There can be many ways to host a successful home poker game but for me the best home game needs a good combination of competitiveness and camaraderie and quality equipment that allows the game to run smoothly.
Need to Have Fun
An Authority on Fun at Poker Table
First and foremost I want my home game to have a fun, lively atmosphere where friends enjoy each others company (with a few good beers certainly assisting things).As an amateur player I am more concerned about having a good time than winning at all costs.
Now, a quality game of poker raises my competitive juices and I never want to lose money or bragging rights to my buddies.However, ultimately the point is to enjoy myself no matter the results of the night.
Please Know What You’re Doing
Yes, You Can Fold a Hand Here or There
That being said, a smooth game includes players that have an understanding of how to play poker.Playing in a game where the same people raise every hand and lack a sense of poker strategy frustrates me as I try to think my way through the night and adapt to the surroundings.
As people can figure out by now I am a real stickler for poker strategy and have no problem airing my grievances about players that fail to use a semblance of it.I want (and need) to have fun but at the same time want to earn my money if I deserve to win or lose my money to players that should beat me.
No Cramped, Poor Conditions
Give a Brother Some Space
Just as important for me is playing with quality equipment so that the game runs nice and easy.During the height of the poker craze everyone with an interest in the game purchased a nice set of chips so that should not be a problem.
More of a problem comes from not having a good poker table/playing surface and cramping around a table with a bunch of people fighting for space to lay their cards down and jousting for room for their drinks and/or snacks (not to mention the bumbling fool in the game, way too frequently myself, that knocks over a beverage because of a lack of space).
A Nice Table Helps
A Table Fit for a King (or Pocket Kings)
My best home game poker experience came at a friend’s place that invested in a custom poker table with a cup holder for drinks and designated space for my cards, along with room to spare for snacks or my case of sunglasses (yes, I am definitely that guy who emulates the look of the players I watch on television).
For anyone serious about hosting a home game on a consistent basis, it’s pretty much a no brainer that you need the proper equipment.
If there is no action on the blog, rest assured that we’ve just been busy in the warehouse. We are feverishly working on a few new projects in the company, most notably, we will will be launching a poker building supplies branch of BBO Poker Tables in the upcoming weeks. We will begin selling hard to find parts such as pre-painted pedestal legs, HD foam, and other specific materials for the DIY enthusiast!
During the morning rush today, we received a cool email from a customer from last week. Say good things about us and you can be sure we will put it up here!
Hi I just wanted to say thank you again for all your help my husband LOVES the poker table and I will make sure to send my friends and family your way.
One HAPPY family….
Thanks ,
Jennifer ——
Thanks Jennifer - we’ll take care of your family as if they were our own. Enjoy.
All customer submitted product pics and vids will always get a spot on our company blog, so send them in!
A few weeks back, we received a pretty gnarly graphic for a custom graphic poker table for Russ. We tweaked his design, and mounted his dye sublimation custom felt on one of our Ultimate Poker Tables for him.
Sure enough, last week, we received a follow up email from Russ with the following link…halarious.
The last few weeks we have had a few custom graphic tables roll out of our warehouse, but there was one project that I made sure to keep an eye on personally. A few weeks ago, we got a request for a custom Rockwell from the SF based mobile game maker Zynga.
So after all the custom graphic design phase, printing and mounting, I decided to take a morning off, and run the custom poker table to their SF HQ personally.
Now, I like meeting new people, but it usually takes a lot to get me to play delivery boy and fight the morning rush, but I am a fan of visiting internet companies and seeing how I can incorporate their jeans and t-shirt corporate culture into BBO Poker Tables. Custom Rockwell in the Suburban, latte in hand, I was off to San Francisco to check out how this internet gaming company rolls.
Alex, my point of contact for the order turns out to be the HR Manager for the entire company, and meets me outside to unload. As we’re moving the table and accessories through the lobby, I notice a Segway with orange tires charging next to a espresso vendor in a mobile snack cart. It was too easy to make a crack about the stereotypical internet start up company, so I brushed that thought aside.
Turns out that Alex, head HR specialist did all the hiring for the 350 person company, and it showed because every employee greeted him, and in turn, he shot back with their name and shoe size. Not an easy task by any means.
We unload the goods, and I proceed to help them assemble their new custom poker table. Joke’s on me, the room they want me to set the tbale up, no ventilation, no windows, and no A/C. Quickly I was perspiring, sauna style. Half an hour and a bottle of the best iced water that I’ve ever had, courtesy of Lisa, Alex’s lovely assistant. The table was mounted, positioned and ready to admire (actually, Alex had a big surprise for the table, they were going to get a giant piece of semi see through glass, and lay it on top of the custom table and turn it into a conference table - sweet idea).
After we handled business, Alex proceeded to show me around the building, which was actually the second building for the company. He mentioned how they had Segways to travel from building to building. Once again, I pushed a joke out of my head.
After all that work, Alex invited me to go have “taco tuesdays” with the employees, and never turning down a meal on another company’s dime, I took him up on it.
Turns out the cafeteria was two blocks down the street, in their “other building”, and half way through our journey, I could not help but think, “Damn, one of those Segways would probably be pretty clutch right now.”
We end up wrapping up the delivery eating gourmet tacos on their company balcony overlooking San Francisco. Not bad for a poker table delivery.
Fast Facts RE Zynga:
They have an estimated 12M players spread across all their game titles!
Their first smash game was what else, Texas Hold’em
Their founder started Tribe.net, which was apparently the first social gaming network thing or another.
They bring their dogs to work!
Final Thoughts:
After visiting their company, I began stocking beers in the BBO Poker Tables employee food fridge because I saw free beers in their company fridge. And because there was probably no way in hell I would have my employees ride Segways from our office to our warehouse, I figured providing beer was the next best thing.
My Type of Home Game
Saturday, September 12th, 2009There can be many ways to host a successful home poker game but for me the best home game needs a good combination of competitiveness and camaraderie and quality equipment that allows the game to run smoothly.
Need to Have Fun
An Authority on Fun at Poker Table
First and foremost I want my home game to have a fun, lively atmosphere where friends enjoy each others company (with a few good beers certainly assisting things). As an amateur player I am more concerned about having a good time than winning at all costs.
Now, a quality game of poker raises my competitive juices and I never want to lose money or bragging rights to my buddies. However, ultimately the point is to enjoy myself no matter the results of the night.
Please Know What You’re Doing
Yes, You Can Fold a Hand Here or There
That being said, a smooth game includes players that have an understanding of how to play poker. Playing in a game where the same people raise every hand and lack a sense of poker strategy frustrates me as I try to think my way through the night and adapt to the surroundings.
As people can figure out by now I am a real stickler for poker strategy and have no problem airing my grievances about players that fail to use a semblance of it. I want (and need) to have fun but at the same time want to earn my money if I deserve to win or lose my money to players that should beat me.
No Cramped, Poor Conditions
Give a Brother Some Space
Just as important for me is playing with quality equipment so that the game runs nice and easy. During the height of the poker craze everyone with an interest in the game purchased a nice set of chips so that should not be a problem.
More of a problem comes from not having a good poker table/playing surface and cramping around a table with a bunch of people fighting for space to lay their cards down and jousting for room for their drinks and/or snacks (not to mention the bumbling fool in the game, way too frequently myself, that knocks over a beverage because of a lack of space).
A Nice Table Helps
A Table Fit for a King (or Pocket Kings)
My best home game poker experience came at a friend’s place that invested in a custom poker table with a cup holder for drinks and designated space for my cards, along with room to spare for snacks or my case of sunglasses (yes, I am definitely that guy who emulates the look of the players I watch on television).
For anyone serious about hosting a home game on a consistent basis, it’s pretty much a no brainer that you need the proper equipment.
Tags: poker home game, tips for improving home game
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