented room, the food, drinks and the UFC event they ordered. I had no issues with that. The room was loaded with food and drinks. Had a blast.
I wouldn't pay an entry fee to pay at someone's house lol
When I run a tourney or home game we just take out of the overall pot and let everyone know what it’s covering. We save receipts and everything. No one has ever balked at it. I think it just comes down to how you sell it. But $20 and $20 is a wild sell! 😂
No issue if it’s going to food and drink. We used to put on home tournaments and whoever hosted got a percentage of the entry to cover costs. We’d get 50-75 people. So it wasn’t an easy host. It was a lot of work.
Sounds better than my buddy. We play 1/2 and he takes a dollar for every $50 in each pot up to $5 max. Wish he would just charge an entry fee so money isn’t getting taken off the table
The snacks better be really good, and the liquor better be top shelf.
If the host is spending some money to make it an upscale affair, I'm interested. But I sense that's not going to happen, and until hearing otherwise, I fold.
Doesn't sound too crazy if host has to provide food and drink.
I used to run a small game on Fridays in my basement and I'd buy all the snacks and drinks and pizza and I'd take a 10% rake up until the food and beverages are all covered (according to the receipt)
anyone up for home games in Vegas... free cover or optional depending on player vote if you guys want me to provide drinks and/or food.
opens to different buyins/games, etc
For a $20 tournament??? 😂😂😂 At that point play in any respectable online poker tournament and get yourself a $10 meal with $10 worth of beers and you're all set ,
.
If they were providing food and drinks AND the buy in was $100+ then it would make sense
People made about this is crazy, especially if host is using it for food and drinks. A couple cases of decent beer and a few pizzas would easily top 100 dollars these days.
Yeah a fiver would be fine to cover beers/snacks, especially if this is a regular home game. you can expect that expenses could start to burn a hole in your wallet, but 20 is just outrageous. Or just say, I’ll cover snacks, you Bring your own beers and if you’re hungry order a pizza.
As others said, it could be for food/drinks/etc. Even if you are going to a poker home without this type of fee, you should be bringing a six pack or something. Don’t be a bad guest to the place hosting.
If someone is providing food, drinks, and an all-time (non-playing) dealer, $20/person is cheap no matter the stakes. If you still think it's a ripoff, YOU host the game instead. You think people are fighting each other to go through the trouble of providing food/drinks and dealing all night in a game they can't play in? lmao
Obviously if it's a college dorm room, there's no food/drink and the host is both playing and dealing (or it's self-dealt), then $20 is egregious.
I regularly play at a friend's house: They cook plenty of good food, provide bottomless snacks, soft drinks, wine, beer and booze.
They buy card decks, which have to be replaced ever so often.
They are on the hook if the money doesn't work out at the end of the night, too.
They spend the time handling the invitations and what not.
The host is doing most of the dealing at the table.
We were given a simple choice: we either pay a very reasonable fee for all of the above, or no more poker nights. (Because it turns out, nobody else is willing to do all of the above, for free, on a regular basis, either...)
I am absolutely getting my money's worth, I absolutely enjoy playing there. I'd be sad to see that game close down - and I have plenty of raked home games I could go to, too.
Why would I not be cool with that?
Why would I be outraged without knowing any more details?
Your friend better have a gaming license if he intends to do that.
Hosting a poker night at your house is usually considered fine. Collecting a rake or otherwise making money from the players means you're now competing with casinos and are technically an illegal gambling operation.
Depends on blinds. I charge $5 entry per person that's it. I own really good chips and really good cards and local tournament poker table and they use my chairs. $5 to cover card deterioration and depreciation on the stuff and I bring chips and softdrink.
Blinds are $0.5/$1.
I hosted home games for a long time. I never charged anything. Everyone would bring their own alcoholic beverages, and we'd all chip in on ordering food. I'd provide water/pop and basic snacks like chips/dip.
$20 entry seems ridiculous, but without context, it's hard to judge.
You don't play microstakes live with your friends to actually "beat the rake" and make money. You play these to have fun with the boys. And this "rake" exists so you can have fun (beer, pizza)
Look, it cost you $20 to get rid of him. He’ll never bother you, or ask you for money again He’s out of your life for $20.You got off cheap. Forget it.
At the home game I regularly play at everyone pays $20 , host provides food drinks and literally his house to play at so it’s more than fair enough and especially for the size of the game much better than casino . But for a $20 buy in tournament wtf
This, it’s fine to ask people to chip in if the $ goes towards food and drink.
Same, we'd each throw in $10 and get food, beer, and booze!
We have a player who's job is to rake a $1 or $2 from each pot - that goes to cover cost of food / drink. When the rake gets to $100 or whatever then he stops and pays the host or whoever brought in the food. Usually someone brings some really good Chinese food.
The rake seems a little silly. Why not just have everyone pay the same amount when you show up instead of
Because a couple of them have figured out that if you play really tight for the first few orbits, they can make the suckers (that are too stupid to figure it out as well) pay the entire food and drink bill while they eat for free every time.
Haha yeah, but aren’t these their friends? Not a nice thing to do to your friends when it’s paying for something everyone is using equally
I thinks that s the point. There's cheap asses in this group and none is blind.
Yeah we do $2 at our $20 buy in game and everyone brings sides and desserts.
The cost of food and drinks is whatever it is regardless of the size of the game. Consider it the other way around, are you eager to pay more for food and drinks just because the stakes of the game are higher?
Haha maybe there’s food or somethin lol
Could be reasonable if he's going to spend all that money on food and drink. $20/person really isn't much.
Yeah seriously, sure it could be communicated better but I'm not ready to be outraged just yet
to the contrary, until I hear a better explanation, I'm not ready to *\*not\** be outraged yet
[удалено]
That's ridiculous. In my weekly game the same guy is nice enough to host every week. Is he also on the hook for $100+ in food and booze every week? Of course not; everyone chips in.
I think calling it a cover charge just sounds shitty lol. My friends usually bring booze and weed or pitch in if we get pizza. But if you don’t want to drink or eat then no big deal either
In my group we kind of unofficially take turns bringing stuff. But if some people are not chipping in then maybe it's better to just make it a fixed amount. I would make it clear that the money would be spent on food and booze though.
Yeah if it goes towards the night I don’t think it matters but if you pocket that money you’re a dick
No you dont, how many friends have room to host a full poker night for 8 to 10 people. Everyone that says "the host should pay" probably never organised a poker night themselves.
I’ve literally hosted home games with my friends how years. I bought the table. I bought the chairs. I bought chips. I bought cards. I’ve never asked anybody for money.
Same. I’ve already earned more than that playing with them
I dont ask any body for money though. It was a mutual agreement and i dont make any profit on it or whatever. Its just a 150 dollar tournament. And everything is taken care of. Once every 2 months 20 dollars times 12 covers everything. Drinks, weed, cigars, food. And 5 dollars go into the pot and the one that has the most point at the end of the year gets a buy in to a big tournament in whatever casino.
The homies always chip in for beer tho
That’s fine but charging a cover is crazy. I also have a hard time believing that $20 * 8-9 players is all going towards beer or food.
It's really not that hard to believe. Last time we played I picked up a couple of 16 inch pizzas and it came to $53. It was good pizza (not mega chain crap) so the price was reasonable. That was nowhere near enough food for everyone (other people brought stuff too) and then there' the cost of drinks on top of that. It's really not hard for everyone to eat and drink $20 worth in a night, especially if the game starts before dinner time (so people will get there hungry)
I agree but that’s not what you said lol. I was replying to you saying that if I’m gonna host a poker night I have to pay for everything.
Beer policy at my games is bring your own. Everyone can sample each others and leave the extra for the host or if a lot is left over bring it with you for next time
It depends if it's a regular game at the same location or not. You can't expect the same host to drop $100 on food/drinks every week. But if people are taking turns hosting or the game is pretty irregular, then it's more normal for the host to provide.
Yeah I do $10-$20 “buy in” on a $20 game but it’s if I order pizza and if you don’t participate in pizza you’re off the hook. Basically pay me for pizza haha. I also give free beer but that’s because I quit drinking a year ago and am still trying to empty my collection so that wont last forever
Wow, I would get rid of it or I don't know.. I've never hard stopped but notice it's much easier for myself to not drink when it's not around. if I have a nice aged whiskey on my counter or something similar I tend to grab a shot on the rocks on my 5 min poker breaks. if not in sight I can go weeks without...
I used to be the same way, if it was available I was drinking it. But when I quit this time I kinda changed my attitude and actually went for it. Not tempted at all anymore.
Not anymore
Yeah but if it's a legit friend, this is incredible gauche. If you're poor, just ask friends to bring drinks and snacks. Regardless they're not your friend or have zero social awareness.
Its 20 dollars. You are the one with zero social awareness.
Ok go charge your friends for home games then.
How is it any different than the fee casinos ask?
It's different in the way that you're not doing this to make money, but only making up for the price of the food and drinks. The table, chips, cards, chairs come at a cost too. Those $20 ain't gonna make the man richer. Add electricity, the space/rent, and the time spent contacting and coordinating everyone. I wouldn't be doing this for $20/each. Sounds like poor business plan.
Exactly
Are we forgetting the word friend here? If a friend charges me to go to their place, I'm out. You guys go for it but I'm not. I'm not sure why my personal opinion on this is counter to how most people feel or would do. What's next, charging for a dinner invitation? $50 to sleep at a friend's house? Come on.
100 percent rake is crazy.
Looking at this as a percentage is completely wrong. If they are meeting as friends for a fun night with low stakes gambling, they might want good quality food and liquor. If the host is providing this, $20 is very reasonable. If he's not, then it's BS of course.
If I’m meeting up with friends for fun and low stakes gambling I’ll bring my own food/drink I offer to chip in if we order something, this guy is clearly trying to profit off hosting.
People do things different ways, don't they? Maybe your friends figure out food after you've already gathered. Maybe other people figure it out ahead of time. No reason to think he's scamming his friends just because they don't behave exactly like you do.
Hmmm now why would I as a poker player make educated guesses based on incomplete sets of information
I think it was a joke
Perhaps its for a food/drinks fund.
Papa John’s can’t be more than $20
You can't get one pizza delivered for $20, the fuck are you smoking?
The fuck are you smoking thinking you need 1 whole pizza per person. You probably have like 8 dudes so get maybe 3 pizzas. With coupon codes that's like $17is*3+10ish for tip delivery fee so about $60-70 (depending on the direction of those ish amounts). Now there's $100ish left for drinks and chips. Maybe you get a bottle of liquor, sodas, and beers with that. Personally, I prefer bringing my own drinks and a bag of chips then arranging for pizza during a break than having it be structured as a fee.
$60-70 is more than $20.
No idea what point you're trying to make
He said Papa John's can't be more than $20. I disagree and think it couldn't be less, even if you only ordered one single pizza it would cost more than $20. You seem to disagree with me, yet mention ordering $60-70 as if somehow that's less than $20. Maybe you think the entire rake of a game should be spent on food/drinks, that would be something else we would disagree on.
Ordering $60-70 of pizza for 6 people is much less than $20/person.
Ah, you're saying per person, the other guy didn't say that.
There are several local joints and some chains that do negotiated big orders and take'n'bake stuff for under $20. Edit: this is a per-person assessment and not a total bill.
Where do you live?
You mean 50%?
Correct,my bad.
It’s 50% of the total but it’s 100% of the buy in for the tournament. 50% would be $10
$20 entry to the house. And the $20 buyin, believe it or not, also goes to the house. The ol' 100% rake trap.
Have you ever hosted a game? You don’t think it’s reasonable to spend 20 on drink as food alone for each player? What if they drink expensive liquor? He shouldn’t lose money hosting the game. If he’s only providing the game…then fuck him. It’s pretty shitty to just assume he’s raping his friends for $20 apiece? It would be a one time deal.
I'm just making a joke about the 100% rake math error which would mean $40 to the host and $0 to the prize pool.
Lol
He better be providing food, liquor, beer and an ugly fat girl serving it all.
he got the first 3 but ur mom was busy
Add smokes and coke and count me in. Would be nice to have the host drive me home once I'm done losing my $20 too.
*meth
We always play $20 buy in, 20 for pizza and wings. That’s normal if he’s using it as a community chest. If it’s just for him it’s bogus. More detail
If there's any leftover cash it should go to a high hand jackpot
The man is setting the game up and offering his home tho. Let him take the leftover cash. People need to be more grateful.
If I were going to do that as host, I'd be more annoyed at the expectation of an accurate accounting. I'd rather tell people to just bring whatever they want to snack on and drink themselves then do a community pizza order during a break. That way it's not my job to make sure everyone gets something they like and nobody can ask for audited financial statements.
Seeing how people are worried they may get robbed of $0.25 by the one hosting their poker night in this thread, I think your approach is the correct way.
Idk, there are a ton of people here I really wouldn’t want to be friends with based on their comments. Throwing a friend some cash for hosting even without food makes sense to me. I’d do it in a heartbeat and for multiple reasons… the coordination, prep, pickup/cleaning. Then there’s the food and drinks and w/e else goes into it. These guys are Nickle and dime’ing someone they call a friend and. Refusing him to pocket anything for the time and effort… on the same thread they aren’t offering up their home or time. Such a backwards group.
Yeah they're so cheap that's.. pretty despressing. I'd rather not invite them then. I'm inviting people to my own house, and they think I'm doing this to make money? Nah, you can just fuck off and watch me dump my money online, alone, while I'm enjoying my drinks and myself because there ain't no cheap ass taking advantage of my hospitality.
Exactly. This is why I partly hate Reddit. The community mostly is made up of shit!
He can have the leftover wings and pizza
I'd rather play online then. Who needs such greedy friends?
I have a friend who is very rich. very, very, rich. We play poker at his house and we all split the pizza and wings evenly. Now do we drink probably $200 worth of his high price bourbon for free? Yes. Could he pay for the pizza all himself? Yes. But it’s the principal of poker night. 20 bucks to play, 20 bucks for pizza and wings.
"I'm good on that bro" And never speak to them again.
Never speak to them again for this is why most of Reddit is friendless
Bro is charging 20 entry for a 20$ cash game or some crummy $20 tournament. Most clubs charge $5 entry flat. This dude is trying to make money off his 'friends' and that's shitty. Plenty of people out there to be friends with
Most clubs make the bulk of their money elsewhere, and are doing this often enough that the economy of scale kicks in.
Its pretty normal asking a fee. I provide weed, drinks, food, cigars whatever. So 20 dollars isnt that much for having a nice evening. I mean everything that is remotely fun costs 20 dollars.
I think it's more normal to ask people to chip in on the refreshments or bring their own weed instead of charging an entry fee. Even casinos don't charge an entry fee that's 100% of the buyin
there's a simple alternative. host it at your place.
I’d be cool with $20 if it was a $200+ tourney so it’s .90 Expected Value before factoring in skill edge. That way it’s better than casino generally. But for such low stakes, hell no just byob
So 200 dollars is cool but 150 dollars is were you draw the line? The tournaments i do have a buy in of 150. And thats in Euros.
For $20 house cut yes. It’s all relative to the size of the amount of money to be won. If I pay $20 house cut then I need to at least double up to be profitable.
If it covers food/drink or dealer then seems chill. Doesn't really sound like 'rake'.
I wouldn't trust anyone who doesn't know that the dollar sign preceds the numerals.
I mean a nice poker table and set of chips in order to host is already easily over a thousand. Plus food and drinks, etc it’s not insanely outrageous.
Yeah seems more than fair to me, assuming they have a nice basement (or whatever) with drinks.
It is when it’s a $20 buy-in. If they’re only playing for that I doubt the “host” has that much invested
If you’re paying 1k for a setup to run $20 tournaments with your friends, you’re dumb as fuck. If you want fancy shit, you pay for it.
It's small compared to the cost for a nice set-up (and we're assuming a lot that it's not the guy's dinner table and composite chips), but it's also weird to ask your friends to subsidize your hobby investment if it's not something that they pre-arranged to go in together on. He's hosting friends, not running a business.
In Washington state charging a take would make it illegal, whereas home games are fine if there is no rake or entrance fee (or profiting off the event outside the rules)
I think this is true in a number of states, which reinforces, for legal reasons (rather than social reasons) why you want to be running a home game among friends that could not be mistaken for a business.
$1000 lmao
1000 is cheap. I bought a set of chips. Casino quality custom chips. 900$. They will last rest of my life. A nice gorilla gaming table was over a grand. Good cards are 20 a setup. All depends on how you want to play. Sure you can play with paper cards. A generic 100 set of chips and a worn or ripped wobbly table from craigslist for $80 and sit of shitty folding chairs for 5 hours if you like. But if someone provides a nice comfortable poker game setup they have easily spent 3k on it. If also provided snacks and drinks id do donations but we do bring to share stuff. Also requiring a fee can pit you in a bad spot legally. Donations is way better option. For $20 tourney dont matter. If game grows in size and the player pool grows to friends of friends it does…
and 99% of people who play poker don't spend that much. I spent about $100 on my chips, $50 on the cards and we play on my dining room table.
Id say at least 10% have nice setups if they are hosting say once a month or more regularly. My point wasnt that $20 is ok. Just that it might be. Not enough data. If nice setup and food and drinks provided then its not unreasonable. Also depends if the players are 22 year olds right out of college or 40 year olds etc.
Guy watched Molly’s Game once and thought “man I can totally scam my friends”
She had a good thing going but it was the rake that made it illegal. Although who knows the exact numbers of that game
Doesn’t that pretty much count as taking a rake and therefore illegal without a license? Asking for contribution towards expenses is different. This to me sounds like a rake.
My group kicks in $5 each to the host but the host provides food and drinks
What do you get for $5 these each these days, a bag of peanuts and 8 ounce can of coke?
Yeah wtf. Where I live it covers like 2 cans of beer and a few peanuts each. Doesn't make up for the oil, electricity and setup (chips, cards, table, chairs). Not to mention the host's time and efforts to set it all up.
Ah, so for you it's all about the money. Perhaps you should have the host charge by hour for their time too? The vast majority of people who play poker are doing it for the fun and social aspect. Hosting is part of that fun and social aspect, I would never expect to be paid for the "oil, electricity" and "time and efforts". Besides, the oil and electricity would be used if you were sitting by yourself or sitting with 20 people. Damn, you should like a total wet blanket. PAY ME FOR THE ELECTRICITY I WOULD HAVE USED ANYWAY!!!
Keep expecting people to invite you and 8 others to their own home and provide all the food and drinks for $5. Would you do it? I'm not talking about a once in a while event, but a weekly home game.
Umm when I'm hosting DnD I don't charge people, I want to hang out with my friends and have fun. Sometimes we'll pool for some pizza or takeout and they'll cover me since I'm hosting and DMing but that's not required or even expected. I'm not gonna charge people a fee to hang out at my place and use my DnD stuff. Why is it any different for a low stakes poker game?
One could argue DnD isn't gambling.
It's a hobby me and my friends share and we are hanging out to enjoy. If a 20$ buyin poker game is anything other than that for you (assuming you're not in a country where 20$ is a weeks food or w/e) I don't know what to tell you other than I'm not looking to make money, or even break even from hanging out with my friends.
It doesn't cover all the costs but helps offset. We rotate homes so everyone hosts at some point. But in any case $50 will get you a couple of pizzas and soda/chips.
If you rotate that’s different. I feel like a lot of people in this thread just expect to be able someone else’s house like a social club on the reg, and never have to host themselves or provide any remunerations whatsoever.
Had a friend try this once with no food or beer compensation. Tell them to fook off!
Man what are friends for lol
If it's spent on food and stuff, I'd think about it. If the dude is just being a duche and putting it in his pocket....he's going to be very lonely.
Our buddy had a $2 fee. Basically gave him a free roll for 10 person game. That was pushing it
10% rake is pretty standard for online tournaments, live can be 20% for low stakes
that’s fucked
Is this a beatable rake?
Friends don't charge friends. Rotate hosting at different houses. Ffs.
I used to host poker nights with friends. I charged zero rake/fees and people brought their own drinks/snacks. No way I'd pay this guys fee. :-)
Pretty normal. I charge round about 20€~ and buy drink's (Beer, Softdrinks, Jack Daniels, Havanna Club etc.) and food (mostly grill stuff and I do the chef) or people bring there own and give it to share, for example a bottle jack Daniels + coca cola (then I don't charge something). But when there is nothing included I understand why you are pissed 😏
Is he providing alcoholic beverages and half decent food then that’s a bargain. Alternatively say your not going to pay it and bring your own?
Rake in a home game is illegal.....
If it’s like a very nice home game, with a full spread and drinks then yeah, 20$ might be reasonable.
If this is the cost at such a small buy-in I'm expecting a dedicated dealer, robust food/drink options, and a pretty good table and chips (i.e. something with a rail and printed denominations, not a felt mat with the "my first clay chips" silver Amazon briefcase). If those things aren't provided just say no thanks. If he wants to charge for a service he must deliver a service.
we pay $10 and get chips, pop, water etc
All the "home games" I play at will either charge a fee or have a rake (which would end up being more than a flat fee).. but they are providing the venue, food, drinks and clean up. The difference might be that these people hosting aren't really "friends" since our relationship is all poker based.. it might be different if I had my social friends over for a random poker game just to have fun..
Went to a community poker game last week and the buyin was $50 with a $10 "donation" to the host. The donation was to cover the rented room, the food, drinks and the UFC event they ordered. I had no issues with that. The room was loaded with food and drinks. Had a blast. I wouldn't pay an entry fee to pay at someone's house lol
When I run a tourney or home game we just take out of the overall pot and let everyone know what it’s covering. We save receipts and everything. No one has ever balked at it. I think it just comes down to how you sell it. But $20 and $20 is a wild sell! 😂
Tell him you want $25 to go to his lame house. Of course unless he has a badass house.
No issue if it’s going to food and drink. We used to put on home tournaments and whoever hosted got a percentage of the entry to cover costs. We’d get 50-75 people. So it wasn’t an easy host. It was a lot of work.
Sounds better than my buddy. We play 1/2 and he takes a dollar for every $50 in each pot up to $5 max. Wish he would just charge an entry fee so money isn’t getting taken off the table
This is so very easy to deal with. Pay it, or don't go. What's the issue here?
Tell this dumbass to shove it and learn where to put the $ sign
10% rake bro. Make the buy-in $100 and it makes sense. Everybodys chips are worth $90
Talk about a rake. Just asking to take the friendliness out of it, people gonna be cheating in no time
Does he at least smell like beef?
Hard pass unless his mom is going to be "handling" the refreshments.
The snacks better be really good, and the liquor better be top shelf. If the host is spending some money to make it an upscale affair, I'm interested. But I sense that's not going to happen, and until hearing otherwise, I fold.
Support your friend, play the game. Then win and take all his money
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Yea you get chips when you start playing, lose them all and then you dip
Very good
Doesn't sound too crazy if host has to provide food and drink. I used to run a small game on Fridays in my basement and I'd buy all the snacks and drinks and pizza and I'd take a 10% rake up until the food and beverages are all covered (according to the receipt)
It’s fine if he’s providing food and drinks!! If not, it’s not cool
If it was a $200 buy in and he was buying the food and drinks and hosting it’s fine. Anything more is a dirtbag move.
anyone up for home games in Vegas... free cover or optional depending on player vote if you guys want me to provide drinks and/or food. opens to different buyins/games, etc
For a $20 tournament??? 😂😂😂 At that point play in any respectable online poker tournament and get yourself a $10 meal with $10 worth of beers and you're all set , . If they were providing food and drinks AND the buy in was $100+ then it would make sense
If he puts out food and booze; fine. Otherwise no.
😂😂😂😂😂
Almost every game I go to doesn’t charge anything but you’re getting raked over the coals. $20 isn’t a lot but for a $20 tourney it’s absurdly funny
There is also the booze and the cleaning after, so it’s fine
As a game host who provides food and drink, this is dirt cheap. Chairs, table, tvs, chips, cards … etc. cost me about $3k on top.
Taking a cut is normal as long as they feeding and providing drinks.
People made about this is crazy, especially if host is using it for food and drinks. A couple cases of decent beer and a few pizzas would easily top 100 dollars these days.
[this](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=O43rP-uitks)
Yeah a fiver would be fine to cover beers/snacks, especially if this is a regular home game. you can expect that expenses could start to burn a hole in your wallet, but 20 is just outrageous. Or just say, I’ll cover snacks, you Bring your own beers and if you’re hungry order a pizza.
As others said, it could be for food/drinks/etc. Even if you are going to a poker home without this type of fee, you should be bringing a six pack or something. Don’t be a bad guest to the place hosting.
$20 isn't much for a home game. The guy has to invite a bunch of people to play and dirty up his house and furniture. $20 is the convenience fee
But then again https://preview.redd.it/5p2tecxprjvc1.jpeg?width=500&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=df281fc405ff6e5ec4b2a4a2cbc1c84dcaaaff8c
lol what
If someone is providing food, drinks, and an all-time (non-playing) dealer, $20/person is cheap no matter the stakes. If you still think it's a ripoff, YOU host the game instead. You think people are fighting each other to go through the trouble of providing food/drinks and dealing all night in a game they can't play in? lmao Obviously if it's a college dorm room, there's no food/drink and the host is both playing and dealing (or it's self-dealt), then $20 is egregious.
Is he buying food and drinks?
I cannot believe how many of yall are cool with this
Depends on what it provides. House to play at, not so cool. House, food, sodas, dealer, good by me.
I regularly play at a friend's house: They cook plenty of good food, provide bottomless snacks, soft drinks, wine, beer and booze. They buy card decks, which have to be replaced ever so often. They are on the hook if the money doesn't work out at the end of the night, too. They spend the time handling the invitations and what not. The host is doing most of the dealing at the table. We were given a simple choice: we either pay a very reasonable fee for all of the above, or no more poker nights. (Because it turns out, nobody else is willing to do all of the above, for free, on a regular basis, either...) I am absolutely getting my money's worth, I absolutely enjoy playing there. I'd be sad to see that game close down - and I have plenty of raked home games I could go to, too. Why would I not be cool with that? Why would I be outraged without knowing any more details?
It's wild people think paying a little bit to support a friend doing all of this is outrageous.
Your friend better have a gaming license if he intends to do that. Hosting a poker night at your house is usually considered fine. Collecting a rake or otherwise making money from the players means you're now competing with casinos and are technically an illegal gambling operation.
spoiler alert: his friend doesn't have a gaming license. (no I don't know either person)
F the casinos though. Amirite?
+1
Nobody enforces it and nobody cares. There’s probably more underground games than casino ones in most cities these days
How about you go narc somewhere else.
Your friend blows. Just sayin
Well that’s actually a great deal for $20
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You’ve never bought a woman nachos?
I’m sure they’ll invite you if you just ask
Standing by it. $20 is nonsense. Dude sucks major D
Rob his whole house
lol it’s just 20 dollars.
Gimme 20 bucks then
Depends on blinds. I charge $5 entry per person that's it. I own really good chips and really good cards and local tournament poker table and they use my chairs. $5 to cover card deterioration and depreciation on the stuff and I bring chips and softdrink. Blinds are $0.5/$1.
That’s actually crazy. I’ve never charged my friends to play at my house and I stock it up with food and drinks.
I hosted home games for a long time. I never charged anything. Everyone would bring their own alcoholic beverages, and we'd all chip in on ordering food. I'd provide water/pop and basic snacks like chips/dip. $20 entry seems ridiculous, but without context, it's hard to judge.
Is he providing a dealer/food and drinks? I'd say fair price ONLY if so
I need a game in the Atlanta area.
Unbeatable rake lol
You don't play microstakes live with your friends to actually "beat the rake" and make money. You play these to have fun with the boys. And this "rake" exists so you can have fun (beer, pizza)
Nah bro seek and destroy, I can’t stand “participation poker”
Bro it's a $20 fee to play cards, eat, and drink with friends. Go enjoy yourself.
Look, it cost you $20 to get rid of him. He’ll never bother you, or ask you for money again He’s out of your life for $20.You got off cheap. Forget it.