Dilemma from last nights home game... - Page 2

slamdunkpro · #1 11-10-2003, 11:00 AM

Bottom line - you're the bank - you're responsible.

I set up the table before hand with chips in fixed denomination groups( ie: $1 chips in groups of $20, $5's - $50. Then I count the total table bank. When players buy in - I count their cash, then I count their chips. When they cash out the process is reversed. I don't care how they've stacked, there is no pay out until I count their chips.

I use casino racks to speed the cash out process (100 chips in 20 chip stacks)

I also keep a change bank with a fixed amount for the clowns like your high roller who can't live without their $1.50 from their $36.50 cash out.

CrackerZack · #2 11-10-2003, 02:23 PM

banker is responsible for the money and chips. if he screws it up, he eats it. Every game I've ever played in has been that way.

LetsRock · #3 11-13-2003, 02:04 PM

Agree with all other posters. Banker covers the bank. If a mistake was made, the banker made it.

We don't play on credit from the bank - if somebody wants to loan someone some money that's fine, but no credit out of the bank.

For our game, I made some casino type racks and the chips always "stack" to the normal buy in which makes it a lot easier than the old days of seperating all the chips and counting every single stack. (This was especially painful with the plastic chips - we upgraded to clay chips a couple of years ago!)

slamdunkpro · #4 11-13-2003, 02:51 PM

Good point, (wish I'd made it)

We NEVER allow any type of credit (bank or table) and we play table stakes.

DigitalNate · #5 11-13-2003, 11:38 PM

This problem has pretty much disappeared from my home games since I bought a set of clay checks. I use casino style racks to hold the checks, so I always know that one stack of $1 checks is $20, one stack of $5 checks is $100, etc. This simplifies counting out stacks and helps to speed up the buy-in process.

Another thing I did to solve this problem is to make everyone buy in one at a time, if they get their money out they better hold onto it until it goes into the "bank" (a plastic cup with a lid that I keep in my sight at all times). I make sure noone but myself (or a trusted friend who acts as the banker for the night) touches the money cup or the unbought checks.

Since I bought the new checks and instituted the above mentioned rules, the bank has only been off once, and I took the hit on the $5, since it was likely my mistake. I do not miss that days of having to count obscene amounts of little plastic chips at the end of every night just to find out the bank was off by $30 because someone couldn't count to cash in or out right, or was simply cheating us.

Gammonster · #6 11-14-2003, 05:07 AM

Hey, charge the players a small fee, say $1 or so each session to cover [censored] like this. If you find yourself with, say $70, stop doing it and keep the 'insurance.'

LetsRock · #7 11-14-2003, 11:32 AM

Good luck with this.

When we decided to upgrade to clay chips, all the regulars agreed to chip in (no pun intended). I bought the chips and to make it fair to all (some are regulars, others are occasionals) I charged $2 a head (including myself) each game until the chips were paid for. After a couple of months this got to be like a wrestling match over something everyone previously agreed on.

If you can get your guys to give you money for "just in case you make a bank mistake" more power to you.

James Boston · #8 11-14-2003, 10:52 PM

It's an interesting dilemma, but it could be worse. My home game is at a fraternity house (i.e. neutral ground), so there really is no banker to take repsonsibilty. It's a game among friends, so mistakes are difficult to deal with without making accusations. When I guy buys in, he takes the box, counts his own chips, and puts his money in. I know this sounds idiotic, but usually it works. However, when there is a mistake we can't just say, "banker eats it." It takes forever to deal with.

LetsRock · #9 11-17-2003, 05:55 PM

This is a huge mistake and will eventually cause problems. Somebody needs to be the banker. It's not so much a trust issue as it is an honest (drunken?) mistake issue.

stickman · #10 11-20-2003, 04:28 PM

I have hosted a weekly 5-10 stud/8 home game for over 7 years now. Early on I had a similar problem with the bank being short. I could not figure out if I gave out too much change or if someone was bringing extra cheques. Most home game cheques are easy to obtain. As the house I was responsible for the short money. I would never dare to ask the other players to fix something that was my responsibilty.
Anyway, since then I bought custom chips from pokerchips.com . Sure they cost a lot, but are worth every penny, as I know no one else has the same set. I also know the exact amount of chips I have for sale in the game. Therefore, I know if any are missing or extras were snuck in. Secondly, I made a standard buy in (in my case $500)and have all my buy ins precounted in a chip case. This way I eliminate room for mistake in the flurry of all buy ins. Hope all of this was a help.