How to Set Up a Home Game That Works

  1. The cities can only authorize Poker Rooms/Card Rooms (w/pai gow and such also - must be player banked), but not general use Casinos w/slot machines and house bank games. Not sure of the law in Stockton, but you would need to prolly call City Hall to confirm if they allow or not. If not, you would have to get the law passed first.
  2. The opening of a casino and legit real money poker room would also bode well for online poker and legal Internet poker websites in New Hampshire, as it could potentially provide online poker companies and Internet poker operators with a physical poker gambling location to set up operations and link in with legal poker websites.
  3. There are two types of charity poker events you can run: a tournament or a cash game session. You can either make it an invitation-only event or open it up to the public (to maximize attendance and donations); depending on how many poker tables your venue has room for. Charity Poker Tournaments.
  4. The good news is if you live in a region where state-run poker has not been legalized, (which is the vast majority of Americans) you still have viable options by playing at a legitimate online poker room that is operating legally offshore.

In casino poker, you play for table stakes. This means that you play with the chips that you have on the table. You’re not allowed to go into your pocket for more money in the middle of a hand. If you run out of chips you announce that you are “All IN” and you will only be eligible for the money in that pot up to that point.

Poker home games have been a staple for decades. Organizing one is not as straightforward as you’d think. Missing just one important factor can turn your home game into a frustrating experience for all the players. This guide covers everything you need to know to organize a poker home game which people will want to keep coming back to.

There are a lot of factors to consider before you start your game. These range from practical things like cards and chairs – though to who to invite and how to avoid cheating. Here is how the information below is laid out:

  • Cheating: How to Avoid It?

Organizing a Poker Home Game: Equipment and Setup

This section covers cards, a poker table (or playing surface) and seating.

Cards used in casino poker rooms are not the same as the regular cards you’ll find in toy stores. Professional cards are made of plastic. They will need to withstand a lot of bending as players check their hole-cards – as well as repeated shuffling. We recommend 3 decks per table. Two can be used in-game (with one being shuffled while the other is dealt), and one in reserve. Accidents do happen. It only takes one card to be damaged to take a deck out of commission.

You’ll need a playing surface, plus enough seats. A poker table, complete with drink holders and a padded surround is ideal. You can get these cheaply, though the bigger more professional ones can be worth the investment. If you don’t have one, make sure you have a big surface – a small kitchen table will be cramped after all the chips and drinks are on it. Seating is often overlooked. Not only will you need enough seats for everyone, you need to make sure they are tall enough. Nobody wants to be sat lower than the rest of the players!

Chips are another practical consideration. During a game, big pots will likely change hands, so you need to ensure there are plenty of chips to go around. Light, cheap chips will not give your game a professional feel. A decent chip set is an investment which should last you for years.

What Games to Play in Your Poker Home Games?

Tournaments don’t work well in the home game setting, unless you also have plenty of spots in cash games too. The reason is that people will bust out, leaving them idle waiting for others to finish.

The most popular form of poker is No-Limit Hold’em – making this the obvious choice for your home game. Other possible games are Pot-Limit Omaha and even Stud poker variants.

If you step outside of No-Limit Hold’em, you will naturally restrict the number of players willing to join. We recommend sticking to this format, and spicing things up a little with some entertaining twists and variations. Here are some suggestions:

  • Bomb Pots: Every hour or so, get everyone to put a chip into the pot before the cards are dealt. Everyone is then dealt in, and the flop is also dealt – with betting starting after this.
  • Crazy Pineapple: This twist to the usual game deals everyone 3 cards instead of 2. Each player needs to muck one card once the flop is dealt.
  • Splash Pots: Another twist which gets everyone putting in a chip before the flop. This time the hand proceeds normally, with a bigger pre-flop pot giving more action.
  • 7-2 Game: Award a chip from each player (size can be flexible) for anyone winning a pot with 7-2.
  • Run it Twice: Offer players the choice of running out 2 boards, as long as both (or all) players agree.
How

You could also consider making the game ‘dealer’s choice’. This gives the player with the dealer button for each hand the choice of format. This works well for casual / fun home-games. For the most part a standard NL Hold’em cash game is the best option of all.

What Stakes to Play?

This depends on you’re the people you invite and what they are comfortable with. The sweet spot is usually around $1 / $2. This gives everyone the opportunity to buy-in for a full stack – preventing short-stacks making the game tricky. Many home games use $1 / $3 or $2 / $5 blinds instead.

You should be clear on minimum / maximum buy-ins before the game starts. 100x the big blind is a starting point for this – though you can also allow top-ups to match the biggest stack at the table as the game progresses.

Who Should You Invite?

Balance is the key factor for your invitation list. Home games are social events, and most of the players will come from your social circle.

What you do not want is a couple of excellent players – who will prey on the novices week after week. This will inevitably cause your home game to break, as the weaker players decide it is not worth it. You need to ensure that everyone is approximately the same level to run a successful game.

The best home games will grow via your network of friends. If you advertise your game openly, then you’ll have the additional strain of having strangers in your home. If a player wants to bring a friend of their own into the game – great – though make it clear to them that they are responsible for the new player’s behaviour.

Pay a Dealer or Deal Yourselves?

If you can afford it, a professional dealer will make your home game a much better experience. You can split the cost with the players to cover this.

Most games are self-dealt. The player on the button acts as the dealer each hand, and also plays a hand of their own. If you do this, I recommend a second deck of cards. The player in the small blind gets to shuffle these while the current hand is being played. This allows the game to proceed smoothly onto the next hand.

Snacks and Beverages

Before you invite everyone, you need to decide whether you will supply snacks and beverages – or whether you expect people to bring their own. The best home-games involve a little drinking, which makes things a lot more social. You can supply a fridge full of beer (for example) that can be bought at cost. You could also lay on some snacks – or even order pizza half way through the session.

The key point here is that the players know what to expect in advance – and can plan accordingly.

Rake and Fees

You need to be careful if you are charging for your home game. There are laws in many states which explicitly state that home games are only legal if they are not for-profit.

If you are supplying drinks, snacks and paying a dealer, you’ll want to recoup your expenses. There are different ways of doing this. You can rake the pots (where legal), use a pay-per-unit system for your drinks – or simply ask for a flat contribution to cover everything.

Remember, you have to act as the banker when hosting a home game. Exchanging player’s money for chips, keeping that cash safely under lock and key, and then assisting cash-outs at the end of the game.

How to Avoid Cheating in Your Poker Home Game?

Casinos have security cameras, professional dealers and experienced floor staff on hand to settle any disputes. This makes cheating difficult. You’ll need to be aware of the common ways that cheating occurs in home games – and to make sure everyone is aware of the rules.

Here are some of the key things to look out for:

  • Splashing Pots: The most common form of cheating involves shorting the pot of a chip or two. Done regularly, this can add up to significant amounts. The scenario involves a big pile of chips, with a player throwing more into the pot and announcing, ‘raise to $100’. What happens is that they only throw in $85 (for example). If you feel this is happening, insist that players don’t throw chips loosely into the pot, allowing for their chips to be counted.
  • Rigging Decks: This is harder to detect, though spots where you return from a break, only to have a ‘cooler’ situation occur involving the same player each time should ring alarm bells. Make sure the deck is shuffled and cut properly before every hand.
  • Collusion / Soft Play: You will find players working as a team, signalling to each other or squeezing a 3rd party with multiple raises. This is hard to detect when it happens rarely, though regular instances involving the same players should be dealt with promptly. Soft play is a milder version. Here you might see players refusing to ‘go to war’ when the hands shown would have warranted this.

Wrapping Up: Organizing a Poker Home Game that Lasts

As you have seen above, there are a lot of different things to consider before you run a home-game.

The best games are social, fun and fair – with attention paid to small details. We recommend you don’t go too big too soon. A small game with 7 to 9 players (who know each other) is an ideal place to start. Set out the rules involving games, conduct and how to pay the expenses clearly at the start of each session. After a few successful games, you’ll have the experience to start experimenting with adding new players, fun twists on the game formats and will have an idea if anything shady is going on among your players.

Home » US Poker Laws » State Laws » Kentucky Legal Poker Laws

Relevant state code: 528.010; 230.010 et seq.

As home of the Kentucky Derby, Kentucky holds a special place in the heart of many gamblers. While the state is undeniably proud of their signature sporting event and grateful for the revenue horse bettors generate, Kentucky has a more ambivalent attitude toward gambling in general. The state takes a fairly strict stance on unregulated gambling founded on a broad definition of gambling:

Section 528:010(3)
Gambling means staking or risking something of value upon the outcome of a contest, game, gaming scheme, or gaming device which is based upon an element of chance, in accord with an agreement or understanding that someone will receive something of value in the event of a certain outcome.

While the above definition suggests that any element of chance triggers a act of gambling, recent opinions from the Kentucky Attorney General conclude that Kentucky law actually employs the Dominant Factor Test to determine whether a game is one of chance or of skill. Any activity that meets the above definition and is not explicitly regulated or permitted by the state is illegal under Kentucky law.

What happens to those who run afoul of the law? It depends on your level of involvement. Kentucky goes out of its way not to punish individual gamblers (those who are mere players or participants). For players, the picture is pretty - you basically have zero criminal liability in Kentucky, which is a pretty rare state of affairs in the US. As presented in the law:

Section 528.010(7)
'Player' means a person who engages in any form of gambling solely as a contestant or bettor, without receiving or becoming entitled to receive any profit therefrom other than personal gambling winnings, and without otherwise rendering any material assistance to the establishment, conduct, or operation of the particular

However, if you're an operator - or anything even vaguely resembling an operator - the picture is quite nasty indeed. Kentucky has one of the broadest definitions of operator that you'll find anywhere in the US. Witness:

(1) 'Advancing gambling activity' -- A person 'advances gambling activity' when, acting other than as a player, he engages in conduct that materially aids any form of gambling activity. The conduct shall include, but is not limited to, conduct directed toward the establishment of the particular game, contest, scheme, device, or activity involved; toward the acquisition or maintenance of premises, paraphernalia, equipment, or apparatus therefor; toward the solicitation or inducement of persons to participate therein; toward the actual conduct of the playing phases thereof; toward the arrangement of any of its financial or recording phases or toward any other phase of its operation.

A number of misdemeanor and felony charges can be levelled at those involved in the operational side of illegal gambling activity. On top of those already substantial penalties, Kentucky also has criminal syndicate laws that can be triggered by illegal gambling violations.

What Forms of Gambling are Legal in Kentucky?

Most readers already know that pari-mutuel wagering (in licensed settings) on horse and dog racing is legal in Kentucky. Some may not be aware that you can legally bet on races online in Kentucky. The state also oversees a lottery.

The statutory exemption for individual players from criminal liability strongly suggests that social gambling - and therefore home poker games - are not an issue under Kentucky law. Remember, however, that someone profiting from the running of the game changes the picture completely - while the players might be in the clear, the operator would certainly 'advancing gambling activity.' In this way, Kentucky is similar to states such as California - if no rake or charge is taken, the game is likely legal.

Kentucky allows several forms of charitable gambling, overseen by the Department of Charitable Gaming. Bingo and raffles are allowed, as are limited versions of 'casino nights.'

Is Playing Poker For Money Legal in Kentucky?

It's a bit of a moot question from a player perspective, as Kentucky has chosen not to criminalize the act of participating in gambling as a player - meaning that playing poker for real money shouldn't ever land a mere participant in trouble with Kentucky authorities.

Operating an online poker room that takes a rake or some other sort of charge would certainly seem to be in violation of Kentucky law. There might be some legal wiggle room as a result of Kentucky's definition of gambling, which doesn't explicitly mention poker or provide a blanket prohibition against all betting and wagering, but the attitude of the current administration certainly seems to be that online poker operators accepting Kentucky action are in violation of the law.

Are Online Poker Rooms and Casinos Legal to Use in Kentucky?

There does not appear to be a specific part of Kentucky gambling law that deals with gambling over the Internet. As mentioned above, individual gamblers are more or less exempt from penalties in Kentucky, so there wouldn't seem to be any issue for players looking to access an online poker room or casino from the state.

As for operators of online poker rooms and casinos, Kentucky has taken various steps in the past - including lawsuits in 2008 and 2010 - in an attempt to interfere or restrict the ability of such businesses to accept wagers from Kentucky residents.

Kentucky Gambling Laws: Fun Facts
Minors can apparently gamble in kentucky - at least when accompanied by a parent at a duly licensed charitable bingo event.

Under Kentucky law (Section 372.010), those who lose money gambling can sue to recover losses. If the loser chooses not to sue within 6 months, then anyone can sue to recover those losses. This law formed the basis of the theory for Kentucky's second set of lawsuits against online poker rooms and casinos in 2010.

Kentucky & Online Gambling Headlines

In late 2011, Kentucky filed papers with the DOJ seeking to claim some of the frozen Full Tilt Poker assets.

Kentucky saw gambling expansion plans stall in February 2012; online gambling was not a significant part of those plans.

What are the Odds That Kentucky Will Offer Regulated Online Poker?

Better than some might think, but still short of excellent The main factor working in favor is the current existence of regulated online betting in the state; it's not beyond the scope of reason to suggest that Churchill Downs might be interested in expanding their online presence beyond horse racing and into poker or casino gaming should the law allow.

How To Run A Legal Poker Room Rules

Otherwise, Kentucky does seem a bit of a poor bet to regulate online poker anytime soon. The state has no history of legislative interest in the issue and has a population of just under 5 million, a bit on the small side in terms of a potential player base for an online poker room. The recent failure of gambling expansion plans endorsed by the Governor suggests that any online gambling legislation would face a steep uphill climb.

How To Run A Legal Poker Rooms

We would put Kentucky squarely in the category of states that will almost certainly come along for the ride if another state blazes the trail. Left to their own, the state seems unlikely to pass legislation regulating online poker any time in the short term.