The Rules of the Game

It is important that you take the time to carefully explain the rules of each poker game you intend to play to anyone who might be in doubt. Also make sure that everyone understands that the rules will be enforced equally and fairly.

Don't just let the table decide what happens on a case-by-case basis. Remember that people are looking after their own best interests, and your focus should be on running a fair game. Heated arguments can arise when money is at stake, and as the "floorman", you have to act in a consistent and firm manner to gain everyone's trust. Nothing causes more animosity than letting a player talk his way out of a situation.

One of the most frequent points of contention, for instance, is what happens during a misdeal, so make sure everyone knows what the policy is there. It's also my experience that cell phones can really slow down a game, so I personally employ a "no cell phone" rule, where anyone talking on a cell phone in the middle of a hand is automatically mucked. Whether or not you choose to employ this rule is a matter of taste, just be sure everyone knows about it ahead of time.

A good starting point for your personal set of rules might be Bob Ciaffones's "Robert's rules of poker." I employ "English style" dealing, which is the hardest for card mechanics to beat. (While it may be unlikely that you will encounter cheating in your particular game, it is best if there is absolutely no question about it.)

With English style dealing, one person shuffles, a second person is responsible for the cut, and a third person actually deals the cards. The way it works is the person to the left of the current dealer shuffles the cards then places the deck in front of the current dealer. The person to the right of the dealer then cuts by taking approximately half the deck off of the top and placing it on the cut card (usually a blank yellow plastic card). Then the dealer takes the remaining cards and places them on top of the cards that sit above the cut card. The cut card is there to make sure no one can see the bottom of the deck and thus gain valuable information, and it also makes some forms of card mechanics more difficult to employ. You can speed up the process somewhat by having the person who is "on deck" (i.e., responsible for shuffling) shuffle the cards during the current hand in preparation for the next hand. The person who is on deck would therefore be the player sitting two to the left of the current dealer.

The English method may seem complicated, but once the table gets the hang of it, the dealing goes quite smoothly, and there will never be any question in anyone's mind about a freak hand.

The individual games you decide to play will greatly affect the flavor of your home game. Should you employ non-casino games ... follow the queen, anaconda, and the like? Stick to casino games? Many novice players enjoy playing some of the more luck-based games, so you will have to take a poll and find out what your players want.

Personally I recommend that you stick to games you'd find in a casino as this will help you become a better poker player. I have compromised somewhat to appease the many people who love the hi-lo games, so my home game is composed of five games: holdem, omaha-hi, stud-hi, omaha hi-lo, and stud hi-lo (the last two with an 8 qualifier).

Note that once you decide which games you are going to play, you also need to establish whether the games will be dealer's choice or if they will follow a strict rotation.

Limits

The next thing you must decide is how big you want your game to get. This will largely be determined by your players. You want to play for enough money to keep the game exciting and make the decisions feel important, but not so much money that someone is going to go broke and you lose a player.

It's important to keep all of the games that you play to approximately the same size, i.e., all of the betting limits should be the same for all of the games you play. You should also decide whether you want to play limit, pot-limit, or no-limit poker. People in America tend to be more familiar with limit poker, but as you become more advanced, pot-limit and no-limit can offer much more exciting forms of the game. If you choose to host a pot-limit or no-limit game, make sure you fully understand the rules of betting in these games.

I hope the tips I have provided will make it easier to get your game off to a good start. Note that it can be distracting to both run a game and play in it, and your pile may take a beating as a result. As time goes on, however, you should get used to playing both roles and your results won't suffer as much. All in all, hosting is a very rewarding experience, thanks to the new friends you make and the poker lessons you learn.

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