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Poker is a game that, when played live, is always in the company of others. Although the idea is not necessarily to rob friends of all their money, poker players often find themselves organizing games with their best buddies to test their skills and just have a great time.

There are various reasons that would entice a person to host a poker tournament at their house, but usually for those who play poker more as a hobby or as a secondary occupation outside of whatever their main job would be, it is usually just an excuse to have a party and drink a few beers with your friends while playing a few friendly rounds of poker. Maybe if you’re in college you’ll invite your pals from Chemistry 101 to try their luck at a $5-$10 buy-in Texas Hold’em tournament, while those with a bit more money at their disposal might organize a $1000 buy-in tournament for their colleagues over at the yacht club.

Going through the steps to organize a tournament are not always done out of the goodness of a person’s heart: sometimes people organize these tournaments illegally in order to earn a profit, and among these tournaments have been some of the most cutthroat and exciting poker matches that can be found.

Regardless of what a person’s intention is for setting up a home tournament out of the comfort of their musky basement, this is a surefire recipe for hosting successful poker games at home:

Homegrown Poker Tournament Soup:

-1 Cup of “Poorly lit Poker Room”
-A dash of “Suitable felt table and chip set”
-1/2 a teaspoon of “Well armed guards who only allow those with a password in”
-3 Cups of “A well stocked bar and a cooler full of ice-cold beer”
-A few sprinkles of “A clear guideline for tournament conduct and game rules”
-1/3 cup of “An impeccable invite-only list to prevent cheating strangers”
-Finally, slowly stir in “Good vibes” as an emulsifier
-Freshly chopped chives as a garnish

Now that the recipe has been introduced, below is an easy-to-follow set of instructions so that anybody can execute an exquisitely prepared tournament from the comfort of their home.

Finding the Proper Room

Setting is everything while attempting to create the perfect environment for a poker tournament. There’s no point in holding a poker tournament inside a well-lit Lysol-smelling living room that you begrudgingly allowed your wife’s mother to decorate. Nobody likes playing poker with pictures of furry kitties and a blonde Jesus Christ staring at them as they attempt to take as much money off their closest friends as possible. It might sound crazy, but most people just don’t like that.

Instead try to secure a damp, poorly-lit basement where people can light up their cigars and drink their martinis without having to constantly look over their shoulder for your landlord or the cops to show up. Keep the lights low so that nobody is tempted to wear sunglasses and to preserve the feeling that playing a poker tournament in somebody’s basement is “shady”.

Equipment

If the host wants to plan a legitimate tournament, proper equipment is an absolute must. If clay chips are not available then they had better be made of solid gold, because plastic chips absolutely cannot be tolerated at an underground poker tournament. This isn’t Las Vegas, but if the intention is to get the ambiance right then high quality chips are crucial. Many people may not think so, but having proper chips and a decent felt table are important for the overall vibe during the tournament. In order to get people to cough up big bucks for an exciting tournament, it better look like a legit poker basement with good gear.

Protection

Although it may sound ridiculous, it’s not such a bad idea to hire a couple of well armed guards to watch over the entrance to any high-stakes private tournament. If there is going to be a high attendance with a higher than average buy-in, then it may not be such a bad idea to have somebody there with bug muscles and whatever other means may be necessary to ensure the safety of the players at the tournament and the money for the prize pool.

When the original rounders like Doyle Brunson were making their way from city to city across the United States, they give accounts of certain tournaments being so well guarded that they could have held off the Army long enough for players to escape if needed. Fortunately these days there aren’t too many big busts that happen when poker tournaments happen, but one can never be too safe. The biggest threat is probably that somebody could get wind of the tournament and try to barge in with a gun and take all the money that is likely be sitting there.

A wise option could also be to have the players deposit their buy-ins into a neutral 3rd party account – so that nobody has to bring cash – and dole out the winnings directly into the winners’ bank accounts. This system would prevent a repeat mugging like the one that recently happened in Australia. Point being, investing in a little security is never a bad idea especially while running a seriously bit tournament.

Hospitality

When guests are staying at a hotel there are certain qualities they look for in order to determine whether or not they will recommend others to stay there or return for another visit. The most important factor is hospitality. It is no different when hosting a poker tournament. In order to guarantee that players will come back for another tournament the host must learn to be hospitable.

When playing cards at a poker tournament, hospitality generally means booze. A poker tournament without alcohol is like going to watch the Dodgers play and not eating a Dodger Dog: the game still goes on but nobody understands why. If the host chooses to serve alcohol to their guests, the type of alcohol can be very important.

Vegas serves free alcohol to people playing in $2 hands, why shouldn’t guests at an underground tournament who are easily paying anywhere from $500-$1000 a hand not be able to have a couple drinks? Beer is always an excellent choice at a reasonable cost, although Bud Lite, Coors Lite and Millers Lite must be stricken from the grocery list. Consider offering a delicate and fruity Hefeweizen or a bold Amber Ale for the classier drinkers. Coronas are acceptable only because their incredible advertising continues to convince legions of ignorant beer drinkers that what they are guzzling down with a lime and salt might actually be beer rather than rubbing alcohol.

Clear Tournament Rules

Any self-respecting poker tournament will have a clear set of all the rules laid out for the players to see. Before starting any poker tournament the rules must be announced out loud to all the players, so that everybody present will have the same opportunity to understand the guidelines they should abide by.

Almost as important as having a clear set of rules is making sure that there is a competent dealer present who understands them better than anybody there and will constantly remind the players precisely what is going on so that there are no misunderstandings.

When thousands of dollars are on the line the last thing a tournament host wants to deal with is a heated debate sparked by the incompetent dealer who accidentally showed the burn card. A great deal of heartache can be avoided by taking these small precautions.

Invite Only

This should be the most obvious point for anybody planning on hosting a poker tournament, but unfortunately this advice goes unheeded to the chagrin of the host’s poker buddies. It is an unfortunate truth that anywhere there’s an underground poker tournament, there are shady people with lots of cash handy waiting to try their luck. Oftentimes this money comes from drugs.

Having strangers over for a poker tournament where thousands of dollars are on the line can (and often does) spell disaster. Even if there is a guard present and a scuffle is quickly dispersed, the very fact that there was a fight at somebody’s poker tournament will discourage many players from returning.

Good Vibes

It doesn’t matter how much the tournament buy-in is or who wins in the end; all players know the stakes beforehand and also that the odds of winning are strongly against them. Make sure to invite players who are going to show up with a smile on their face and still have a smile on their face when they leave, regardless if they win or lose.

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