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question for home cash game players

3K views 13 replies 12 participants last post by  tele_pathic 
#1 ·
a buddy of mine has been running his own game at home that is a .25/.50 NLHE. Typical buyins range from 30-100 bucks. He is raking $2/$20 and $4/$40. Usually rake totals $125-$150. For this he provides 2 kinds of beer(both are kinds he drinks) and maybe a bag of chips/pretzels and occasionally something else to eat. My question, is this rake excessive for the provided drinks/food?(he maybe spends $20-25/game on supplies). This amount of rake guarantees he is usually taking more from the game than any big winners(who are never above $100.)

thanks and I look forward to your opinions.
 
#2 ·
I personally think any rake is too much in a home game. I don't care if it's for hookers and blow. I wouldn't play in it. Hosting brings responsibilities. If he's unwilling to shoulder the burden then he should politely ask guests to bring their own drinks and snacks.
 
#4 ·
Of course it's too much. It's not a home game at that point. I've hosted for years. It's always been byob and please bring a bag of chips if you haven't in a while. I will throw in some meatballs or queso or whatnot about 50% of the time for a little extra.
I've never asked for money for supplies.

In return I get a lot. No babysitter, since my wife plays too usually. I can drink as much as I want and not have to worry about getting home. I get to play by my rules (robert's rules really). Plus if I didn't host along with a couple other guys, nobody would ever get to play. I've also met a couple good friends through the game.

Fuck raking a home game. 10% off the top in outrageous. There must be nowhere else to play for anyone to put up with that.
 
#6 ·
Dedicated dealer? Or do you [also] toke the dealer?

IMO, it's on the high side. If you want to rake a game, rake it to cover your expenses, not to make money off it, and that's clearly what he's doing. 10% is making money. It's what casinos rake. If he's raking 5% to cover a dealer, throw in a couple 5 buck cardboard little ceasars pizza, a beer or two off the tap, then I'd be OK with it. But not at 10%

I never raked, but we did have a dedicated dealer, and everyone took good care of him in tokes. Hence not needing to rake to cover the dealer. Everyone understood this. We were also 99.5% BYO _____ and a pretty open group for bumming a beer or scoring half a subway sammich that someone brought and didn't finish.
 
#7 ·
no dealer and with the grumbling that is going on he either goes back to actually putting out a spread and supplying a reasonable amount of beer or he will lose the game. I am done playing when the winner is the rake, not the player with the best playing ability.
 
#8 ·
I can only echo what was said above. I love a true rake-free home game dealt by the players! I host games fairly regularly and usually have some cheap snacks, cheap beer, and pop or water available. My return is not having to drive home. Plus I enjoy trying to provide a decent place to play for my friends.

Rather than a rake I would prefer everyone chips in $10 or something, to seperate the poker from the food/drink if I felt I was spending too much on hosting.
 
#9 ·
I wouldn't play a raked home game at the best of times but the game you describe sounds flush with self-interest.

The legalities locally are that you are not allowed to profit directly or indirectly from a poker game: all monies taken in must be paid out. Tips, kickbacks, donations are all considered indirect, no matter how you arrange things.

That said, my game is BYO. That includes munchies. I say that almost every time I invite someone. Even so, we put out meats, cheese, pickles, and rye bread for the midnight snack. Soft drinks are always stocked. We do it so no one's running on fumes, especially if they're imbibing, and it generally encourages late hours. We don't expect anything in return.

I figure that a host should provide what they're willing to and ask everyone else to bring their own. No one's going to care if it's BYO Everything if the game is legit.
 
#14 ·
THIS!!! In Texas, it's completely illegal to profit directly or indirectly. I've played a couple times at a guys house in Frisco. Super nice guy, great wife, always had a spread, and a crowd of 50-60 peeps. He offered free on-tap beer, hosted 2-3 times a month, had 8-9 really nice poker tables, 1 table that was incredible, and for all that he never raked the cash games or took a percentage of the tourney buy-ins. If I won, I usually left a few bucks on the counter. But even when I knew he had all that stuff, I always took a cooler with cokes, water, and beer, put it next to the other coolers and told everyone to help themselves, just as I helped myself to other coolers with new beers I hadn't tried, etc. I rarely ate there, maybe a slice of pizza and a wing, but I usually had a big dinner before going so I didn't eat his food. Man, I miss that game.
 
#11 ·
I agree with everyone. I don't play in raked home games, and certainly an asshole who is trying to make money off the rake. I'm shocked people put up with that shit.

I always host, and even when my game was big and we had people waiting in line to play, I never raked.
 
#13 ·
Never raked my games, had a dealer for a short time but most players didn't like having to toke a dealer with a casino less than an hour away (albeit one that charges $6/30mins). Definitely BYOB, as I choose not to drink, if we get a UFC fight everyone chips 5 or 10 bucks. Raked games are illegal, period. Someone wants to tip the house as they cash out and had a monkeycard type of night, I'm ok with it, but it's never asked for nor expected. That being said, my carpet's been fuct, once or twice I came up short in the pot, but again, that's my deal as host. I know what I'm getting into.
 
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