How to Setup the Table for your Poker Home Game

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Jan 12, 2024 7 min read Last updated Jun 01, 2024

Want to host a poker home game? That’s a great idea, and in this article, we’ll show you specifically what you should to do ensure your game is fun and you keep players coming back to play week after week.

Setting Up the Chips for your Poker Home Game

While it might not seem like a big deal, having a nice chip set will help keep players coming back each week. Poker players like aesthetically pleasing chips and easy to see denominations on each chip.

Think about when you began playing poker in a casino. You probably preferred the card rooms that had nice chips. It’s really no different when it comes to starting a home game as the players you invite will likely have the same desires. And if you don’t keep them happy, they’ll find another game to play in.

Chip Denominations for your Poker Home Game

Poker players like to have plenty of chips in front of them even if their stack size is fairly small. For example, if a player buys in for just $50, it’s best to give them a stack of $1 chips as opposed to $5 or higher denominations so that the player doesn’t feel short-stacked.

When you’re purchasing chips for your game, take into consideration the same things you’d look for if you were playing in someone else’s home game.

Poker Chip Values - How Much Should Each Chip Be Worth?

The same chip denominations should have the same color. Unless you’re hosting a high-stakes home game, you should have plenty of $1 denomination chips and then go up from there — $2, $5, $20 and perhaps even $25 an $50 or $100 chips.

Setting Up the Seats for your Poker Home Game

As mentioned previously, you don’t want your home game to look sloppy, so put some effort into making everything look nice and appealing to your players. The game is a reflection of you, the host, and you want your guests to have a strong impression of you.

Where Should Each Seat be for your Poker Home Game?

One thing to avoid is a crowded table. No one wants to play poker in a game where they have to arm fight with their neighbor because it’s so crowded. Everyone likes a comfortable table, so make sure you don’t overcrowd the game.

What we mean by that is if your table only seats 8-9 players comfortably, don’t cram in 10 or 11 players just to get as many people in the game as possible. Position each seat so that the player sitting in that seat is squared up with the dealer box.

Do Seats Matter in Poker?

Seats, or position, matters in poker, especially games such as Texas hold’em. Being in position to the left of an aggressive player is advantageous because you’ll always be able to see what that player does before you act.

As for the chairs themselves, you should most certainly find comfortable chairs. They don’t have to be expensive, but they also shouldn’t be rock hard so that your players are uncomfortable.

Should you Do a Seat Draw for your Poker Home Game?

Unlike in a casino, it probably isn’t necessary for you to have a seat draw before a game unless you’re hosting a tournament or a high-stakes game. Allow your guests to sit where they want. It’s just better and more inviting that way.

How to Do a Seat Draw for your Poker Home Game

If you do choose to have a seat draw, and that’s totally okay, have players draw a seat number from out of a hat (or box, or whatever you have available). The number seat they draw is the seat they will sit in.

The Dealer and All-in Buttons at your Poker Home Game

Make sure you have plenty of dealer and all-in buttons as these are very important to your game (we’ll explain more on this below). It’s best to purchase a few extra ones so that if one or two get lost, you’ll always have a backup handy when you need it.

What is the Dealer Button?

The dealer button is passed around the table clockwise each hand to the person who will deal the cards and act last preflop in Texas hold’em before the blinds. If you hire a dealer who isn’t playing in the game, the dealer button will act as a marker to let everyone know which player is seated to the right of the blinds.

What Should you Do with the Dealer Button at your Poker Home Game?

Before your guests arrive, make sure your dealer button is ready to go. The button will start with the player who is dealt the highest card at the beginning of the game. Just shuffle up the deck, deal each player one card face-up, and then give the dealer button to the player who draws the highest card.

What is the All-in Button?

The all-in button is provided to any player who announces an all in wager. This is done to make it clear to other players in the game that there is an all-in player so as to avoid any confusion about what is going on.

What Should you Do with the All-in Button at your Poker Home Game?

One of the many things you should do before starting your game is to ensure your all-in buttons are at the table. When a player moves all in, slide one of the buttons in front of the all-in player. This alerts everyone else at the table that the player is all in.

Setup Food and Drink at your Poker Home Game

Any good home game will have some simple food and beverages available for the players. You may choose to sell alcoholic beverages to help offset the cost, but players tend to prefer attending home games where food and drink is provided.

Where to Put your Food and Drinks on your Poker Home Game Table?

You want to keep your home game nice and clean, so it’s important that you have drink holders attached to the table or food/drink stands available for the players. If you don’t, players will spill food and drink all over your table and the game will get messy.

If you’re going to offer food to your guests, put it all on a counter close to the game, but make sure players have plenty of room to grab some grub without interfering with the game.

Other Things to Consider When Setting up your Poker Home Game

Before you set up the poker table, take into consideration certain factors such as the proximity to phone chargers. We all know that many people fail to keep their phones charged throughout the day. When you have a guest who needs to charge their phone, they’re going to want to be able to charge it without leaving the game or leaving their phone unattended as someone else could steal it.

Another thing to be concerned with is the location of the bathrooms in relation to the poker game. If you have family members who are home during the game, it might be best to put the poker table in a room where players can access the bathroom without coming into contact with your spouse and kids.

Poker Home Game Table Setup FAQs

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