Do you plan to host a poker night? Sure, it is gonna be fun. If you have a few friends with whom you love playing poker, then you can definitely think of hosting a poker night. Actually, it is going to be a fun activity. You can team up with a group of poker lovers to host poker nights frequently, and it can be even used as a fundraiser to enter the Poker World Tournament. Many are already doing that. However, before we get into all that, we will just look at the perfect plan to have a poker night.
The perfect poker night
To have the best poker nights ever, you need a bit of planning. You have to think of the people participating in it, the kind of game, and more. You can look at this article as a beginner’s guide to hosting a poker night. Let us see how it is done.
Think of the location
You need to fix the location where you are going to host the game. It can be at your place, your hall, balcony all can be used for that. If you have an open terrace, then great! However, arranging the game on an open terrace during winter can not be really a good idea. Therefore, think about the weather conditions too.
The location of the game matters, because you need to decorate the space into the poker spirit. You can hang down fairly lights and more, maybe have a disco light. Or set up the mood by lighting a few candles here and there in the room. Also, do not forget about the music. You can play something based on the crowd that you have invited. It would be best if you could make a similar casino ambiance while you plan for a poker night.
The day and time matters
Your poker night should take place on the perfect day. Many people think the weekends may not be the perfect time. Because everyone will have a plan on the weekend and no one wants to spill that for poker. However, it all depends on your crowd. You can check in with your fellow buddies and then decide the day.
Typically, it is advised to host the poker night on a day other than the weekend. Although, you may not want to plan it for Monday night, as well. Beascue, it is when the weekday starts and people may be tired and all. Think of other weekdays, the middle ones.
When we are to talk about the time of the poker night, it is advised that you do not choose a time that is too early or too late. Give the players enough time to get back to their places and freshen up. However, not too much time they will lay on the couch and start feeling lazy to get up and come to the poker night.
Poker players
You need to decide who should be invited. It can be a group of newbie players, average-skilled ones, or highly skilled-ones. If players from all categories are going to be in the program, then you need to arrange the levels and matches accordingly. Based on the players you can pick the poker variation, too. Also, if you know that some of the players have no chills in the game, then it is best that you do not invite them. Because they can turn your poker night into a spoilt one.
Make sure that you know who all are coming for the game. Also, ensure that no one will be canceling the game at the last minute. You can send all the players personal invites and ask them to RSVP so that you can not miss out on them.
Poker variation
There are endless varieties of poker out there. The classic ones, the popular ones, and more. You can choose the poker version based on your audience. It can be Texas Hold’em, Omaha, the seven stud poker, or anything. However, you have to think about the audience. If most of them are amateurs in the game, then there is no use in choosing a complicated game. Also, make sure that you are well versed with the rules of the game, and also the different strategies that the players might pull out during the game.
Poker essentials
This is something that you should not be forgetting. Poker essentials include decks of cards, poker chips, the table of contents, and more. The number of total players appearing for the game should be known in advance so that you can decide on the poker chips. If there are only 4 or less than 4 players, you need to stack around 300 poker chips. It is best that you go for numbered chips so as to avoid any kind of confusion about the value of the chip. The decks of cards should have all the required cards for the specific game that you are playing. You can either buy new cards or use an old one if you have any.
Winnings and Payout – how?
At the end of the game, one of your buddies will rise as the winner of the game. So, you need to decide what the prize is and how it is paid out. The prize can be cash itself if you all are playing with real money. Otherwise, if it is more of a non-real money game that you plan to play, then the winner prize can be something else. It can be a worthy coupon, or a vacation ticket to somewhere nearby, and so on. If it is a material gift, you can present it to the winner right then, after the match. If it is a service then you can have the winner avail it, as per their convenience.
Poker dealer – who?
Poker definitely needs a dealer, right? It is based on the variation of the game that you are playing too. However, if there is a dealer who can make things a bit more professional, then it is the best. Your guests will never forget about the experience that they had on their poker night. You can be the dealer of the game, but make sure that you know the game very well, and have practical knowledge and experience in the game.
Or, you can get one of your poker buddies to be the dealer of the game. However, make sure that they do not show any bias in the game. Some people really like to spice up things by hiring a professional poker dealer for a night. If you are planning a friendly poker night with your friends, it does not have to include a professional poker dealer. However, if you wish to make things grant, you can consider this.
Food and drinks
A poker night is never complete without food and drinks. You can think about the menu earlier and arrange the food accordingly. You can cook the food in advance or have it delivered to you. However, this needs to be planned. The food you serve can be fast food items like fried chicken, tacos, pizza, and so on. Or, you can decide on a proper full-course dinner. The drink can be decided in the same way. It can be soft drinks or fruit juices. You can decide whether you want to serve snacks before dinner time and whether you want to serve dessert after dinner. It’s all up to you.
The bottom line
These are all the basic things that you can plan for when you are hosting a poker night. It’s Up To you whether you want to make it cool, casual, or extravagant. However, we would like to emphasize that everything should be determined in advance so that you do not have to make a decision at the last moment.
We hope your poker night turns out the way just you want it to be.
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