How to Host a Poker Night at Home: The Complete Checklist

Hosting a poker night is easier than it looks, and a bit of planning is what separates a smooth, friendly evening from one spent hunting for a deck of cards. This guide walks through the table, the kit, the format, the rules and the running of the night, and ends with a tick-box checklist you can print.

If you are wondering what you need for poker night, the short answer is: a table, a seat for everyone, chips, cards, a dealer button, a way to keep time, and a clear plan for how the game will run. The rest of this page fills in the detail.

Setting the table and seating

Start with the room, because comfort decides how long people want to stay.

Choose the table. A dining table works well for most home games. Aim for a surface where everyone can reach the middle and see the cards on the board. As a convention, a poker table for eight to ten players is more than most home games need, and six to eight players is the sweet spot for an evening of Texas hold'em.

Give people space. Leave room for elbows, a drink and a snack on a side table, not on the playing surface. A good rule of thumb is about 60cm of table edge per player. If the table is too small, put drinks and food on a separate surface.

Think about the surface. Bare wood and glass can scratch cards and chips and make a lot of noise. A cloth or mat fixes both and gives chips and cards a proper playing surface. We cover your options in our guide to a poker table top or a poker mat, and if you want to cover a whole table, see our speed cloth buying guide.

Plan the seating. Seats are usually drawn at random for tournaments, for example by dealing each player a card. For a casual cash game, people can sit where they like. Either way, put the dealer button somewhere visible so everyone knows who is acting last.

Mind the lighting. Bright, even light over the table makes cards easier to read.

The kit list (chips, cards, dealer button, timer, cloth or mat)

Here is what a good home game needs.

Chips

Chips are the heart of the night. As a rule of thumb, allow roughly 50 chips per player for a typical home game, then add some spare for rebuys and for making change. Our guide on how many poker chips you need goes through the sums for different group sizes. For nine players, 500 chips gives everyone a healthy stack with some left in the bank.

A boxed set is the simplest way to start. Our Poker Chipsets collection has sets with everything in one case, and the 500pcs Tangiers Casino 16g poker set is the flagship. It has 6 colours and comes in an ABS case with playing cards, a dealer button and dice. You can choose a Standard Set with standard chip values, or a Custom Set where you pick your own mix in multiples of 25 chips.

You will also want to know what the colours stand for. Colours are a convention, not a rule, and our guide to poker chip values and colours explains the common set-up. Whatever you choose, tell the table before the first hand, or write it on a card where everyone can see it.

Cards

Two decks is the usual minimum. One is in play while the other is being shuffled, which keeps the game moving. Plastic cards are popular for home games because they are durable and handle well. Browse our Poker Playing Cards collection to choose. Keep a spare deck handy.

Dealer button

The dealer button shows who is dealing, or who would be dealing, on each hand. It moves one seat clockwise after every hand. One is included in our 500pcs Tangiers set, and you can find extras in Poker Accessories.

Timer

A tournament needs a way to track blind levels. A phone app does the job, but a dedicated tournament timer is easier to see from across the room, and it stops anyone getting distracted by messages. You can find timers in our Poker Accessories collection, alongside dealer buttons, dice and chip trays.

Cloth or mat

A cloth or mat gives you a proper playing surface and protects the table. Our 8 Seat Poker Table Top Mat with Betting Lines, RED has printed betting lines and ships with a carry bag, so it packs away easily after the game. It measures 90cm x 180cm.

Also have non-greasy snacks (greasy fingers mark cards), coasters, and paper and a pen for keeping score.

Choosing a format (cash game vs tournament)

There are two main ways to play, and choosing one in advance saves debate on the night.

Cash game. Chips represent real money, and players can join or leave when they like. Each person buys in for an agreed amount, and chips are cashed out at the end. It is relaxed, and good when people arrive at different times. It needs a bigger pool of chips, because players can rebuy at any point.

Tournament. Everyone starts with the same stack, blinds go up at regular intervals, and players are knocked out until one person has all the chips. It has a clear end, which suits an evening with a finish time. It needs a timer and a blind schedule. As a convention, a friendly home tournament might use levels of 15 to 20 minutes.

Which should you choose? For a mixed group with different experience levels, a tournament is usually fairer and easier to run. For a regular, relaxed group that likes to drift in and out, a cash game is simpler. If you are choosing chip values for either, see poker chip values and colours.

Once the format is settled, a little pre-flop strategy goes a long way. The Poker Whizz Wheel shows how strong each of the 169 Texas hold'em starting hands is, and when to play or fold it from early, middle or late position, so it is a handy reference for newer players at the table.

House rules and etiquette

Agree the rules before the first card is dealt. Writing them down avoids most disputes.

Decide in advance:

The game. Texas hold'em is the usual choice for beginners. Say so, and say whether you will play any variants.
Buy-in and rebuys. How much does it cost, can people rebuy, and until when?
Blinds. Starting blinds, how often they rise, and what happens at the end.
Payouts. For a tournament, how will the pot be shared among the top finishers?
Phones. Keep them off the table.
Who settles disputes. Usually the host, and their decision is final.

A few simple points of etiquette keep the mood good:

Act in turn and do not reveal your cards before the hand ends.
Do not comment on a hand you have folded while others are still playing.
Keep your chips in tidy stacks so everyone can see your count.
Say "raise" clearly and put your whole bet in at once.
Keep the table tidy: drinks on the side, not on the cloth.

For a full set of house rules, see our home poker rules, and for table manners read poker etiquette.

Running the night smoothly

A few small habits make the evening run itself.

Before people arrive. Set up the table, count out the chips and put the cards, button and timer where you can reach them. Put the house rules where everyone can see them.

At the start. Welcome everyone, explain the format and the rules, and hand out the chips. Deal a practice hand if there are beginners.

During play. Keep an eye on the timer, and call out blind increases clearly. Make sure the dealer button moves every hand. If a dispute starts, apply the house rules calmly and move on.

Breaks. For a longer night, schedule a break every hour or so. In a tournament, the end of a blind level is the natural moment.

The finish. Agree the end time in advance, and plan for what happens when it arrives. In a tournament, keep going until the winner is decided or agree a final-hand rule. In a cash game, count out, cash out and settle up.

Afterwards. Count the chips back into the case so everything is ready for next time.

The printable checklist

Print this and tick it off.

The room

Table cleared and a cloth or mat in place
A seat for every player
Good lighting
Side table for drinks and snacks

The kit

Chips counted, with spare for rebuys
Colours and values written down
Two decks of cards
Dealer button
Timer or blind-level tracker
Pen and paper

The plan

Format chosen (cash game or tournament)
Buy-in and payouts agreed
Blind levels set
House rules written down
Start and finish times shared with players

The night

Rules explained to beginners
Seats drawn
Button moves every hand
Breaks planned
Chips tidied away at the end

A poker set as a gift for someone starting out

A poker set makes a good gift for a birthday or any gift occasion, especially for someone who has just started to enjoy the game with friends. The best poker set gift is one that has everything in the box, so the recipient can play straight away without hunting for extras.

That is why a boxed set suits beginners. The 500pcs Tangiers Casino 16g poker set includes chips, playing cards, a dealer button and dice in an ABS case, and the design is inspired by the Tangiers casino in the film "Casino". It is a good size for a home game of up to nine players, following the rule of thumb above.

Some tips for choosing:

Pick a Standard Set if you are not sure which values the recipient prefers. It comes with standard chip values.
Pick a Custom Set if you know how they like to play and want to choose the mix yourself, in multiples of 25 chips.
Add a cloth or mat to make the whole thing feel complete, such as the RED betting-line mat.
Add a tournament timer from our Poker Accessories.

If you are unsure about anything, our FAQ answers the most common questions about sets, cloth and delivery.