Poker provides a lot of potential. Fifteen percent of Americans gamble weekly, including through online casinos. Many people go to slot machines or play video poker, but playing live poker can net a huge profit.
That’s why charity poker is so valuable. It lets people make money while contributing to a good organization. But you need to know what you are doing when planning a charity poker event.
What tools do you need for a charity poker night? What kinds of structures can your tournament assume? How should you promote your tournament?
Answer these questions and you can raise thousands of dollars by shuffling cards and tossing chips. Here is your quick guide.
Tools for Charity Poker
Poker seems simple, but you need a lot of tools for a successful event. You need enough poker chips for each player.
What denominations of chips you want depends on the kind of poker charity tournament you are running. Most tournaments give people their buy-in amount. If each person pays $10 to be in the tournament, they get $10 worth of chips.
You need poker tables. Each table seats nine or ten players and a dealer. Each player and dealer needs their own chair.
Each table should have at least one deck of cards. If cards start to have creases or smudges on them, the entire deck should get switched out.
How to Organize a Charity Poker Tournament
Most poker tournaments are freezeout tournaments. This means that players are eliminated until one person has all of the chips left. This is a good format for beginners, but it takes a long time to play out.
You can engage in a semi-freezeout tournament to save time. You have players play for a few hours, knocking each other out. After a certain time, the top ten stacks go to one table and play down to a winner.
You can also impose a time limit. Whoever has the most chips at the end of the night wins the tournament.
How to Promote a Charity Poker Night
Poker is a game reserved for adults. This means that you should target marketing channels for people who are at least 18 years old.
You can post in newspapers and local print publications about your charity night. You can also send out email or personal message blasts to a list of adult players.
You should indicate what charity will benefit from the event. Saying that you are raising money for charity may be enough to attract interest.
Many charities will work with tournament organizers to promote the event. Feel free to touch base with your charity for promotional purposes.
The Essentials of Charity Poker
Charity poker is an innovative way to raise money for a good cause. You will have to spend some money on chips, cards, and tables.
But you have a lot of flexibility in terms of organizing your tournament. If you have time, run a freezeout event. If you want everything done in one night, run a semi-freezeout event.
Make sure to promote your charity tournament prizes, but put your cause forward. Promote through venues that will encourage generous people to sign up.
Poker is just one event you can run for charity. Find out more by following our coverage.