The Reg Question

PokerEventsSeán

Hi all

I rarely post here but I have a question. What is too much reg for a pub game? My usual game is a €60 total spend (30+30) I take a tenner total from the first 30. I do not do cash games in the pubs as far as I know it is illegal, so my only source of income is the reg from the tournament. If i have 50 players -€500, 6 dealers - €250(can be more) and expenses for equipment rental (1.5 PP) - €75. text messages/petrol for tournament €15, profit (b4 paying TD) of €160.

I started taking the reg at the start a while ago as generally about 12+ players out of the 50 dont rebuy/topup so I am down €60+ euro.

I bring this up as I was approached by a well enough known player saying that the reg is too high and that they play is casinos all over Dublin and that the reg there is only ever 5%. I tried to explain that i am not walking away with thousands but he wasnt really interested in listening.

I dont think you can compare pubs to casinos as my only revenue stream is the registration.

Any questions or advice appreciated

Many Thanks in advance

Seán

cuterob

i know of pub games which are 50+10 without dealers and i dont think they pay the pub anything so dont worry about it man yours sound good value compared to pub games in general in ireland

tipp86

Id really run cash games most pub games have them. You could be very generous with the rake which would encoruage more people to play in general.

PokerEventsSeán

tipp86 wrote: »

Id really run cash games most pub games have them. You could be very generous with the rake which would encoruage more people to play in general.

Thanks for the advice.

What are the nuts and bolts legalities of cash games in pubs? I was always told they are in contravention of Alcohol Act. I do realise that many pub tournaments have them.

Sean

RoundTower

charge whatever people will pay. Unless the publican is going to subsidize the game it will certainly cost more than an identical tournament in a casino and you can't expect to attract the same players. People buy lotto tickets which are close to 100% rake so don't worry about people telling you you are ripping your customers off just because you charge a high rake.

Everyone here will give you conflicting and usually wrong advice about whether it is legal to run a cash game in a pub. For example I don't think there is an Alcohol Act, there is an Intoxicating Liquor Act but the act more likely to cause problems is the Gaming and Lotteries Act. The real answer is that you should talk to the local Gards about it, if they don't have a problem you will get away with it and if they do have a problem they will close you down regardless of whether it is legal or not.

CHD

Taking €10 reg and €50 going to prizepool when your providing dealers in a pub game is perfectly acceptable imo.

kakak1

CHD wrote: »

Taking €10 reg and €50 going to prizepool when your providing dealers in a pub game is perfectly acceptable imo.

.

tipp86

PokerEventsSeán wrote: »

Thanks for the advice.

What are the nuts and bolts legalities of cash games in pubs? I was always told they are in contravention of Alcohol Act. I do realise that many pub tournaments have them.

Sean

I really dont have an idea of the legalities! I wouldnt imagine the local gardai station would be to bothered by it

tm2204

Hi Sean,

I regularly play in your Tuesday night game in Bradys Shankill and it's always a good game run to a high standard.

Don't know where the guy got the 5% reg in Casino's from as 10% is standard. Having said that most players know that smaller casinos or pub games can't be dealer dealt and run for a 10% reg fee for smaller buy-in tourneys and as CHD already said €50 into prizepool and €10 reg is very acceptable & fair.

JP's game in Molloys on Thursday nights is €50 + €15 (30% reg) but he gets loads of runners every week because he runs a good game, provides food at the break and keeps his rake reasonable for the cash games. Suggest you give JP a PM and ask him about the legalities of running cash games in pubs.

Don't worry about it Sean your games are very well run & very good value.

Four of a kind

PokerEventsSeán wrote: »

Hi all

I rarely post here but I have a question. What is too much reg for a pub game? My usual game is a €60 total spend (30+30) I take a tenner total from the first 30. I do not do cash games in the pubs as far as I know it is illegal, so my only source of income is the reg from the tournament. If i have 50 players -€500, 6 dealers - €250(can be more) and expenses for equipment rental (1.5 PP) - €75. text messages/petrol for tournament €15, profit (b4 paying TD) of €160.

I started taking the reg at the start a while ago as generally about 12+ players out of the 50 dont rebuy/topup so I am down €60+ euro.

I bring this up as I was approached by a well enough known player saying that the reg is too high and that they play is casinos all over Dublin and that the reg there is only ever 5%. I tried to explain that i am not walking away with thousands but he wasnt really interested in listening.

I dont think you can compare pubs to casinos as my only revenue stream is the registration.

Any questions or advice appreciated

Many Thanks in advance

Seán

When we started up 3 years ago we asked this question loads of times and got conflicting comments and opinions. We run a weekly freezeout which is a €50 buyin, and gets between 20 -25 runners. We provide a dealer at the final table, food at break, have casino standard equipment which includes proper tables, cards, branded chips etc and also a cash table for those who play(which we DO NOT rake for the weekly freezeouts)

So out of the €50 buyin we take €10 per head. Now I've only ever had one person in three years who said that it was too much.

My point here is that we could easily have charged a €5 reg and raked the cash table...which would work out wayyyy more profitable for us. A 100% more profitable in fact as the cash games are loony.

I know players will think that €10 out of €50 is too much reg but its the road we went down 3 years ago and we still enjoy running tournaments as long as our regulars are happy.

Thats just my take on it mate.

DubTony

Nobody seems to have pointed out that this game is a €20 + €10 reg. game with a €30 re-buy or top-up.

That's 50% registration people. I hope the food is good. :eek:

Sean, you need to price your games in such a way that people will see exactly what's happening to the money.

Something along the lines of €20 buy-in + €10 registration with a €30 re-buy or top-up is quite transparent. €30 + €30 means nothing to me and I have to figure it out and / or ask questions.

In my opinion a minimum registration of 20% is quite acceptable for a pub game given the expenses involved. The €50 freezeout Four of a kind mentions seems to be a €40 + €10 reg. game. It should be advertised and always referred to in this way. Let players know what they can expect to share in (the prizefund). When poker players talk about a live game it's always referred to as a "fifty plus 10" or a " hundred plus 15"

Transparency in pricing is your friend. The times I've played a pub game and felt like i'd gotten stung before I even sat down are all too many. When a guy comes to the desk to register and asks how much is it tell him like it is.

"It's a 50 plus 10. €60."

If he looks at you like you're mad, explain it to him and be sure he knows how much goes into the prizefund.