Practical pieces on running a home game and the money side of it — the part that has nothing to do with how well you play, and causes most of the friction.
- How to run your first home poker game Choosing stakes, how many players, what to buy, the rules to agree before dealing, and how to settle up at the end.
- Cash game or tournament? Which structure suits your group, and why the money side differs far more than the poker does.
- Choosing chip values and starting stacks How to pick denominations that fit your buy-in, why the cheapest chip should be worth about a fortieth of a stack, and the colours to avoid.
- Rebuys, add-ons, and players who arrive late What to agree before the first hand, how to record a rebuy so it survives until settlement, and how to seat someone who missed the start.
- Being the banker Running the cash without it becoming your whole evening: collecting buy-ins, keeping the tray honest, and paying out at the end.
- When someone can't pay How to prevent the most uncomfortable moment a home game produces, and why making the numbers fit is the worst way out of it.
- Five ways a settlement goes wrong The specific arithmetic errors that turn a five-minute settle into a forty-minute argument, and how to catch each one.
- House rules worth agreeing The short list a home game needs settled in advance: money rules, table rules, and who has the final say mid-hand.
- Cashing out at the end of the night The order to count a table down in, why you colour up first, and how to catch a count that does not match the money in.
- Paying up after the game How the money actually moves once the ledger is settled: cash versus apps, rounding, and what is still owed.
- How many chips you actually need How many chips a home game needs by player count, and which denomination always runs out first.
- Blinds and starting stacks Picking blinds that fit your buy-in, why 100 big blinds is the standard, and levels for a home tournament.
- Should you take a rake? Why a cut of the pot changes what your game is, and the fairer ways to cover the costs of hosting.
- Tracking a season Keeping a record across weeks without it turning into a debt ledger, and what the numbers will show you.
- Side pots What happens to the betting when someone is all in for less, and the one rule that settles every dispute.
- How many players Why six to eight is the sweet spot, and what to do when ten people say yes.
- Finding players Where home game players actually come from, and how to make it easy to say yes again.
- Dealing and the button Rotating the deal versus a dedicated dealer, and how the button and blinds move.
- Why home games die The four reasons a regular game quietly stops happening, and the habits that keep one running.
- Beginners at the table Including someone who has never played, without slowing the game or taking all their money in an hour.
- When the bank comes up short The chips do not match the money. How to find the cause, and who should absorb it once you have genuinely looked.
The calculator itself is here, and How it works explains the arithmetic it performs.