Poker for a Buck and Doe
Hi all,
I've been asked to run the poker portion of my cousin's buck and doe this weekend and I wanted some feedback on the format(s) I could use. I get two tables to run, so there's the option of running a couple different games. (Intial thoughts are a high-roller table and a beginner table friendly table)
Obviously, the purpose of a Buck and Doe is to raise some money for the future bride and groom, so we want a format that's mostly fair for the players, but brings in cash for the couple.
Has anyone been to one and can offer some suggestions on formats I could use; have you seen anything done successfully that worked well?
I've been asked to run the poker portion of my cousin's buck and doe this weekend and I wanted some feedback on the format(s) I could use. I get two tables to run, so there's the option of running a couple different games. (Intial thoughts are a high-roller table and a beginner table friendly table)
Obviously, the purpose of a Buck and Doe is to raise some money for the future bride and groom, so we want a format that's mostly fair for the players, but brings in cash for the couple.
Has anyone been to one and can offer some suggestions on formats I could use; have you seen anything done successfully that worked well?
Comments
We had only 1 table so we made it beginner friendly $5 SnG's with turbo blinds. Each game lasted about an hour with 10 people.
We took $10 or $20 from each game for my cousin, not too much, not too little.
Personally, I would like to warn you ahead of time, that the more popular your poker game gets, the more angry wives, girlfriends, husbands, and boyfriends you are going to have. People who are sitting and playing poker are not socializing much, just a warning.
The giving away of a thirty dollar bottle of booze for a ten dollar buy in will rake the most money for the couple. Which sould be the point?
Cheers
Court
I ran one last year that went over pretty well...
$10 buy-in. $5 went in pot, $3 to Bride and Groom and $2 Bounty Chip.
Ran 4 SNG's of 10 - 11 people with top 2 from each making final table.
Each SNG lasted 1 hr. If you busted out and wanted to add your name to the list for one
of the next SNG, you could try again.
We made about $150 when all was said and done (with buy-ins, donations and unclaimed bounties)
The whole thing took about 5 1/2 hrs (which seemed OK for all those that played b/c most only played for
1 hr or so, plus the hour on the final table if they made it that far. That kept people from simply sitting, playing
cards all night without socialing like someone mentioned)
It also became a focal point for many to gather round and watch - so I'd suggest putting th table in an area
large enough for the railbirds.
Good luck...
We ran a limit game and raked each pot a flat $2. Worked well. Made a ton of money but I like this idea and would probably do that next time I am asked. You could run 2 tables and stagger the starts 30 min so if you bust out you don't have to wait long to get on the next one.
People are stupid. They would rather throw in $10 at a time and lose every time, however they shrink from the idea of buying in for $40 in a cash game, with a better chance of cashing out.
Cheers
I saw a very simple way of running a NL hold-em table at a Stag and Doe just last weekend. They ran an 8-player table with a $10 buy-in. For that, you got $1500 in chips and a seat for 30 minutes. The player with the most chips at the end of the 30 minutes got half of the prize pool and the bride and groom got the other half. I'm not sure how much they made when all was said and done but considering the table was full all night long, they easily made a few hundred bucks. Best of all, the rules were easy to explain to drunk people.
i guess that's ok, but doesn't everyone just go all in on the last hand?
Some. It was generally a bunch of people who don't know how to play and many who are playing for the first time. Think of it as a push and bluff-fest, often leaving 3 or 4 players at the end of the round. Not the most satisfying poker for a more serious player, but the point is that people have a good time and the couple gets good money.
The problem I noted was that it was taking money too quickly off the table. The rake was big and it cost $4 a hand to see the river, so people that bought in for $10 didn't get much play. Some people also wanted to raise, "like on TV", so the variant we ended up with was..
$1 ante ($1 less than half goes to the bride/groom, i.e eight players we'd take $3)
The rest of the game was modified 1/1 Limit, with the option of checking and a max of one raise on any street. It seemed to please everyone as the skill level was exceedingly low.
The poker table brought in about $350 which was a nice take and cancelled out the $70 in loss that the BJ tables accumulated. All in all it was a blast, and I was completely loaded by the end of the night.
There was no selection for beer, so I ultra-slummed on Blue and had the wickedness headache the next day -- truly brutal. How do people drink that on a regular basis?!?
You drank Blue? That both sucks and blows.
BTW I hate those money grubbing stag and does... If you can't afford it, don't get married!
If you can't stand them, then dont attend the party!