How To Set Up a Home Poker Game in 2024

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How To Play Poker at Home

Perhaps you’ve found that it’s legal to play home poker in your country. Now, you’d want to know how to set up a home poker game to play with your friends. In case you are wondering what poker setup you need, there are three things that you’d need for any game of home poker:

  • Poker chips,
  • A deck of cards,
  • Poker players.

If you have these requirements, then it means that you can set up a game of poker. Moreover, there are several modalities that you can create based on your own preferences. For example, one such modality is the number of players. Most poker variants offer solid gameplay value for 6-10 players. In extreme cases, even two players can play a game of home poker. After all, this is known as heads-up and is the way the game’s played at the end of tournaments.

Home Poker Chip Values

Part of preparing for home poker involves poker chips. The poker chips are representations of money. If the players agree, literally any item can be considered a poker chip with its own value.

If you have a poker setup, you can simply use the following values according to the color of the chips.

  • White or Gray – $1
  • Red – $5
  • Blue – $10
  • Green – $25
  • Black – $100
  • Purple – $500
  • Yellow – $1,000
  • Pink – $5,000
  • Orange – $10,000

How Many Poker Chips Do You Start With?

By default, in home conditions, it is accepted that each player starts with 50 chips. This is in case you have 5 players. Then a chip set of 300 including 5 colors should be quite enough. But if the players are 6 or more, then you will need a set of 500 pieces.

You can start with 20 big blind(bb) minimum and a 100bb maximum.

Deck of Cards

The poker materials are also important. We recommend that you spend some money to purchase a plastic laminated deck of cards. This is the type of cards that casinos use. And with good reason – these cards are easy to clean, they don’t bend and crease easily. Also, they don’t absorb grease. The poker table is also very important, so make sure to invest in it.

Poker Dealer

Poker Dealer

Another important factor in a poker game is the dealer. If you want, you can designate a person to deal, or the players can trade places when dealing. The rules for dealing will vary depending on the poker variant you’re playing. It’s very important to know how to deal properly.

How to set up a home Poker Game Online

Of course, there’s always the option to play online poker with friends for real money. It’s very simple to set up a poker game online, too. The best poker sites invariably offer the option to create private poker rooms for players.

badge-legal-poker-sites

Playing in a private room means that you can play with whomever you choose. All of the players in the private room will get a unique code that they can use to enter. Online poker is even simple to play, as there’s no requirement for a dealer. The poker software will take care of automatic dealing, simplifying the game.

Besides that, pretty much the same rules apply as in regular home games. The players will agree on whether to use chips or play a cash game. The number of players can also vary. It’s easy to set up multiple tables that will play out at the same time. The best players will progress to the final table and then decide the winner.

So, you’ll first need to find a poker site that will enable you to create a private poker room. You can then send invites to your friends and they can enter the private room. The players don’t even have to be present in a single room to play online.

Poker Dress Code

If you want to, you can take a step further in organizing a home game of poker. There are many poker players that don’t care about how they look, as long as they get to play. However, you can definitely spice things up by defining a poker dress code.

There are many options that you can choose from. Perhaps you’ll want to emulate the wild west. If so, then you can check out the music video for Kenny Rogers’ timeless song “The Gambler”. Perhaps you’ll want to add a bottle of scotch to enhance the atmosphere. Though, we’d advise against getting too drunk when playing poker – or even getting drunk at all.

You can create all sorts of different scenarios in the form of poker dress codes. Your imagination is the sole limitation. Doing this can make the game more fun for players and it can keep it from becoming stale.

Summary

Now you know about the things you need if you want to set up a game of home poker. You’re aware of the importance of investing in quality poker equipment. You know that there’s a recommended number of players that can play the game. And you’re aware that you need to find out whether playing home poker is legal in your country. Knowing all this – we hope you’ll have a fantastic time playing home poker with your closest buddies and friends.