Finding regular poker players at my home games

I am having problems finding regular players to play at my home games. Right now I have just 3 regular players (including me). And that, is pathetic.

2 years ago we started promisingly, with no less than 6 players at every session. Sometimes we would have a full ring game of 10 players even. Of course, we know all our players, either directly or indirectly. There was no rake involved. All one has to do was to show up, chip up and play. We were all kind of starting to learn the game then.

Over the course of the 2 years, players come and players go. The one consistent fact was the dwindling in numbers. Winning players stayed on, while players who lost consistently eventually faded out of the scene.

You see, poker is a game of skill. Of course, like any games there are elements of luck. But in poker, the skill factor stands out more than in any other card games I know of. Let’s make some comparison with the other popular game:

Mahjong – well, still a favorite amongst Singaporeans. I felt that the skill level in mahjong is pretty much even among most players, which in the end the luck factor becomes predominant. In mahjong, you can be the best player in the world, but if you hold lousy cards you are not going to win, even if you defend like nobody’s business. The other players can always draw the winning cards themselves, or other player B can throw the winning tile to player C (in most home games in Singapore, the player who throw the winning tile to another has to pay double, while the remaining 2 players still have to pay, unless got bao lah..)

As you know, mathematically speaking, luck evens out in the long run. And as such, sometimes player A wins, sometimes player b wins, sometimes player c wins and sometimes player d wins. As long as the skill levels between the players are more or less the same, in the long run nobody has any significant advantage over the others. So financially speaking, home-game mahjong is a much more enduring game.

But in poker, the skill level contributes significantly to one’s bottomline. In poker, you can win even without the best hands (by getting other players to fold). You can limit your liability at anytime simply by throwing away your hands (unlike in mahjong where you still have to pay even when player B threw a winning tile to player C). In poker, you can choose which hands to play, unlike in mahjong where you have to play every hand (even though if you decided to play guard you are also exposed to damage from some suckers who threw tiles for others to win, or the players themselves drew the winning cards).

So what happened to my home games? Well, in short, only 3 players who won consistently remained. The others simply faded out, either through not enjoying the game (cos always lose), or lose until decided not worthwhile a game to play. Who can blame them?

Furthermore, I do not invite just about anyone to my home games. They must be vouched for by people I know (tacitly of course… meaning if you introduced someone to play at my house I assume that person friendly and trustworthy at the very minimum). This of course limits the pool severely.

What is the future for my home games? Well, frankly I don’t know. I just know that I enjoy the game, partly because I win quite consistently, and that I don’t play for financial reasons.

Another thing is that my wife has to approve me playing (which will, incidentally increase my chances of winning..!). If not I could have walked into the numerous games that are sprouting out there, where one has to play with strangers who are hell-bent on taking all your monies. I don’t think my wife wholly approves me playing at such games, well not regularly anyway.

Still I prefer my home games, because it is where I am comfortable (hey free drinks and tidbits provided, all you need to do is to just ask politely :)