Hosting A Poker Night Fundraiser
So, you’ve decided to run a charity poker event. Congratulations! We here at Cardplayer Lifestyle hope your event is successful and that it raises lots of money for your chosen charitable cause!
A casino night fundraiser is a great idea for raising money for charities. Non-profit fundraising is one of the most important segments of our business. We have hosted numerous events with a wide range of budgets – and we understand the unique ROI-based goals that non-profit organizations face. A poker night can be an excellent opportunity for networking and to become the hero at the office. However, you need to ensure that your reputation remains on point, and when you invite business associates or your boss, you want to be sure that everyone will get along. Because of this, you need to be particularly careful about who you invite. Decide upon the areas of revenue: Decide upon the monetary value of chips and give guests the opportunity to buy more of them throughout the event. Though all proceeds will be regarded as a donation to charity, put aside a personal prize or two for the winner of each. If your charity. Host a casino night party for your friends or put one on as a fundraiser for an organization you are affiliated with. Before you get too far in your planning, however, you need to check the laws in your state regarding gambling. Even if gambling is illegal in your area, you can still hold a casino night.
There are two types of charity poker events you can run: a tournament or a cash game session. You can either make it an invitation-only event or open it up to the public (to maximize attendance and donations); depending on how many poker tables your venue has room for.
Charity Poker Tournaments
There’s a good amount of logistics that goes into proper planning and running of a charity poker tournament. Generally speaking, the more effort you put into the event beforehand, the smoother it will run and the better the experience for all involved. From this poker blogger’s experience, it pays to make event pre-registration a must.
After all players are seated, but before tournament play begins, it’s an optimal time for you (or a representative of the non-profit organization) to speak briefly about the night’s charity beneficiary and the work they do.
Useful Tips
- Designate a registration area to collect player entry fees and distribute table seating assignments.
- Enlist the help of 1 volunteer per poker table to assist with setup, cleanup, and general event management.
- Set up and double-check chip stacks before players are seated.
- Prepare a blind structure and prize structure in advance and use a projector to display all relevant poker tournament information.
- Have 2 decks of cards at each table. Assign a dealer and have the other players at the table shuffle the other deck. You get more hands played per blind level this way.
Charity Poker Cash Games
The mechanism behind charity poker cash games is rather simple. Each hand is raked at a pre-defined percentage of the pot (usually 5–10% with a hard cap). These monies then get pooled at the end of the event and donated to charity. Each table you set up can operate independently, choosing the stakes and games being spread.
The main advantage of a charity poker cash game session is that there’s far less micromanagement necessary over the course of the evening. There’s no need to break up and combine tables or assign seats, and players won’t get locked out of the event in case they don’t show up on time.
Useful Tips
- Have 2 decks of cards at each table. Get a volunteer to deal and the other players at the table to shuffle. This helps increase the number of hands played (and the charity rake!) over the course of the night.
- Assign someone trustworthy to handle all the money at each table.
- Set rules for minimum and maximum buy-ins, as well as moving from table to table.
- Optional: Have all players contribute a small sum towards a jackpot, given to the first player who hits a designated hand (e.g., 4 Jacks). If nobody hits the jackpot by the end of the night, the jackpot money is also donated to the charity.
Charity Poker Event Checklist
No charity poker event is complete without the right equipment and refreshments. Here’s a basic list of the things you should have prepared in advance:
- Hall/venue with enough tables, chairs, and tablecloths
- Per table: 300 poker chips, 2 decks of cards, 1 cash box
- Refreshments station with hot and cold drinks, snacks, plastic cutlery
- For tournaments: laminated seating cards, list of players, laptop, projector screen, envelopes for cash prizes
- Optional: cut cards, chip racks, camera, opening remarks
If you’d like to donate the proceeds of your event to a Cardplayer Lifestyle charity poker partner, check out ourCharity Poker Donationspage.
Disclaimer
Running a charity poker event may or may not be legal in your jurisdiction. If you intend to hold your event in a public venue, you are strongly encouraged and advised to check with the appropriate local authorities that doing so is legal before proceeding with your plans. If you hold a charity poker event in a private residence, inviting only people you know personally, you will usually not run afoul of any local laws, but it never hurts to check twice, just to be sure.
Thanks for your interest in becoming a new Poker Host!
WorldFreepoker.com is the largest and longest running poker league in New Jersey. Poker nights are profitable and popular. Similar to pool or dart leagues, players compete in free poker tournaments every week right in your site. Rather than money, players are competing for points, bragging rights and the chance to win Free Seats to Major Poker Events, like the World Series of Poker or World Poker Tour.
You handle the food & drinks, leave the rest to us!
We bring the poker tournament experience and knowledge and you just need to supply the floor space and staff to handle the crowd requests for food and drinks. We provide all the labor and equipment needed for a successful Texas Hold‘em Poker tournaments in your place of business. We handle everything, except drinks and food. We provide professional dealers, tables, chips and everything needed to run a professional poker tournament. It’s a fun and unique experience for your new and current patrons.
If you're looking for a way to bring new paying customers to your business, Contact Us! We will promote your business to thousands of NJ based poker players. We will promote you throughout our websites and to our extensive NJ based newsletter. Our motto is simple, If You Don't Make $$$, We Don't Either Cause That's How We Get Paid! WorldFreepoker.com brings many years of experience, operating and managing successful entertainment services at restaurants, sports bars and other venues. Using proven methods, customized league tools, high quality equipment, and our honed expertise; our professional services make your event night a huge success.
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Hosting A Poker Night Fundraiser 2019
Some Great Benefits
Big Crowds
Our average tournament brings in 25+ players per night; turning one of your slowest nights into one of your busiest.
Crowded Parking Lot
Crowds Draw More Crowds! Having 15-30 or more cars in your parking lot helps to create the “buzz” you need to get even more customers through the door.
New Customers
You’ll quickly find players who have never been in your bar before are now customers that will come back on your non-poker nights. Live poker is a great reason for your “regulars” to come in on new nights.
High Energy in Your Bar
It’s all about having fun and our players know that. The “buzz” will start to flow throughout your venue and will result in higher energy levels and bigger sales. Having our entertaining poker events will inject new life into your bar.
Big Profits
Low cost entertainment means bigger profits on your end, and sales you can count on.
Week after Week
Giving your customers a chance to win Tens of Thousands of Dollars is the promotional incentive that will keep them coming back. That means sales you can rely on week after week!
Happy Employees
Are your bartenders, cooks, and servers sitting idle on a weeknight? Then let us draw your big weekend crowds into your place on a weeknight. We’ll keep your staff happy, because bigger crowds mean more & bigger tips.
Charity Poker Nights: What You Need To Know For Purpose Law ...
