Hosting a Poker Tournament at Home

I’ve been playing Poker regularly around the local tournament scene and I’m at the point now where I’m fairly well known, having made a few new friends too along the way too. As someone who works from home and can be a bit of a hermit at times the poker has been good for me socially. So at the urging of my wife, I’ve taken on the task of Hosting a Poker Tournament at Home and inviting a few of the regulars over…

I wanted to do a mid-week game since the Poker crew can get a bit loose and I didn’t want to end up hosting a bender. We often talk about sports while we’re throwing chips and cards around the tables so I thought I’d line up my home game with the State of Origin Decider to be played tomorrow night. It’s a big game with the idea being we can have a few brews, play some Poker and then as people get knocked out of the tournament they can chill out and watch the footy and keep a bit of a party buzz going.

I’ve been fortunate that one of the local Tournament Directors that I've befriended has passed on a proper Table and Chip Set so I have the basic gear covered (even if it's 2nd Hand). I’ve checked out freepokerclock.com to manage the Blind Levels and keep the game on track. I'll need to grab a case of beer and a few nibbles as I’m putting on some Finger Food. I plan to time the Break to start at Kick-Off in the footy so that’s when the food will need to be ready too so we can shout at the TV for a bit while we feed our faces.

I’m a bit rusty, but I was always a pretty decent host of parties in my youth and my wife is The Bomb when it comes to putting on a spread. The trickiest part is getting the right number of players with the right temperament. I was aiming for 6-9 players so we could have 1 table - very manageable and with easy going personalities...but getting people locked in has been tough.

One guy has the flu this week, the next guy busted his shoulder in the surf 2 days ago, another has just become a dad (last week) and is still in a baby haze. Then I’ve got one more who is “On Call” for work and may need to pull out if the phone rings, while another again is “Only 99%” because he might need to take care of his daughter because it's School Holidays and his Ex-Missus might drop her on him.

All up I am a little excited to be hosting, but also nervous that it might flop if I don’t get enough players. It’s a bit late in the game (and awkward) to call for Ring-Ins. In my head the blended Poker / Footy concept all works beautifully and is a great night for all...so hopefully I can Manifest that vision. I’ll find out soon enough...