fair rake for a home game?

a guy on campus is offering to host poker at his frat house.
for 3-6 limit he'll rake 1 dollar from every pot, for 2-4 limit, 50 cents.
he also said he'd buy pizza.
now assuming there is a somewhat competent dealer and things are run well/honestly/safely/fairly, is that a good deal?
what kinds of questions should i ask him about the set up?

No! Never pay rake at a home game. If he wants you to pony up for some beer/pizza money in exchange for hosting, that is one thing. As soon as he starts raking that is called a "gambling operation" and illegal in most jurisdictions if unlicensed.

even if he is dealing the whole time and not playing? i would feel more comfortable having one dealer do everything rather than the players.
let's pretend it isn't illegal, is it a fair rake?
if he did rake 1 buck from each pot i suspect he'd make at least 90-120 dollars depending on how many players show and how long we play.

Assuming it is legal...I think the standard B&M rake is like 10% up to $4/hand for the limits we are talking about... by those terms the proposed rake here is pretty low if pots will be frequently more than $10 (which they should!). Will he rake if the blinds are chopped? (Answer should be no). All that being said, I still do not think it is a good idea. What is your (you and your fellow players) incentive to play at a raked game? Why not just get together yourselves at these limits and play rake free?

[EStreet20]

It is illegal and your friend can get in deep [censored] if he gets caught. That said, if the max rake per pot is one dollar and he doesn't rake until the pot reached 10 bucks (IE 10 %)then that's a very fair rake. He should also never rake a pot if there's no flop seen.

Good luck,
Matt

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even if he is dealing the whole time and not playing? i would feel more comfortable having one dealer do everything rather than the players.
let's pretend it isn't illegal, is it a fair rake?
if he did rake 1 buck from each pot i suspect he'd make at least 90-120 dollars depending on how many players show and how long we play.

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Taking a rake is illegal without a license. If he wants to cover expenses, he can charge a cover... and even that is shady - but at least that can be called a food charge.

the incentives aren't that great, playing on a nice table and getting pizza is just about it. and we don't need him for pizza, and i can use another table.
plus with the way campus safety and RDs have been getting upset over 5 dollar tourneys, i think i might have to pass.
although i wish the rake at the casino was this low. /images/graemlins/smile.gif

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although i wish the rake at the casino was this low.

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Well I suppose we could lower the rake for you, but you will have to put up with having Larry the Frat boy deal and act as floor person, and we can bring in pizza but don't ask for drinks. Also you won't be permitted to use the clean men's room you'll have to use the the one with piss and mold all over the place.

that sounds fine, i'll eat beforehand, bring in my own bottled water, and i don't care where i pee. it's not like i'll be sitting down. guys have the luxury of being able to pee almost anywhere.
and if larry the frat boy is in the same frat as my friends it will be even better.
now which casino is this and where are you located?

[Jezebel]

I think you guys are overreacting to raked home games a little. Around my city , all private games are raked and I don't mind a bit. They way I look at it is I am paying for the organization of a game and access to a very large pool of players.

Putting a private game together can be a pain in the ass and you really need a pool of about 50 players to keep the game going. When players bust out you need new players to replace them. Thats pretty hard to pull off in a small home game. You are also paying for the conveinece of not having to track down players and make sure there will be a game.

The house also provides just about anything I want. Dinner is usually brought in from a higher end resturant. The biggest point is in higher limit games it is tough to find a large enough pool of players to keep a game going. A well run raked game doesn't seem to have this problem.

As far as being illegal, sure its illegal. I've been in three games that the cops have busted. The first time the came in and said that we needed to quit, so we did and never played in that location again. The second time was in a business park and the cops left a note on the door saying they suspected that illegal gambling was going on, that we ought to quit. We quit and never played there again. The third time the cops came in because there were illegal poker machines in the building. The told us to quit playing and go home. The questioned the guy who owned the machines and let him go home.

The most serious thing I've seen happen is when the cops were called because the house would not pay a player caught cheating. A tussle broke out and the cops came. Cops charged owner and house man. Court dropped all charges.

In my experience with illegal clubs, the cops give you a summuns to appear in court and then the court makes you give $200 to a charity of your choice. That is usually the way they handle it up here in Toronto. But that is for the players. The people running the place gets a bigger fine.

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In my experience with illegal clubs, the cops give you a summuns to appear in court and then the court makes you give $200 to a charity of your choice. That is usually the way they handle it up here in Toronto. But that is for the players. The people running the place gets a bigger fine.

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I think in the US, the cops can seize all money on the table, and all money on your person.

I forgot to add that all the money on the table is siezed too.

[cookieb]

You need a pool of 50 players to keep a game going? I live in an area of around 100,000 people and know of regular unraked games every night of the week covering virtually every limit imagineable. Make some friends and find a free game.

[Lottery Larry]

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If he wants to cover expenses, he can charge a cover... and even that is shady

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What do you mean by "shady"?

[Lottery Larry]

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if larry the frat boy is

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Hey, I'm not a fraternity brother!

[Lottery Larry]

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I think you guys are overreacting to raked home games a little.

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A raked home game isn't a home game IMHO, it's an underground card room. You say tomato, I say...

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They way I look at it is I am paying for the organization of a game and access to a very large pool of players.

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Sometimes you can find someone dumb enough to do all that for free! :P

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Putting a private game together can be a pain in the ass and you really need a pool of about 50 players to keep the game going. When players bust out you need new players to replace them. Thats pretty hard to pull off in a small home game.

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Says you.... depending on what you mean by small.

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You are also paying for the conveinece of not having to track down players and make sure there will be a game.

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Damn, maybe I should start charging for that! Too bad it's illegal in Ben Franklin Land.... ;P

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A well run raked game doesn't seem to have this problem.

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A well run non-raked game, managed by a modest saint of a host, doesn't have this problem either. :P


Now, I'm not rich and stupid, so I do have a shared expenses charge, but it's minor AND I pay mine as well (that sticky law thingy again..)

[somapopper]

I'd bet most areas of that size don't have anything going above 3/6 that is going to be easy to find unless it's in an illegal card room.

[wonkadaddy]

all the underground games in atlanta rake up to $6/hand. $1/hand is extremely fair. after drinks/pizza the guy's only go to pull-in $10-15/hour or so.