At the end of the day, poker is a social game. For it to be social, people need to talk with one another. When I think about making poker tables more fun, I think about “What are the things that are going to make people talk and have a good time.
- It sounds a little simple and a little funny perhaps, but if you want to make it fun, one of the things that is a barrier is that you don’t know people’s names. If everyone has their first name on their lapel then you can go ahead and more naturally start a conversation with that person and not be afraid. Or if you have been sitting with them for hours and hours and you don’t know their name and it’s embarrassing to ask, they have their name there.
- Giveaways are always fun. Whatever promotions that a poker room has, stuff like that always gets people talking at the table.They’ll tell their bad beat stories, how they almost won a bad beat jackpot.
- A good dealer – not just technically proficient but someone who engages proactively with everyone at the table, smiles, tells a joke here and there – obviously without affecting the progress of the game and not delaying anything, but a good dealer who smiles, is happy, and talks with the paying customers while running a smooth game.
