I try to run a home tournament quarterly, and a monthly cash game; however, in during the last year all my regular players have either moved away, or their family and careers have taken priority. My tournament numbers have shrunk to 4 people now. (That sucks) I've been considering posting my tournament on the Internet in hopes of getting my tournament numbers back up to where they should be 8 to 16.
I'm hoping to discuss some of the issues and hopefully get some feed back from you all.
There are several problems that we face when considering allowing people to come to a home tourney or cash game from an Internet posting.
1. Chip security.
2. Game security
3. Cash security
4. Trusting people you don't know.
Chip security is very important; people who may come from the Internet may be hiding chips in their pockets. Plain dice and suited ABS composite chips are very common, inexpensive, and very insecure. At one time or another a lot of us have owned a set of these. (I own a set of these, but I hope to upgrade eventually
)
It's not out of the realm of possibilities that a stranger from the Internet will bring some black and green dice or suited chips for an easy score. There are several things you can try to mitigate this for those of us who were too cheap to get hot stamped chips. (me)
(An article may be forth coming showing the actual security enhancements discussed below.)
The most common chip colors available for dice and suited chips are white, red, green, blue, and black. There are, however, other colors available. Yellow, orange, purple, brown, light blue, pink, burgundy, and gray, plus Dice "B" styles are available too.
http://www.chipsandgames.com/index.a...TS&Category=41
(I am not associated with this site in anyway. I'm just using it as a reference)
You may want to use the less common colors in your tournament. This will thwart
any attempts of someone sneaking in common chips.
Adding custom sticker inlays is also another option, however, this can be very time consuming and expensive. So if you're going to enhance your security that way you may as well buy some higher end chips and save some time and cash.
An intriguing option is painting or stamping the chips with a day glow acrylic or invisible acrylic ink. This maybe a labor intensive, but its relatively inexpensive. 100ml of various colors can be purchased at a local art store. An alphanumeric rubber die set can also be purchased too.
(I'm currently working on these enhancements and I'll post the results along with pictures with in a forth-coming article.)
Keeping your game secure is just as important as chip security. Game security is basically ensuring the rules of your tournament are followed. Make sure that if a tournament or house rule, such as splashing the pot, is routinely violated by a guest (any guest) that guest will be removed from play and they're stack is forfeit. When I first started my Tourneys I had a 3 strikes and you’re out rule on pot splash. 1st violation; the offender receives a warning. The 2nd violation the offender loses 300 TC to the pot, which he can win back. The 3rd violation he's removed from the table and his stack is removed from play. Pot splashing is a pretty minor offense in my opinion, but splashing could be used to cheat so if someone is doing it a lot they may be up to something. It's always a good idea to give people the benefit of the doubt for some rules, they may not always know all the rules, but consistent rule breaking shouldn't be tolerated. Most hosts don't want to be the bad guy by sending someone home, but to ensure the integrity of your game sometimes it's necessary.
If someone comes and jacks your game with a firearm or knife or such, give them the money. Your life and safety is more important than a few bucks. That said you still should take the time to secure the cash. Make sure everyone pays before they get their chips. Lock the cash away in a safe place. I always lock the cash in secure place and keep a record of the exact amount where everyone can see, plus I have a second party count the money in front of everyone else. Keeping the money locked up ensures that someone who busts out early won't be tempted to grab the cash and run. Keeping a record of the exact prize pool and breakdowns will show what’s there when the tourney starts and ends to ensure someone doesn't think they're getting ripped off.
The final part of the equation when inviting people from the Internet is trust.
Stay alert for some one who's trying to scam you. Don't let yourself get victimized.
Don't allow Internet guest to show up with friends. Even though always nice to have an extra person, you're just setting yourself up. Make sure they're email address or handle matches your list. Get their real name and address too and make them show their ID (yes IDs can be faked). It may be a good idea to get their address as well. You can always check a free people report to verify their real address and if you do get jacked you can tell the police their information when you file a report.
Taking this step will keep the game fun for everyone.
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