So your favorite online poker room has shut down, and the flights from your home town to Las Vegas are just too expensive thanks to rising jet fuel costs. So where exactly are you going to find a little good old fashioned poker action? Why not dust off your address book and invite your old poker buddies over for a night of good times, good friends and hopefully, even better hands.



To help you run the best home poker game this side of Binion's Horseshoe, consider the following tips from the home game experts.

1. Choose the right equipment. If you want to enjoy real poker action at home, you're going to need real poker accessories. Every home game should feature real clay poker chips, a genuine poker table and official playing cards just like the ones used at casino poker tables. And if you want to really take the action to the next level, consider investing in automatic card shufflers to speed up the action or monogrammed poker chips to give the affair a more personal touch.

2. Set appropriate limits. Above all else, you want to have a friendly, but competitive game when your pals come over. That means it is OK to sweeten the pot with a small buy-in to make things interesting. But if the stakes get too high, it can lead to tension and even bad feelings if one persons stands to lose too much money. Don't put yourself, or any of your friends in what could be an awkward position. Keep the limits low.

3. Get the ?Green Light? from your significant other. If you wife, girlfriend, husband or boyfriend is unhappy about having everyone over for a poker night, those negative feelings will spread like wildfire throughout the game. Be respectful of the person who shares your home, and make sure they are OK with what's going down.

4. Keep the games fresh. While many card players love to hunker down for a night of nothing but Texas Hold Em, sometimes it is more fun to mix in a few different games throughout the course of the evening. Try a few hands of high-lo Hold Em, Omaha or even the old classics such as 5-card draw to break up the evening. And for those who love wild cards, there's always Night Baseball ? where 3's, 5's and 7's are wild!

5. Encourage side games. If you are playing a no-limit tournament, and players start getting knocked out early, encourage them to stay by starting up a side game for those who bust-out of the main game.

6. Choose the right refreshments. Greasy snacks can make handling chips and cards a less-than-pleasant affair. Choose healthier, homemade snacks for the game like veggies and dip or chili. Try to take snack breaks throughout the course of the night so people will be less inclined to eat while they play.

Get your poker supplies today so you can start your perfect home poker game today!