Goals: Win all the “money” and have fun with your attendees.
Poker continues to be an engaging game of fun and socializing. In the 1837 edition of Foster’s Complete Hoyle, R. F. Foster wrote: “The game of poker, as first played in the United States, five cards to each player from a twenty-card pack, is undoubtedly the Persian game of As-Nas.”
In the early 2000s, poker popularity experienced an unprecedented spike due to online poker and hole-card cameras that showed how the top players were playing and turned the game into a spectator sport.
Poker is a game played with a deck of cards as you attempt to get a hand that is ranked higher than other players’ hands. There is betting in every round and you have a choice to continue or fold every round.
Poker can be competitive and engaging as you try to outwit your other attendees. It is a very social game where you can learn a lot about the other players as there is time to talk during and between hands.
Time: 30–300 minutes
Participants: 2–Max
Technology: Audio, video, poker applications
Category: Fun, game, competition
Instructions: The easiest way to play this game is to have a meeting on your virtual platform and play the game on a second platform such as PokerStars or Poker Bros. Have everyone log into the virtual meeting and then into the poker application. You are given a set of chips and the poker software takes care of enforcing all the rules. Bicycle, one of the top playing card manufacturers, lists all of the rules for poker. There are many excellent videos to learn how to play poker. You can play a “cash” game where you play for a certain amount of time for the same stakes. You can play a “tournament” game where every player starts with the same amount of chips and the stakes rise in every round until
there is only one player left.
Tips: One of the best integrations I’ve seen is Live Game Night’s Poker (https://livegamenight.com/). It combines poker and up to six players on video. It only costs $5 for 6 players and $10 for 10 players (as of 10/21/2020) for eight hours of game play and will most likely continue to add features going forward.
WPT Poker Pro Phil Gordon recommends Pokerrr 2 and you can setup tournaments here too.
Make sure to check the legality of playing online poker in your location.
Want to learn more?
Click to register for the Engaging Virtual Meetings Conference, every year in October.
http://engagingvirtualmeetings.com/conference
To learn how to host your own charity or for fun virtual poker tournament, fill out the form:
* These fields are required.
