[Hedge Henderson]

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Smokers are often social creatures who seek companionship when outside my house smoking. Subsequently, my home games are painfully slow because half the people playing decide to go outside for five minutes and there's three of us left at the table not sure if we should play or wait.

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That's an easy one. You just treat 'em like you would an online player without all-in protection. If they're not there in time to act, they fold. If they miss their blind(s), they post in the CO.

I sometimes play in a non- (tobacco, anyway) smoking game down the street. I'll head outside after I fold pre-flop and keep an eye on the table through the window. When I see the cards being dealt, I put the smoke down, and head back inside to either play or fold again.

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Am I a bad host if I make them go outside to smoke?

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Hell, no! It's your house, right? You're only a bad host if you don't provide and ashtray outside within viewing distance of the table.

The outdoor games can be nice but, if you've got a rowdy crowd, you'll probably hear from the neighbors more often when playing outside.

Since I sometimes smoke in the house, I do allow smoking in my home game. It can build up, though. There's a big difference between one person smoking, and having four or five cigarettes and a couple of cigars lit all the time. Fortunately, I've got a big ol' attic fan that sucks all that smoke right out of the house, and I live in a climate where I can use it for all but the few hottest and coldest games of the year. For those games, I put a fan in the window right by the table. The extra heating/cooling energy used is (at most) around buck per game, and the fan helps more than you might think.