| Let’s talk free poker |
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| How about a free poker question and answer discussion! |
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| Q: |
What does that mean? |
| A: |
It means no player ever has to pay anything to play our games and every player has an equal chance to win all prizes. |
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| Q: |
Who pays for all the prizes, the equipment, the web site, tournaments, etc.? |
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Ultimately, the bar or restaurant pays the New Denver Poker Tour a fee to provide entertainment to their patrons. |
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| Q: |
Why would a bar or restaurant do that? |
| A: |
Good question, most bars do that for several reasons including but not limited to the following:
- To attract patrons who might not otherwise patronize their establishment
- To retain existing patrons and have them stay at the establishment for a longer period of time per visit, with the hope that they will purchase more food and beverages
- To raise their sales and increase their profitability
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| Q: |
I buy a soda, that’s enough right? |
| A: |
A single soda has a decent percent margin but doesn’t come close to covering your fair share of the costs. |
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| Q: |
What does it cost a bar to provide a spot for me to play in their game? |
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The cost varies based upon the number of players who play and the number of tables, but generally, the raw poker cost is between $6 to $9 per person exclusive of bar tabs or prizes. |
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| Q: |
So if I chose to spend $9 that covers my cost, right? |
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NO, unfortunately the food and beverage costs have to be deducted. Food costs are generally higher as than beverage costs. Also, there are overhead costs to be considered. Many restaurant industry analysts suggest food costs should be in 30% range for a restaurant to be successful. Using $7.50 per person as a average cost, a player just covers the cost of his seat in poker when he spends $10.70 on food and beverage, exclusive of tax and gratuity. |
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| Q: |
I never knew that. Considering the costs, why do establishments have poker? |
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Good question. In an ideal world everyone would spend at least $ 10.70 each and then there are those who spend more, bring family members for dinner before the game, as the average spending exceeds $15.00, the establishment starts to make money which is why they have poker. Additionally, many players frequent poker establishments on other days and nights contributing to the total yield the bar or restaurant sees from sponsoring poker. |
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| Q: |
If everyone only buys a soda or nothing, what will happen to free poker. |
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While there is some uncertainty, ultimately free poker will be the dinosaur of poker and become extinct. |
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| Q: |
I find hard to justify spending $10 plus dollars when I go out to play poker, times are tough right now. |
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Times are tough for everyone but let’s consider poker to be entertainment and compare it to the cost of other first run entertainment. Poker is first run event, because every night you play the hands are different, the plays are different and the results are different. A natural comparison to a first run movie makes sense. If you go to a first run movie after the premiere week, you will pay between $8 and $12, most individuals go to the concessions and spend between $10 and $15, if you go as a couple, industry sources say you are likely to spend between $15 and $23. Therefore, on average a individual spends $22.50 and a couple spends $39 (10 + 10 + 19). Most movies today run for 90 to 135 minutes, we will use 2 hours as an average. Poker play including second games averages between 3 and 5 hours, yes we know some nights you get knocked out on the first hand, but will use 4 hours for an average evening. Poker is more social since you can talk to friend or your significant other without disturbing the rest of the participants in the adventure. So at the movies if you were to see two features the average individual would spend $45 and a couple would spend $78. If you spend $10 on food and drink on a poker night and tip your dealer $5 an individual spends only $15 and a couple $30. Quite a bargain in today’s economy. |
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| Q: |
That’s sound great, but I play poker 8 times a week and if I lived up to that model, I would bust my budget. |
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Well, if you’re a fair minded person, remember the bar owners overhead doesn’t go down because you play more, perhaps playing 4 to 6 times a week would allow you to do your fair share. It’s your decision, but remember, free bar poker is in jeopardy, so everyone who does his or her part helps us retain the game we love so much. |
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Free Poker? 