Having played on line and Casino live games, I have finally got the opportunity to organise a home game.

While walking back to the car from WBA v Newcastle Utd (www.wba.co.uk) it turned out that many of my mates played too we just had never spoken about it before.

Any top tips for this maiden voyage to help it go well from all you regulars???

There can be ALOT to it if you are looking to do it right.
First off, make sure you have all the supplies you need. Adequate (comfortable) seating, proper lighting, big enough table, getting some sort of felt usually helps, or throw down for an actual Hold'Em table.

Secondly, know who you are playing with, and decide on what types of games you want to play, and at what stakes. (If half your friends are watching every quid, don't set the stakes too high). Ask what kind of games people prefer, and pick the ones you dig the most.

Make sure house rules are established. You make the final decision in any discrepancy. If you are doing Dealers choice games, make sure that rules are fully explained prior to dealing, and that everyone is ok with starting the game. One good idea is to have a set amount of blinds that go All Night, even though the game itself can change...

And remind everyone that its about having a good time. Sounds cheesy, but if someone cares only about the $, that can put a damper on the home game.

Make sure distractions are eliminated, TV, kids, noise... although soft music can assist.

Just see what works the first time or two, and make adjustments.

Send me a 1% rake for the help... j/k have fun.

Written rules.

Most important.

Rake a pound fro meach pot to siumalte the "Casino" experience!!

Basically just make sure all of your rules are explicitly declared somewhere. I have a board near my table indicating rules for our bad beat jackpot and high hand jackpot.

If you are playing a tournament this is even more important. Make sure everyone knows how frequently the limits increase and what they will be increased too as well as when the break is.

written rules are HUGE. It might start out all fun and games, but just wait when someone string bets into a huge pot.

Just like everyone else said rules are important, but make sure you have good supplies, enough chips, cards, a table, ect.

HEre is a very helpful site.

http://www.homepokertourney.com/

Lots of good info there.

Justin

go to www.RealPokerNight.com He has downloadable rules at his site, and his book I thought was very very informative on how to run a game.