Don’t Lose Money Before the Poker Game

If you’re gathering for a psuedo private game, whether it’s at someone’s house or the backroom of a bar, you have got to be careful.  I’ve heard way too many stories of people getting jacked.  How does this happen?  Word of mouth.

The truth is if someone is hosting a poker tournament or a cash game, word gets out both to the hopeful invitees and to the unseedy population.  If the wrong people catch wind of a home game, they’re probably going to scout it out.  They might even just start robbing people that day, but from what I gather, criminals will begin to scout out the game and see if it’s worth a hold up.  For example, they’ll see if there is a pattern to the game (ie it’s every third Tuesday at Tommy’s Pizzeria).  They’ll also scout to find out the amount of money people bring and who brings the most.

Who knows, the wrong people may very well be the ones inviting you.  Lets be clear: you don’t always know who you’re playing with even if you think you do.  Look out for hosts that have a desire to continue raising the stakes only a few weeks after meeting them.  Similarly, be leery of an insider tipoff on a big “fish” coming to a game who insists on playing for a minimum of $5,000 buy-in or whatever the number may be.

Overall, you want to be on the lookout for abnormalities and sudden changes in behavior that result in you bringing significant chunks of money to the game.  You should always be careful when you’re entering a place where large amounts of cash is notorious, but especially in back room poker games.

If you take the risk, split your money into 3’s.  For example, if you’re taking $1,200 to a game, keep $400 in your wallet, $400 in your sock, and $400 in your other shoe.  This reduces the chance of you losing all of your money in one fell swoop and will mitigate any losses you do incur from a good ol’ fashion hold up.

It hasn’t happened to me because I don’t get in these situations.  (The most I’ve bought in for is $50 outside of Las Vegas.)  However, large buy-in or not, there are always people stupid enough to steal money.  Be very careful with your money and falling into predictable patterns with poker games.