morality of micro-rake on NL home game?

obeythekitten · #1 01-31-2005, 05:06 PM

i know most people are strongly against raking home games for moral reasons (myself included to an extent, unless services are provided above and beyond that of a normal "home game")

next month i am going to be moving into a new house where we will have a bar already installed in the basement, and will be purchasing a quality table to go with it.

with this setup my place will most likely be hosting the majority of games, if not ALL of them. this leads into increased expenses for liquor/beer and soft drinks, which are typically provided socially by the host.

asking people to kick in 3 bucks when they play to offset the cost seems to be a really bad idea, as it would drive away the people that show up only a handful of times with a friend with $20, promptly lose it and leave.

depending on the people we get to play, the blinds are typically either $0.25/$0.50 or $0.50/$1 (basically when it involves terrible players or people that dont care, the smaller blinds are used)

my idea is to take a flat $0.25 per hand rake regardless of pot size assuming a flop is seen, so based on 24 hands per hour (is this an accurate figure?) it adds up to the house taking in $6 per hour, and $24 per night if we are running a game from 8pm-12pm.

any suggestions, comments, flames, insults, and tweaks would be greatly appreciated and considered.

fishfeet · #2 01-31-2005, 05:17 PM

I am much more fond of the idea of just taking a set amount "at the door" rather than raking each pot.

Either way, they are going to be giving some money to help offset your costs. And if you are providing food/drinks/ect.. then it is fair that you get compensated a little. But it should be done in a fixed amount up front, in my opinion.

I spent ~$200 on building a poker table for my friends and I to play on. Im glad I did and I never asked to have people dontate for the initial costs. It was my gift to them, and since its mine, it will always stay with me.

However, with all the play the table has seen, the cloth has worn out a lot. I set a donation jar on the table each time we played and asked people to donate if they wanted to so I could refelt the table.
Some people dropped a few quarters, some a few singles, and had 2 people give a little over $5. With around $40 in the jar I can now go find a nice quality cloth to put on the table.
Since they have helped to wear the table, spilled on it, and whatnot, I think it was a fair request.
But I would never have raked any pots. I dont find that to be right in a friendly home game.

Beavis68 · #3 01-31-2005, 05:25 PM

I believe you run a better chance of getting arrested and charged if you rake the pot.

warewulf · #4 01-31-2005, 05:32 PM

Raking is a bad idea. I either charge for drinks and such, or have everyone bring their own. My fish are lucky if they get light beer. A few of the games I go to charge for sodas, snacks etc.

obeythekitten · #5 01-31-2005, 05:34 PM

[ QUOTE ]
Raking is a bad idea. I either charge for drinks and such, or have everyone bring their own. My fish are lucky if they get light beer. A few of the games I go to charge for sodas, snacks etc.

[/ QUOTE ]

so in your opinion i would be better off setting prices like $2 for well cocktails, $1 for beer, $1 for soft drinks ?

obeythekitten · #6 01-31-2005, 05:39 PM

[ QUOTE ]
I am much more fond of the idea of just taking a set amount "at the door" rather than raking each pot.

[/ QUOTE ]

i really believe that charging $3 at the door will drive away people that come with a limited one time bankroll ($20 or less) and will bust out within an hour or so

Runner Runner · #7 01-31-2005, 05:53 PM

Why don't you just charge the people who cash out at the end. If you have a $3 to $5 charge for everyone who cashes out over X amount, then you will not chase away the donators and still collect enough to cover the costs of refreshments.

warewulf · #8 01-31-2005, 05:58 PM

[ QUOTE ]

so in your opinion i would be better off setting prices like $2 for well cocktails, $1 for beer, $1 for soft drinks ?

[/ QUOTE ]

I think that's best. That way the people that dont drink dont have to pay for those who do. There are no complaints at the games I go to that do this. Sometimes if there's a bad beat, the winner will buy the loser a beer. Someone that's having a really good night might buy everyone at the table a beer. If they dont want to pay, they can bring their own.

Spooky · #9 01-31-2005, 06:07 PM

I say put a tip jar on the bar, label it munchies, and let a little peer pressure help fund your pretzles/whatever. Establish a BYOB policy and make room in the fridge/cooler for their beer etc. Everyone coming to your game should understand that these things cost money and not expect you to provide them at your cost... providing the venue is more than generous enough. However some will resent being forced to pay towards these things, so leaving it optional like this is a better (legal) way of doing it.

Eric H · #10 01-31-2005, 06:09 PM

In our weekly game, the host charges $10 per person. He provides food, pop and bottled water (no alcholic drinks provided). Everyone in our group is very agreeable to this arrangement. It takes a great deal of your time to put the game on in order to get ready and to clean up. You also have considerable expense in providing a poker table, quality chips and cards ( you do use Kem or Copag don't you?).

Our host has not always provided food in prior years. For this, each player paid $5 and recieved soft drinks and bottled water.

I also host an occasional game and also tournaments. I also charge $10 supplying food, pop and bottled water.

The fixed fee has had no effect on the number of players. One or two whined at first, but there are always those that complain about everything. You should not be afraid to charge a fee.

Eric H