Poker has seen a resurgence in popularity in recent years thanks in no small part to the advent of Texas Hold'em. It has become a part of the mainstream American consciousness. A friendly poker game without gambling is a great way to have some friends over for a fun activity and a little bit of competition. We strongly recommend against gambling with friends because it could lead to some complicated situations. Here are a few tips if you would like to set up a home poker tournament.
Make sure you have some food and beverages available. There are a lot to choose from at the grocery store but we recommend some light finger foods and some sodas. Having food is important because tournaments can go on to last for quite a while and it doesn't hurt to give people who have been knocked out of the game early something to do while they wait for another opening.
You will also want to go through all your supplies just to make sure that you are fully stocked up on everything you're going to need. There are not too many things to worry about if you're not playing for money because there isn't as much pressure but you would still want to make sure you have some basic cheap poker supplies to actually be able to play the game. Check all your decks of cards (playing with two decks will save some time because one person can deal while another person can shuffle the other deck) to make sure that you have all the cards in them. You may also want to run through your poker chips to make sure they all match and can stack together evenly so people don't have to individually count all their stacks.
Next, you will likely want to make up the rules of the game. Such rules as what the chip count is going to be and whether or not you will play with jokers. There are a few variants on Poker such as Texas Hold'em so make sure to list out all the rules to the guests. You may also want to post them onto the cheap poker tables that you may have so people can look at the rules if they are unsure about a particular game. Whatever you do though, do not put drinks or food on the fabric of the poker table as anything spilled could end up ruining the table for good.
So, be confident you will throw a successful poker night and have fun!
