When we say it’s a floating poker game, that doesn’t mean we’re playing cards on a boat somewhere. Floating just means we move the game around. The hardest part of hosting a poker game is cleaning up afterwards, so we take turns. If you aren’t willing to regularly host a game, then you can’t be a member of the Pasadena Poker Club. You also have to pay 100 bucks to join and $10 per game. Nobody’s getting rich here. We use that money to buy supplies. But since the game floats, we need a permanent place to keep the poker stuff. STORBOX is perfect.
The Pasadena Poker Club meets on the second Friday of every month. The location of the game rotates because hosting the game is a lot of work. Before the game, the host needs to buy all the drinks, napkins, cups, and snacks and then pick up the table, chairs, coasters, cards, and poker chips at STORBOX.
The host is the also the designated dealer, so when you’re hosting you don’t get to play. The host has to stay sober and makes sure everyone has a safe ride home. That means taking away your keys if you’ve had too much to drink and calling you a cab. Everybody in the Pasadena Poker club accepts the right of the host to do this. Safety first.
The host also gets to choose the music, but it can’t be too loud because we have to be able to hear the bets and raises. I always play Sinatra when it’s my turn to host, “Good Old Reliable Nathan, Nathan Detroit.”
Having a real poker table and a 500-chip set makes a big difference. A card table really isn’t big enough, and you don’t want to use your dining room table for a rough and tumble card game. Our poker table has a nice felt surface and it’s the perfect size and shape to deal the cards without flipping them over.
It’s really important to have rules. Otherwise, we would be arguing all night. We have an official rule book for all the games we play, and we also a have a laminated list of etiquette rules that’s posted for every game:
- No smoking at the table
- No cell phones at the table
- The dealer settles all disputes
- Never act out of turn
- Don’t act like a jerk
- You can only leave a hand to go to the bathroom or call your sweetie after you have folded
Membership in the Pasadena Poker Club is by invitation only. We currently have eight members (Monica, Walter, Arturo, Jamaal, Jenny, Ken, Lisa, and Steve) and three alternates (Vera, Chuck, and Dave), so the club is full.
The hardest part about hosting is dealing with the mess the next morning. Then you just return to permanent supplies to STORBOX—But that’s no problem because they have convenient hours and easy access and everybody who works there is so nice.