|
Poker has been climbing up the ladder as the game of choice for organizations looking to raise money for their cause. Although some charity organizations are able to manage their own poker events, most go with a 3rd party service that handle everything in a more “professional” manner. This brief guide to charity events mostly covers what to do at these latter type of fundraisers.
BUYING CHIPS- Before you are ready to sit down and play, you need to trade cash for chips. You should fill out a registration card that asks for your basic contact information and records the value amount of chips that you will buying in for. Make sure you hang on to whatever receipt they give you because, assuming you win, it is important that you have this when...
CASHING OUT CHIPS- In most states there is a certain amount of “winnings” that you can receive in cash. For example, in Illinois you can cash out $250 in winnings without a problem. An amount above that might have to be paid out in gift certificates or gold bullion. If you find yourself having earned “too much” then you have to engage in...
SELLING CHIPS- If you’re at a cash game and someone busts out of the game or is simply looking to add some more funds to their stack - offer to sell them some of your chips for their cash. When you are ultimately ready to check out, this cash will not be included towards your total allowable winnings (without reporting requirements). Note that in most cases it is expected that any chips that you cash stay in play. As such, you may be given “LAMMERS” that represent a certain $ amount equal to the CASH that you just pocketed. Typically lammers are for $100 denominations so if you have two lammers in your chip stack-you better have at least $200 in your pockets aside from the chips on the table!
BUYING INTO TOURNAMENTS- You should register and buy chips with the organization running the event. Don’t be tempted to just sit down and pay cash such as at a Sit N Go tournament. If you win, you’ll have issues cashing chips without having registered up front. Save yourself and the charity the hassle of having to deal with that issue.
LAST MAN STANDING- Prior to the start of a tournament you may be approached with an offer to enter a “last man standing” contest. This is simply a side bet where you put up X amount equal to everyone else and the winner is the last person still in the tournament that participated in this wager. If you think you have a shot, it’s typically a good bet because there usually is NO RAKE involved - the whole pot gets awarded.
SHUFFLING ASSISTANCE- At many charity events you will take turns around the table in shuffling a second deck of cards. Play continues with the other deck of cards as you shuffle. This is done to expedite the game. Typically, the person with the dealer button will be the one shuffling the second deck.
BASIC PLAY RULES-
- Single Chip = CALL; If you want to raise, either declare “raise” or toss in more than one chip. If you toss just one chip in that is above the current bet amount it will be ruled just a CALL.
- Two Motions = String Bet; Generally, once you move forward with chips - that’s it, you can’t go back and add more chips to the bet. If you declare raise, you can put out the call amount and then go back to figuring out the raise amount.
- Let Me See’Em - If the hand goes down to a showdown, a player can ask to see the other player’s discarded hand if it isn’t shown. It’s typically considered poor etiquette to request seeing the hand of a losing player if he is choosing to muck it without showing. However, this rule is often used to help against collusion.
TIPS- No, not the kind for how you can win a million dollars playing poker-many charity event dealers do so for a living and certainly would appreciate some “tokes” as they may not earn any base wage.
|
