Poker News

All About Home Games

Before I start, let me clarify what I consider home games. These are poker games that are put on for profit by someone other than a licensed casino. it is not your brother Billy Bob and the family, playing poker in the parlor for a few bucks. It certainly isn’t your buddies that get together once in a while to playa game, drink some beer and buy pizza! Those are social games where you may lose a few bucks, but you’re glad you’re there with all your close friends etc.

What I’m talking about are organized games that you can find in just about every city in the country. A promoter buys a professional poker table and chips, hires a couple of dealers, and then spreads the word it is by invitation only. The latter is because these games are quite illegal by virtue of their taking a rake for profit. if a plainclothes officer were to sit in on the game it would be disastrous for all present. Hence, the security.

Some of these games keep it simple, in that they are held in someone’s home and they post someone at the door to see who is arriving. Others are very sophisticated and go so far as to install TV monitors surveying the premises, an electric gate that is opened only upon recognition, and membership cards that are signed by the owner.

Every state has different penalties for hosting, or attending, such a game. In some states, certain activities are considered felonies, and in others, simply misdemeanors. If a licensed poker dealer is caught at one of these games, however, he could have his license suspended. In general, I am not in favor of home games for several reasons. Some of these situations could apply to the games in your town, and some may not, but I’d like to point out what you should watch for in non-casino games.

These games take a rake, in most cases, of $4 or $5 per hand. I have seen dealers take the rake at the beginning of the hand, then when the pot gets bigger, drop another rake. In years past, I dealt a home game and was told that my rake was too low. I was taking in $72 to $80 per 1/2 hour, and the other dealer was dropping over $120! It is ludicrous to believe someone can deal out 30 hands in a 1/2 hour! Sometimes they play a round of each, which means one round of Hold’ em, then one round of Omaha HiLo. They will rake more for Omaha because it takes longer, but when the Hold’em starts, they continue the higher rake. These things won’t happen in a casino.

Kris, a young friend of mine who attends such games, has a new bad beat story every week. I politely asked him if there was any chance that he was being trapped by partners in the game. He answered with a resounding no, but later admitted that he had never given that a thought. Most people are trusting in this regard, and don’t look for these combines as a rule. Casino personnel do that for you automatically.

How do partners work? Sometimes they will act as if they are angry at each other, even to the point of swearing. If that happens often but never escalates, be on the lookout. If the same two players and you are repeatedly in a big hand, and you never win, be sure to ask the dealer to cover the muck and show all hands. That will tell you if raising was legitimate.

Most guilty players will act offended by such a request and make a scene. An honest player won’t mind that request.

In today’s casinos with automatic shufflers, the machine counts the deck every hand. In most casinos without them, the dealers randomly count down the stub often. A house game doesn’t do that, and that makes it possible for a hold-out artist to hold out an ace, substitute it in another hand, and put all cards back in the deck without worrying that the stub will be counted short. And don’t think that doesn’t happen! I know a gentleman that makes a living doing card tricks. He doesn’t play cards, but he says that anyone can master making cards disappear and re-appear easily. It just takes practice.

But the biggest threat is still from partners signaling each other to raise and re-raise. This is especiallytrue in Hi Lo games.

They?ll do things like put one chip on their cards for a low hand and several for a high hand. If they have the nut hand, maybe they?ll put on dark glasses or touch their ear. There are hundreds of possibilities for signals. A sharp player watches for repetitive motions followed by strong actions, and tries to decipher what is happening.

In a casino, as soon as a customer or employee reports that two players are possibly in cahoots, they are monitored closely by the eye in the sky. In a house game, the promoter doesn?t want to offend anybody because he needs the players to keep the game going. For that reason he usually doesn?t say a word to these sharpies.

In El Paso, a couple of years ago, the competition for customers was so great that the promoters started reporting the other games to the police so they would be raided! It worked, but soon players started backing off for fear of getting arrested. Many people had to pay fines and lost their equipment, chips and cards. Some dealers lost their jobs in the New Mexico casinos because of the charges.

The last thing I wish to point out is that there is always the danger of a house game being held up or players mugged outside. This is especially true in an isolated location such as a ranch or a deserted industrial area. The bad guys know there is money there and you don?t want cops around!

As I said before, these situations may not present themselves in your area, but nonetheless, it pays to keep a sharp eye at all these games. You just never know…….. do you?

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