My first motorcycle was a 1943 Flat Head Harley Davidson. When I found the bike for sale I had no money, but I knew I wanted this dream machine. I wasn’t making enough money to pay for it so I needed a plan. I came up with a way to raise money and throw a great party at the same time. I organized a Poker Run. I made enough money to buy the Harley, had a few bucks left over and had allot of fun along the way.
The Poker Run was originally an event bikers played out on their Harley, but over the years it has been borrowed by Boaters, Runners, Bicyclist and I’m sure by others as well. The concept of a Poker Run is to travel a course or route and while doing so pick up poker cards along the way. Each person makes a 5 card poker hand from the cards they collect with the best hand winning money or prize. The way this is carried out for bikers is, each biker travels the planed route, every few miles there is a checkpoint at which each biker must stop and pickup a poker card. There are 7 checkpoints with the 7th checkpoint being at the final destination. Once all riders have reached the end, the rider with the best 5 card poker hand wins a grand prize. There can be variations to the prize scheme but the idea is to award cash or merchandise prizes at the end.
Sponsoring a poker run is fairly simple but takes time and some not so hard work. The first thing you need to do is plan the travel route and positioning of the check points. The route should be laid out so that the last check point is at the final destination. This is where the Poker Run party will be held. In order to do this you may need to get approval from the cities you plan to travel your poker run thru, there may be some paperwork and fees for this. Always check with the city municipalities to ensure compliance with local laws.
At the end of the run is a park or event facility, somewhere where a biker crowd can hang their hat for a few hours. Depending on where you live you may need a permit (especially if alcohol will be served) for the park. Of course you will need permission for any kind of event hall or facility you plan to use.
Next you need to do a little financial planning. By figuring out how much you will use for prize money and how much the party after the Poker Run will cost, you can calculate how many riders you’ll need and what the entrance fee will be. Keep in mind entrance fees should be less then $100 per bike, charge too much and the turn out will be poor. A word of caution here, be sure you do a good job of knowing the total cost of the event. Poor math can quickly turn a profit into a loss.
The next thing you will need to do is register riders. The best way to do this is to make a website where registration can be made and money can be collected. This of course may be more than you want to do so the old fashion method of mail-in or phone-in registration will work just as well. Along with registering riders for your poker run, you should also sell tickets to friends and others that just may simply want to attend the party after the ride is over. A scheme where a certain cost for the bike and it’s rider and another much lower cost for a passenger is a good approach.
To advertise, leave flyers and posters at biker bars, biker events and motorcycle shops in your area. If you are looking for a big crowd, run an ad on a local Radio Station, this will cost you some up front money but you can get the message to allot of people. Also if you’re into the internet thing, you can run a Banner Ad advertisement on relevant websites. Keep in mind your marketing efforts should be localized, most bikers are only looking for a day event and will not travel far for a poker run.
Finally, careful planning of the party can be made once you have a good idea of the number of participants. If your party is small you can either buy your own food and enlist your friends and associates to help, or you can hire local catering services to handle it all. Some thought should be given to the kind of activities you may want to have during the party as well. Oh and make sure you plan to have a prize award ceremony that charms the crowd. Don’t be cheap here, bikers won’t let you get away with that! If beer is being served and or provided, special care and planning should be taken to preserve life and limb.
Now if all is planned and carried out correctly you can expect to cover costs, ensure everyone has a good time and make a little extra to help buy that next Harley. Best of luck and have fun!
Going into a poker game without a good poker strategy is like asking to lose money. You are better off to just turn your money over as other players will have a poker advantage over you. In order to be successful when you are playing the game of poker, you need to have a good poker strategy.
Many players play off the cuff and take a lot of chances when they are playing poker. Some players are more risk taking than others. Poker does involve a great deal of risk and many players are inclined to bluff their way through a game to try to get others to drop out. This is a very risky strategy and is not recommended, especially for the beginning poker player.
If you want to have a poker advantage, the first thing that you need to do is to have a good understanding of the game and how it is played. The strategy that you use for each game should depend on the game that you are playing. Some games will have consistently higher winning hands than others. If you are playing a game like Texas Holdem, you have more of an opportunity to have a poker advantage than in other games. This is because the community cards that are gradually flipped up in the center of the table can be spotted by everyone. You actually know three of the cards that are going to be included in the hands of the other players. The problem is that you do not know which three cards and what the other players have as their down cards, or pocket cards.
A good rule of thumb when you are looking for a poker advantage is to have at least a pair in the beginning of the game. This is conservative playing but usually works well. Instead of hoping to get something and staying in the game, putting more money in for bets, you can drop and wait until the next deal.
You should also be sure to keep watching what other players are doing for your poker advantage. Betting is always done in sequence for this purpose. If you see a lot of players are simply calling bets or dropping and you are holding two pair, you have a chance to win. However, if you see constant raising and no one leaving the game, then it is more probable that someone has a better hand than you.
If you want to develop a good poker strategy, learn how to play the game, practice often and watch how other players bet. Having a good strategy clearly gives you a good poker advantage no matter what type of poker game you are playing. Read the 100 Essential Texas Holdem Poker Tips and take your game to the next level.
Guide To Live Poker Etiquette
Playing poker live in a casino is very different to playing poker online. Even if you are a seasoned online poker pro your first entry into casino maybe overwhelming so it is good to know basic live poker ground rules, otherwise known as poker etiquette. Knowledge of those rules will make you feel more relaxed, give you a chance to concentrate on your play and assure players around you that you know what you are doing and should be taken seriously. If you won your seat in live poker tournaments through some of the online poker promotions and you are new to real casino atmosphere it is especially worth taking time to get familiar with Dos and Don’ts of the casino play so you always look and feel like a regular.
First and foremost Be Polite at all times. Yes poker can be very frustrating whether you play live or online. Those words that you say to air your feelings at home have no place in a casino. However angry or upset you are stay polite to players around you and the dealers. Do not express your opinions about other people’s play. Expressing your emotions this way will also make you more of a target for other players. Throwing your cards at a dealer is big No-No and makes you look amateur and rude. The dealer is not giving you bad cards on purpose while saving all the good cards for your opponents.
Do Not Splash the Pot. Don’t push your chips into the middle of the table where they can get mixed up with other players’ chips. Stack them in a neat pile about a foot away from you. The dealer will take care of them when the action is completed for this round.
Do not String Raise. The famous phrase “I will call your $500…. AND raise $1000” does not have place at a casino poker table. If you put out enough chips for a call and then decide to change your mind and raise by adding more chips, it will be called a String Raise, and is not allowed. The dealer will ask you to take the raise back. This rule is in place to stop players getting an advantage from reading the possible tells of the call and then take advantage of it through raising. So if you want to raise just say “Raise” or simply count the number of chips you want to bet and move them all at the same time.
Play at a Reasonable Speed. When you play poker online, poker room software allows you a certain amount of time to react, if you take more time than allowed the “sitting out” feature will take you out of that hand. Although it is OK to spend some time to think about your actions live playing live if you take too much time on every hand you play you will only irritate players around you and make yourself look indecisive and unprofessional.
Act in Turn. This is another difference playing live compared to playing poker online. In an online poker room you can click your action button at any time and your action will be shown to other players when your turn comes. When playing live you have to wait for your turn before you make any action. Acting before your turn is impolite and gives unfair advantage to other players. If a player before you sees you folding he might decide on a different bet to the one he would have made without this knowledge.
Keep Your Cards on the Table. When you receive your hole cards have a look at them, while protecting them with your hand and place a chip on top as an indication to the dealer that you are still in play. Under no circumstances remove the cards off the table. If you are folding move your cards towards the dealer, making sure that they are always face down, as one quick glance at your cards will give an advantage to other players. Nobody should ever see your cards until the showdown.
Do not Discuss Hands. Even if you have folded keep quiet about your hand or offer other players advice with their hand. Your comments to your neighbour about your hand will put him in unfair advantage compared to other players at the table. This is not limited to verbal comments; remember actions speak louder than words. If you muck T, 3 unsuited and the flop comes with T,T,T control yourself. Rolling your eyes and groaning will tell everyone around the table that the forth ten is out of action. If you have a question, please, ask the dealer not a player sitting next to you.
If your idea of fun is to irritate as many people around you as possible just disregard the rules above, however don’t be surprised if players at the table turn against you and the casino in turn may impose a fine or ask you to leave. Following this poker etiquette will not only make your live poker experience more enjoyable but will make you look like a real poker pro at live poker events.
If you would like to try one of the big live poker tournaments Unleashed Poker gives you this chance as well as many other online poker promotions running now.
