Home games are popular in the world of poker as they allow you to play in a private setting, providing a more exclusive and convenient way for you to enjoy your favorite games with your friends and loved ones. But the ongoing coronavirus pandemic has forced a lot of these games to be temporarily stopped as countries impose movement restrictions, and people have been advised to stay at home to prevent the virus from spreading further.
But if you are living in Pennsylvania, there is a way for you to resume home game action.
Home Games Available On PokerStars PA
PokerStars started to roll out the Home Games feature across its global client in January 2011. But during that time, Americans were only able to try it for a limited time as the country implemented a nationwide crackdown on illegal online gambling operators in about three months after the feature was introduced, forcing PokerStars to leave the US market.
Now, PokerStars is bringing the same feature to the Keystone State. Pennsylvanians can now set up their own online poker club, create real money cash games and tournaments, and invite other players within the state to join. If you wish to play with players not based in Pennsylvania, a play money option is also available.
So how do you set up your own home game on PokerStars PA? The steps are fairly easy. Once you’re logged into your account, refer to the right hand side of the client, the area where shortcuts to Leader Boards, Settings and more options are found. You will notice three dots at the bottom. Click on it and you will find the Home Games option.
Creating A Poker Club
Once you are inside Home Games, the first step is to create your own Poker Club. You can do so by first providing a Club Name, and then an Invitation Code. The club name must be unique. It will to be approved first before you can use it. The invitation code works like a password that the players will input so they can join the game.
After creating your club name and invitation code, tick the Terms & Conditions box. A congratulatory pop-up will then appear.
Inviting Players
The next step is to invite players to join your club. In doing so, you need to give them the Club ID number and the Invitation Code. They only need to enter these two information upon clicking on the “Join a Poker Club” in the Home Games feature.
You can monitor the club and do the necessary admin works through the “Manage Club” tab located on the Home Games page.
Creating Games
Once you have invited players to your club, you can then set up your cash games and tournaments as the club manager. You only need to go to the “Manage Games” tab and select “Create a Tournament” or “Create a Table” (for cash games).
For cash games, you can decide on the game and variant, alongside the seats and stakes involved. For tournaments, you will set-up the structure blind levels, game speed, stacks, and breaks. You may also set the buy-in, format and the maximum seats per table. You get to decide on the time and date of that particular tournament. If you want to provide a name for the tournament, you are also allowed to do so.
Upon creating a cash game or tournament, all club members will be automatically sent an email to notify them. The email job will be handled by PokerStars.
Unlike the old Home Games feature, the current one available on PokerStars PA comes with extra features, making the whole experience more fun and exciting. There are a wide range of variants, and you can play all of them, including no-limit hold’em, Omaha hi-lo, 2-7 Triple Draw, Badugi, and 8-game mix. You may also post announcements, establish regular tournament series, set up your own leaderboard, as well as monitor results.
With the Home Games feature on PokerStars PA, you have a way to remain connected with your fellow players and still continue your passion to alleviate your worries and fears during this trying time.