Photo credit: Alex- / photocase.de
The sport of poker is still on everyone's lips and has now established itself as an integral part of our media landscape. Both the major tabloid newspapers and various TV formats regularly report on the game and the major global tournaments. The sport of poker is still very popular here, in particular, and you can sometimes find many (former) fellow students among the German professional players . But also in lecture halls, the cafeteria, pubs and many shared apartments, an illustrious group is regularly invited. In this article we will introduce you to everything you need so that you can hold your own game of poker in your shared apartment.
Basic preparations and equipment
You don't need much to host an exciting game of poker in your own four walls. Of course, the top priority is the participants: more important than any equipment is that all players really want to play for a few hours in a friendly atmosphere. Make sure you keep enough drinks cold and provide some snacks. You should also have a suitable surface on which you can deal the cards. It may work to play on the floor, on your lap or on two upside-down beer crates, but it's not really comfortable. If you meet regularly, it may make sense to purchase a poker table or a corresponding table cover.
Apart from being in a good mood and having a decent base, you of course need to have at least a decent deck of 54 cards. They don't necessarily have to be the most expensive and high-quality plastic cards, but in a home game like this the cards usually have to withstand one or two spilled drinks or bends. Therefore, you shouldn't save at the wrong end here. In addition to the deck of cards, you will need something for the bets. Ideally, someone should bring a simple set of poker chips with them. Then assign each chip color a different value; Each player then receives the same number of chips. It doesn't always have to be played for money, great things like chocolate thalers, snacks, the weekly dishwashing service or your clothes can also serve as a stake - this is where creativity can run wild.
Gameplay, rules, etc.
Once the equipment has been set up, the chips have been distributed, the drinks and snacks are ready and the players have arrived, the game can start very quickly. Ideally, you should quickly repeat the game explanations at the beginning so that everyone knows what and how you are playing.
Afterwards you should think about whether you want to play a classic game (so-called “cash game”) or a tournament. While in the first variant you can enter and exit at any time, chips can be bought and the compulsory bets (the so-called “blinds”) always remain constant, in the tournament all players start with the same number of chips, lost chips can no longer be refilled and the Forced bets increase every xx minutes until only one player has all the chips.
If you meet regularly to play poker, you can of course keep a ranking list and update it every time. You should also calculate the expenses for drinks and snacks fairly between each other, so that no haggling between friends gets in the way of the fun. For example, simply appoint a different host every week to host the exciting game. If the evening escalates a bit, this article has party games for you. We hope you have fun!
Nothing beats a fun poker evening with your friends in your shared apartment. We'll give you tips and tricks on how to make your poker game a success!
