Here are some Home Game Tips not always considered

• Use and enforce Casino rules as much as possible: Some casino rules seem strange and non-intuitive (like the single-chip call rule), however, it is better form good poker habits in small-stakes home games, so when going to the casino they are second nature. Players may get annoyed, but it really is in everyone’s best interest to follow official rules. I would only deviate from casino rules when it adds significant fun to the game, not because it just seems like a hassle to stick with official rules.
• Consistent and Enforced Rules: Establish a set of rules and guidelines and stick to them consistently and rigidly, even if it may seem nit-picky and inconsequential. It may feel counter-intuitive to strictly enforce rules at a friendly home game when the ruling seems inconsequential and no big deal, but it actually is very important in keeping the game friendly by assuring that there is no favoritism and rules are applied equally to everyone in every circumstance. You want to enforce the rules when it is no big deal, so that when it is a big deal it is clear that you aren’t deciding to stick-it to a player, but just consistently enforcing the rule(s) as you always have. Even friendly games get competitive and sometimes big pots can happen. You don’t want to only enforce the rules strictly in those circumstances, because it will feel unfair to a player if in the past they weren’t enforced. An example of one rule in particular that comes up often is an “exposed card”. During a deal if a card leaves the table, flips, or has any chance of being exposed, it should be considered exposed, NO QUESTIONS ASKED, and replaced. It doesn’t matter if no one saw it (or not) or if the player being dealt to wants it or not. It is an exposed card, and must be taken out of play. The rule is important to apply consistently because if it is not applied consistently, it gives players’ power to determine holdings beyond randomness and opens up the door for players to feel like they got screwed-over when in the past another player wasn’t screwed-over because the rule wasn’t applied then.
• Dealer Choice Games:
  • Have a pre-set game list: These games are often the best part of home games, however, I’ve found that they should be restricted to a set of previously agreed upon games. The dealer shouldn’t just be able to call any game they want. If a player wants to introduce a brand new game to the session, it should be discussed before the start of the poker session and added to the list as a “experimental game” that can be vetoed until established as a “regular game”. Of course if everyone at the table wants to try a new game, go for it, but make sure everyone is comfortable with it. Sometimes the players that aren’t feel pressured to say okay when its not okay.
  • Play the game for an entire round of hands: At the start of the session there will be a player (we will call Phil) who has the “Dealer” button. It is important to note this player, because the deal will change every time the button gets to them. Phil will be able to call the game (out of a list of possible games). Phil will deal the the game they call for an entire round of hands until the dealer button comes back around to him (Phil.) This means that Phil, although dealing the hand, will not (in general) have the dealer button in front of him. Phil is to act just as a “casino” dealer acts and deal the hand as the button goes around the table (dealing the first card to the player to the left of the button, NOT to the left of Phil.) When the dealer button gets back to Phil, the player to the left of Phil (we will call Tom) now gets to call the game and has to deal that hand for an entire round as well. When the button gets back to Phil (not Tom), the dealer changes again to the player to the left of Tom and so on. This may seem overly complicated at first, but it achieves three important goals. (1) It allows for players to get used to a game before switching every hand, (2) The dealer who calls the game deals the game they call the entire round. (3) It is very important that play goes for exactly 1-full round (or even-round increments) because with some games the blinds change amounts or antes are used instead of blinds and it becomes unfair to some players if a full round is not played, as some players pay more blinds than other players.
• Two-Decks and Who Shuffles: The game goes much faster if two decks are employed in a game. The decks should have two high-contrasting different colored backs so they will not be easily mixed. The player to the right of the “dealer” should shuffle the 2nd deck so that it is ready by the end of the current hand being played. An easy way to remember this is that when you get done dealing, you will be shuffling. There are a few reasons this is preferred over having the player to the left of the dealer shuffle. (1) If not playing dealer’s choice, after dealing, it is much faster for the current dealer to collect all the cards (they typically already hold 1/2 of them in their hands) and start shuffling rather than passing it to the player to the left of the dealer. (2) It is more difficult to ‘stack a deck’ for the last player dealt in a hand rather than the first player dealt (top card).
• End-of-Night Book-keeping: Do not allow players to put up their chips or pocket their cash at the end of a session until all the money has been paid out and distributed to all the players. At the end of the night, the players should keep all their chips in front of their seat, and the cash payout should remain on the table and NOT pocketed until all the chips are counted and money is distributed. This is extremely helpful and important in working out end-of-night audits. If chips get mixed or money gets pocketed it makes it extremely difficult to find any error that might have occurred. I can’t stress this enough!
• Buy-in / Cash-out Verification: Player’s (including hosts) should not be allowed to completely buy themselves in or cash themselves out of a game. This isn’t to prevent cheating as much as it insures that at least two people are counting chips and money to prevent unintentional errors (oh… yeah, it can also prevent cheating… but that is hardly ever the issue in a fun home game.)