The home game: good people, good times, good cards

Like most Poker players I often like to get together with friends, too much beer and play the "home game". Everyone has their favorite games, favorite place and favorite people they like to hang out with and have a fun time with. The "Home game" varies from home to home in many ways, the games played, the table, even the items used for wagering.

The two most common types of    "home games "   are tournament style and cash game style of play. Tournament style closely resembles what you see on TV on the WSOP (World Series of Poker) or the WPT (World Poker Tour). The other style of play is cash game possibly consisting of a variety of different games with several variations of the games themselves. A popular theme of this is "dealers choice" where the dealer of each hand calls the game and sometimes, different rules of play. Some game examples are holdem, razz, Omaha, stud games. While those are common you will often her less common games such as Baseball, follow the queen all with different rules and sometimes wild cards.

Most games require a playing surface usually a table or counter top. In the home game arena these often vary. You have the weekly game on a square table with a table cloth to the ultra expensive ten seated table like in most casinos and sometimes a homemade table or custom built tables that make a casino table look cheap.

Wagering is the act of making bets and calling or folding pots. However this is also done with a variety of items. The most common being a chip. Chips can vary in all styles from plastic inexpensive chips to a set I saw online at wedoitallvegas.com for around $1000.00 dollars. Some games are played with food (imagine real chips for chips), others candy or actual money. Most prefer the use of chips so that the actual amounts of money made or lost takes on a different perspective and can be used to substitute different denominations.

No matter what games you play or what you are playing for the "home game" is a poker institution. Some are serious and the stakes are high and others are for the price of a steak. The point is start a home game or seek out a home game that fits your level and interest of play. Play with the items available to you and move up to the items you want to incorporate in your game. Hopefully you find the "home game" to be a good place for you to improve your game and have a good time around people with the same intentions as you.

By Pokerdog283