Is money always involved when playing Poker?

geek84

Good Morning

I am thinking of learning to play the card game Poker, in order just to socialise with friends etc. However, I seem to get the impression that when placing bets, money is always involved. Can't any games/matches be played without involving money? if not, is playing Bridge a good alternative?

Thanks

seashore22

Both my grown up children and I have played poker with friends and no actual money changed hands. Why would it? Obviously there are more organised (professional?) poker groups which do play for cash, but you mention friends, so I'm assuming that you agree the rules between you.

geek84

Thanks for your quick reply.

I may intend to play in a league for competitions in the near future if I enjoy playing the game, then I presume money would definitely be involved and no other alternative?

Thanks

Gloomendoom

I used to play occasionally when I was a student. We used pennies but you can just use poker chips instead.

geek84

Once again, thanks for your quick reply.

I may intend to play in a league for competitions in the near future if I enjoy playing the game, then I presume money would definitely be involved and no other alternative?

Thanks

DigForVictory

We have chips, and at the end of the session, convert those into smarties. Anyone querying my maths looses one to me...

Competitively/online money is the only ranking tool but amongst friends there's no reason to fall for that. Just be very clear up front.

NBLondon

geek84 wrote: »

Once again, thanks for your quick reply.

I may intend to play in a league for competitions in the near future if I enjoy playing the game, then I presume money would definitely be involved and no other alternative?

Thanks

Since the rules of the game involve betting - you have to have something to bet with. As said above, among friends you can avoid actual money losses by using tokens (all start with the same amount and play until fed up or one has won all the tokens). If you're playing in a competitive game - it will certainly involve buying in with real money. I can't see anyone setting up a club to only play for fun unless it was part of an existing social group. And then there's masses of online options... where a savvy player can make money out of beginners for a while.


Bridge is played for points - some players/clubs will play for money at so much per game or per hundred points. Competitive leagues or clubs might involve an entry fee and prize money rather than betting through the game but will also have purely play meetings. (I played at uni on a "losers buy drinks" basis.)


The games have a different approach though... Poker is you vs the rest and bridge is between two pairs of players. Regular bridge partners have the advantage of knowing each other's style - so in some tournaments, players draw lots for partnerships to negate this. Probably more bridge clubs about to get lessons and practice than poker clubs.

[Deleted User]

When I was a teenager, we use to play for pennies.. you've got to gamble with something!

Gavin83

You don't have to play with money, no. However I do think it's a game that's enhanced by involving money. A big part of the game is essentially gambling, knowing when to take a risk and when to hold back. If you don't play for money there's no real incentive to hold back, people will take much bigger risks than they would if it was actually hitting them in the wallet. You'll get the 'all in' types from the first hand to the last.

Generally when I play with friends we use chips and everyone chucks in a fiver, winner takes all. Works for us.

Also consider you need a fair few people to play, I wouldn't bother with anything less than six.

Malthusian

By far the most enjoyable way of playing poker IMO is for everyone to throw a fiver in the pot and the last person standing takes the lot. That way there is something riding on it, but nothing that you couldn't afford to lose, and you aren't tempted to continuinally chuck throw good money after bad.

The problem with poker as a social game is that if you are playing it this way, once you have lost all your chips you can't play any more. Which in my opinion is why it falls down for someone looking for a social game. Someone's game can easily be over in five minutes if they go all-in on what looked like a sure thing, and then they have to twiddle their thumbs while everyone else plays. By the end only 2 people are left playing and everyone else has sloped off to the bar or the sofa.

The other way to play poker is to allow people to stay in for as long as they keep putting in cash, but this turns it from a social game into a gambling game and is not what you want unless you want to lose lots of money very quickly.

As a midpoint between poker and the ludicrously overcomplicated game of bridge, consider trying cribbage. It has elements of whist and poker but is very different to both. It's also great fun, fast-moving, and tests your maths and risk/reward ability. It can be played as a 2v2 game (like bridge), 1v1 or three-player. You might be able to find a local cribbage league with some Googling, although I'm not sure if that applies all over the UK.

Bridge, cribbage and other card games make much better social games than poker because all the players are playing until the very end of the game.

Rain_Shadow

Poker really needs to be played for money, and for an amount that means something to you. Otherwise it's pretty pointless and you will never learn to play properly because nothing hangs on your decisions.