Page 13 - April 2009 • Southern California Gaming Guide

Jim Mercurio: Poker
IHow to Keep the Home in Home Game
spent the last few months’ columns showing you how to crush your friends and family at home games. But just to make sure that home games never lose the spirit in which they are often intended, I want to o er up a system that might allow friendships and recreational
bankrolls to stay intact.
e economy is tough lately, and I can see its e ects on the poker front. I play in home games that consisted of three full tables last year, but are now struggling to ll one table each week. If budget is a problem, here are a few ideas to keep everyone happy.
1. Lower the stakes. I know there is a ne line between playing for fun and playing for enough money so that it matters a bit. If your .25 –.50 with $50 buy-in is creating too large of swings, try .10 –.25 with $20 buy-in so that you can have the same amount of action with less variance. An awful night in a loose game might be in the $100 range rather than the $200 range.
2. Use tournaments and sit-n-goes. If you have a series of six freezeouts at $10 or $20 a piece (or whatever stakes you can a ord), then everyone’s losses will be capped. And consider making a atter payout structure. Instead of paying only three out of ten, consider paying four out of ten spots.
3. Tip the dealer. If you are playing a game where each player deals in turn, consider a “rake” that goes to the dealer. Maybe $1 per $10 in the pot up to a max of
$4. It’s a way to share the love. And maybe even consider that the tip money goes o the table, so if a player goes bust he has a bit of a buy-in already saved up.
4. Pushka or “bucketing.” is is where players pick a partner and then share a percentage of each pot that they win with him or her. Read my last month’s column on how this works and how it can be used against you.
5. Refund agreement. is only works if everyone is honest and is willing to participate and there is a good banker/bookkeeper. Basically, every buy-in and rebuy is measured in the cash game. And at the end of the night when cashing out, the winners give 25% of their wins back to the bank. And then every loser receives 25% of their losses back. You can change the percentage, but it basically lowers variance. It does punish the good players and reward the bad players a bit, but everyone going in knows the rules.
Example: Player 1 wins $60, Player 2 wins $80, Player 3 wins $160, Player 4 loses $60, player 5 loses $60, Player 6 loses $150 and Player 7 loses $30. Well, the winners give back a quarter of their winnings: 15 + 20 + 40=$75, and then the losers get back a quarter of
their losses: 15 + 15 + 37.50 + 7.50 = $75. As long as there is no rake, rat-holing (pulling chips o the table) or dealer tips, the overall amount won and lost in a night will be the same.
ere are pros and cons to each of these arrangements, but they might keep the games alive while allowing players to stay within their comfort zones. e easiest solution might be to lower the stakes, but sometimes tradition and ego don’t allow for such things. But if your game needs a safety net like this, be creative and maybe even put it to a vote.
Jim Mercurio is a lm director and producer. You can buy Jim’s lm Hard Scrambled at www.hardscrambled.com or if you like his column, contact him at jim@jamespmercurio.com.
April 2009 Table Game and Slot Tournaments
BARONA VALLEY RANCH RESORT AND CASINO TUESDAY, April 14th through THURSDAY, April 16th
Birthday Slot Tournament
Any Club Barona member with a birthday in April can participate in a free slot tournament held April 14th through April 16th from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. The top-scoring daily player wins $1,000, with $500 for second and third place. Just present your id and Club Barona card to play. Winners will have one week to claim prizes.
Barona’s Three Card Poker Progressive Jackpot
Barona’s ree Card Poker progressive jackpot keeps growing. When you place a small side bet of $1 on each hand, you are automatically quali ed to win all— or part—of the progressive jackpot. If you receive and Ace-King-Queen of Spades and you have placed the side bet, you’ll win the entire progressive jackpot.
Bad Beat Jackpot
Play on any blackjack table in Parlor 32 and if the dealer posts a 7-card 21, each player at that table automatically wins $500! Plus, play on any blackjack table in Parlor
32 and if the dealer at any Parlor table posts an 8-card 21, that table will split a progressive amount of at least $25,000 while everyone else playing at the Parlor 32 Blackjack tables will each pocket their own $500! Bad never felt so good when you’re in the money!
Perfect Pairs Blackjack
Play at any Perfect Pairs blackjack table, and with a side bet, you’ll automatically reap rewards when your rst two cards are a pair. Mixed pairs pay 5 to 1; colored pairs pay 10 to 1; and perfect pairs pay an astounding 30 to 1!
Rapid Baccarat
Five buck Baccarat is here. Payouts up to 30:1. Experience Barona’s all new Baccarat format, featuring live dealers and personal, interactive betting terminals.
SANTA YSABEL CASINO
THURSDAYS at 7 p.m.
Blackjack Tournament
$50 buy-in and a $1,200 prize pool. 1st place wins $600; 2nd place, $300; 3rd place, $200; and 4th place, $100.
VALLEY VIEW CASINO
SUNDAY, April 26th at 12 p.m.
The Kings and Queens of Blackjack Tournament
$40 buy in, $20 re-buys, $5,000 guaranteed prize pool. Check-inbeginsat11a.m.Alltournamentparticipants receive $20 in Match Play if they are Players Club members. Entries may be purchased at the casino cashier. Tournament space is limited, so buying entries early is recommended. For more information, please call 1-866-view-win.
VIEJAS CASINO Captain Lucky’s Treasure
Win your share of $80,000! Beginning April 1st, earn drawing tickets with table games play. Drawings will be held April 10th & 24th, May 8th & 22nd, and June 12th. Four $500 winners and one $1,000 winner at 8 p.m., 9 p.m. and 10 p.m. Plus, earn a Golden Ticket with an Ace Jack of Diamonds in Blackjack. You could win $25,000 in the Golden Ticket drawing on June 26th!
Free E-Z Baccarat Tournament
Win your share of $7,000 in prize money. Earn a seat in the tournament with select hands in Baccarat and Pai Gow. Qualifying tournaments on April 11th, 12th, 18th and 19th, with tournament nals on April 5th. Prize pool of $5,000 cash and $2,000 in non-negotiable chips.
April 2009
SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA GAMING GUIDE
Page 13
Poker: Wired Aces and River Rats Table Game and Slot Tournaments