A poker night for work

Why poker works as a team social

Poker gives people something to do with their hands and a reason to talk. It mixes teams who never sit together, beginners pick it up in a hand or two, and there's a natural story to the evening as players go out and the last few battle it out.

Keep it a game: on Poker Rooms it's chips only, with nothing bought, sold or paid out, so nobody's out of pocket and nobody feels pressured.

Plan it

1. Pick the format. A tournament suits a work night best: everyone starts together, it has a clear end, and there's one winner to cheer.
2. Fit it to the evening. About two hours suits most teams. Turbo levels do that for a table of nine; for anything else, use the blind structure maker.
3. Send one link in the team chat or the calendar invite. People join on their phone or laptop, under any name they like.
4. Remote or hybrid? Run a video call alongside for the banter. How to set it up.

Beginners welcome

Most teams have people who've never played. A few things help:

• Send the basics a day before: our five-minute guide to Hold'em and the one-page hand rankings.
• The table teaches as you go: Poker Rooms names everyone's hand as the cards come and explains each action in the chat.
• Pair them up: a beginner can sit with an experienced player for the first few hands.
• Start deep. A deeper stack means nobody's out in the first ten minutes.

Keep it friendly

• Set the tone at the start: it's for fun, the chips are worth nothing, and everyone's welcome.
• Have something for players who go out: a cash table to keep playing, or the chance to watch the final table.
• Share the results at the end in the team chat, straight from the table.

Bigger teams

A single table is free for up to 9. For a bigger group, run several tables at once, or a tournament across up to six tables and 60 players with Premium, where tables are balanced as players go out and the last nine meet at a final table.