I hate trying to get home games set up.

[Hedge Henderson]

Yeah, it can be a pain in the ass sometimes. Our home game has been running long enough that too few players is never a problem. Worst case scenario is that we get to play some draw.

What really bugs me are the players who show up late on game night, often with friends, when they never bothered to tell me they'd be there in the first place. I'm expecting an 8-player game on the first deal and, by midnight, we've got 14. In between hands, I'm scrambling to set up a second table, pass out chips, and find enough chairs.

[DiggerDog]

I've hosted a few home game tourneys and on the first go-round I required all who said that they were going to attend to pay the entry fee in advance (no refund if you decide to stay home.) No one complained and everyone showed. The next time, I decided to try not collecting in advance and I had 3 cancellations on the day of the game. I won't host another home game without collecting in advance again.

[Lottery Larry]

Ding them in your records, with repeated problems meaning you suspend them from attending.

Or, just tell them they can't play when they show up without RSVP'ing- though that's a bit harsh, they'll get the message after the first time. They may not come BACK, but they'll get the message.

[Lottery Larry]

Too much of a hassle to try and collect beforehand.

Drop them from the invitation list- a penalty as it were- or put them on the wait list until everyone else has RSVP'd and you still have a seat open.

[Lottery Larry]

"their entry fee a few days in advance, which would pretty much lock them into coming (no refunds!). "

No refunds? What if they're sick? What if there's a last minute emergency? Etc...

[Lottery Larry]

Unless you have a small group, why do no-shows/cancellations matter? I would still punish people who no-show (as opposed to the courteous, who cancel their RSVP due to problems), but play with whoever actually shows up.

What difficulty am I missing here? Then again, I'll play heads up if need be...

[Lottery Larry]

Now, before you think I'm too soft:

"DEACTIVATING PLAYERS
Current members may be deactivated voluntarily or involuntarily:

Voluntary- player requests to be put on hiatus from the group, while remaining a member. They will not be sent game invitations during their time-off, so they will not be responsible for RSVPing, nor penalized for lack of same.
Typically they should contact the host when they want to be activated again for game invitations.

Note that this is NOT considered a deactivation, unless the player on hiatus misses 10 or more consecutive games. Special arrangements beyond this period can be arranged with the host(s).

Involuntary- A current member can be deactivated without their consent. Typically, the following reasons are a cause of deactivation:
a) Due to infractions as detailed in the PENALTIES section above
b) Failing to respond properly/promptly to RSVP game invitations- a 70% violation rate is the current standard
c) Failure to show up, without notice, when the player has RSVP’d their intent to attend a game. 2 consecutive no-shows, or 60% violation rate, can cause them to be deactivated.
d) An absence from attendance of 6 months, unless special arrangements with the host(s) are in place.

Reactivation fee- If a player has been officially deactivated, they will be removed from the membership list of the group. They will not receive any game notices, summaries, or other information.
In order for the player to be reactivated, they must contact the host(s) and request a reactivation. If the host(s) agrees to reactivate them, an extra $10 reactivation fee will be required at their first game back. This fee will be handled in the same manner as the initialization fee for new members, as detailed above.
As of x/x/xx, there may be a short grandfather period allowed for current members, for this new policy. They must attend a game during that GF period to retain active status."

[jedi]

We have no problems getting people to play, but getting them to come on time is more of a problem. For that, we've started to institute late fees at our tournaments, since it was proving headaches to our tournament organizer when he'd have to stop a hand to get people registered.

People would get 1 freebie, then it'd be $1 for the next time they were late, $2 the time after that. People have been showing up more on time now [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

[Hedge Henderson]

[ QUOTE ]
Lottery Larry suggests:
Ding them in your records, with repeated problems meaning you suspend them from attending.

Or, just tell them they can't play when they show up without RSVP'ing- though that's a bit harsh, they'll get the message after the first time. They may not come BACK, but they'll get the message.

[/ QUOTE ]

Sometimes I get pissed off enough to consider such actions, but it's awful damn tough to suspend someone you've been playing with once or twice a week for over three years. The one or two extras, I'm always prepared for. It's the five or six extras I have a problem with.

A while back, I had limited success with "one-table" nights, announced well in advance. I removed some chairs and put the other table out in the garage. The first ten to sign up (regulars got a couple days' priority) had seats. Anyone else had to wait until someone left. There was a lot of grumbling, but the RSVP percentage went from about 50% to 95% real quick. Of course, it's -EV not to be able to seat the newbies, and the regulars weren't happy, so I only did that a few times. After the experiment was over, RSVPs gradually dropped.


[ QUOTE ]
jedi sezs:
we've started to institute late fees at our tournaments...

[/ QUOTE ]

Hmmm... I may have to think about that idea. Since the blinds start small in relation to stack sizes, the tiny amount blinded out isn't much of a deterrent to those who consistently arrive late to tournies.

[Lottery Larry]

[ QUOTE ]

Sometimes I get pissed off enough to consider such actions, but it's awful damn tough to suspend someone you've been playing with once or twice a week for over three years.

[/ QUOTE ]

Depends on which is more important to you. However, if they've been playing at YOUR house for that long, they can't show some courtesy and honor your requests for RSVPs? Aren't they then saying "screw you" in a sense?

[ QUOTE ]
Hmmm... I may have to think about that idea. Since the blinds start small in relation to stack sizes, the tiny amount blinded out isn't much of a deterrent to those who consistently arrive late to tournies.

[/ QUOTE ]

I don't let them get blinded off. If we have seats open, they can buy in late, but I reduce their starting stack by a certain percentage- 3% for 1st round, 7% for second, 16% for third right now for T2000-3000 stacks- so that they lose the blinds plus a penalty amount for each round that they miss.

No seat open, you wait. Seat open and you're late? You pay full price and get penalized stack, or you wait for the cash games.

Maybe I'm old school, but if people don't extend their courtesy to the host, maybe the host won't extend his courtesy to them.