An evening of fun playing Texas Hold'em Poker

Are you intrigued by the Texas Hold 'em Poker games on ESPN (the World Series of Poker) and the Travel Channel (the World Poker Tour)? Do you want to host a Texas Hold 'em -- or, if you prefer, Texas Hold 'em -- Poker party?

Follow these tips and you're almost certain to have a good time.

The Law

First, and most importantly, know your local laws. Don't play for cash if it's not legal. Nothing can end a night on a sour note quite like facing criminal charges.

The Basics

Determine how many players you're going to have over. This sets the parameters for everything else that you need to decide. I've played with 6 players and 10 players, and both worked fine -- but they required different setups.

Decide how many tables you're going to use. For up to 9 players, I recommend a single table.

For 10 to 14 players, I recommend two tables. For 15 to 19 players, I recommend three tables. Beyond that, you're on your own.

Have plenty of drinks and snack food, making sure the snacks you serve aren't likely to leave residue. In fact, you may want to establish a ground rule that no food can be eaten at the playing tables, and that all drinks must be set somewhere other than on the playing tables (e.g. a nearby end table).

The Preparation

Have plenty of poker chips. Clay or clay composite chips, weighing 7.5 grams to 13.5 grams each, are terrific but do cost much more than lightweight plastic chips. If you shop around, you can get 500 good quality chips for less than $100. (Here are some tips on buying Poker chips.)

No matter what kind of chips you use, make sure you have enough. I recommend a minimum of 35 chips per player. 50 to 100 chips per player is even better.

Use brand-new decks of cards. You only need one or two decks per table, they're inexpensive, and there's something really cool about cracking open a fresh deck when you start playing.

Determine your chip denominations. A typical casino standard is $1 for white, $5 for red, $10 for blue, $25 for green and $100 for black. (Note that chip denominations don't necessarily have to relate to the cash involved, if you are playing for money.) But if your group is going to include some less experienced or even novice players, you may want to consider working with only two -- or even just one -- denomination.

In our first game, we decided that every chip was worth $1, no matter the color. In our second game, we used $1 (white) and $2 (every other color) denominations. Both worked very well for our groups, which both had a mix of player experience.

Have "dealer buttons" available, one per table. You can buy actual dealer buttons, or just use something distinctive. These are used to keep track of the "dealer" -- which is important even if you use a single dealer at each table (see the rules of Texas Hold 'em for more information).

The Game

Make sure everyone knows the rules ahead of time. If they don't, or even if they do but you have some novices, run through at least two hands so they can get the feel of the game. It's much different from most other forms of Poker.

Consider using two decks per table. While one is in use, someone can shuffle the second deck (to be used for the next hand) to keep the game moving faster.

Increase the blinds. We started with blinds at 1 and 2, and moved them up every 20 minutes. How fast you increase the blinds, and by how much, is determined by how long you want to play and the value of the chips you're using. For a longer game or with smaller chip values, increase the blinds less aggressively. For a shorter game or with larger chip values, be more aggressive in increasing the blinds.

I recommend that two people be given complete authority to increase the blinds, as long as they both agree. (It's best to have a pre-determined schedule for increasing the blinds, but even the best-laid plans might need some adjustment.)

The Goal

Even if you decide to play for money, you don't want people to leave feeling like they had a bad time. So I recommend keeping the buy-in relatively low -- e.g. the same amount of money you might spend going out to dinner and a movie. Doing so will greatly reduces the possibility of anyone taking the game too seriously, cutting into everyone's ability to have a good time.

My goals for a game night, with Texas Hold 'em or any other game, are always the same: have fun, spend time with good friends, and make sure everyone's eager to come back to the next game night.

Play hard and play fair -- and have fun!

Now list your game for others to contact you OR find a game in your area!

Brad Daugherty’s 10 Tips to Improve your Tournament Play

1. Want to improve your end game? Want to build your level of experience in playing final tables? Want to learn how to 'close the deal' and win an event? Play a single table satellite! And when you do, pretend you are at the final table of the World Championship. Remember, every chip is precious. Playing single-table tournaments is great practice for the end game of multi-table tournaments. The strategies are very similar; with the biggest difference being single-table tournaments usually take less than an hour to play, where the multi-table tournaments take over 4 hours to play.
2. A good basic strategy for the single-table tournaments is to play solid, playing only premium hands in the first three rounds. After that, open up and play more hands, becoming more aggressive the higher the blinds get, and the shorter handed the tournament becomes.
3. Be a bettor, not a caller. Remember, the bettor has two chances to win, the first being you might be able to show down the best hand, and secondly, if everyone folds, you win an uncontested pot!
4. When your chip stack gets less than five times the size of the big blind in a no-limit single-table tournament or a multi-table tournament, consider moving all in with any two cards as long as you are the first one in the pot. In these situations you are just betting that no one has a hand that they can call you with. If you do get called and have the worst hand, you might get lucky and draw out on them. If you aren't the first one in, you are joining a pot with automatic competition. 
5. In the late stages when you have a large stack of chips and it's one or two spots from the money, it's easy to rob players that are desperately trying to make the money. Play more aggressive in that spot, reduce your starting requirements, and pick up some extra chips!
6. When you have an opponent who is overly aggressive, use it against them. Let them think you have a weak hand when you really have a strong one. Check into them so they will bet. You will then have the option to check-raise and take advantage of their aggressiveness. In the case of a real monster, check it a second time, and then pop it up!
7. Play Real Money games to practice for the early rounds of multi-table tournaments. The play here is very close to the same because you aren't under pressure from the blinds. So play real money games anytime you have the time to improve your play for the early rounds. Play solid poker.
8. Have a game plan for your tournament. Decide if you are going to start out playing tight in the early rounds, or if are you going to play fast and try to accumulate chips early. Consider adjustments you might make if you get short of chips, if you get a large stack, or how you might adjust to different types of opponents styles. Be prepared for everything!
9. When you are playing, always observe your opponents and pick out who will and who wont, defend the blinds. The higher the blinds get, the more valuable this information becomes. Remember the tight players are easier to rob. Be ready to take advantage of them.
10. Save the best for last. Play your own tournament! That's right, your own little event that starts and ends when you want. You are the tournament director and can play any form of poker you'd like.  Sit in the smallest game you can find. The rounds are 20, 30, 40 minutes, anything you want, so set an alarm clock. When the clock goes off, you must get up and move to the next highest game. Keep going and see how much you can accumulate and how far you can go. Get to the biggest game and you win the trophy. Of course, in this tournament, you can quit at any time and cash in your checkers. Good Luck! 

Brad Daugherty is the 1991 WSOP Champion and EmpirePoker Poker Legend