Private Games

How to Get Into Private High-Stakes Games in Las Vegas (and LA)

I get asked this more than any other question. People imagine private games are a secret society with a handshake. The truth is simpler and, in a way, harder: you get invited to private games because people already know who you are and want you at the table. Here is how that actually happened for me.

Visibility is the invitation

In 2005 I had seven cashes at the World Series of Poker and I was on television. After that I was sitting in the $25/50 no-limit game at the Bellagio, which at the time was the biggest game in the room, almost every day. The invitations to the private games in Los Angeles came out of that circle. Nobody recruited me because of a strategy article. They had seen me play, they had seen me on TV, and it was simply nice to have me around.

The more they see you, the more they want you around. The more invitations you get. That is the whole mechanism.

What the hosts are actually looking for

A private game needs three things to survive: money, reliability, and pleasant company. The host wants players who will show up when they say they will, who pay what they owe the same night, who do not make the game ugly, and who bring action. Being a strong player helps less than you would think. Being someone people enjoy losing to helps more than you would think.

Play in the biggest public game you can beat

The big public games at Bellagio, Aria and Wynn are where private-game players scout. If you want to be invited somewhere, be visible somewhere first. Sit in the big game, play well, be friendly, and let people see you for months, not days. Reputation in Las Vegas is built slowly and lost in a night.

Never ask directly

Asking to be invited is the surest way not to be. Private games run on trust, and someone who is pushing to get in reads as someone who needs the money or wants to hustle the room. Let the invitation come to you. If it does not come, the answer is usually that you are not yet the kind of player the game wants, and the fix is more time at the public table, not more asking.

The downside nobody mentions

Private games are better and worse than casino games at the same time. Better because the lineups can be soft and there is no rake. Worse because there is no floor manager, no surveillance, and no guarantee you get paid. I have seen games where the host took a cut of every pot, games where a player borrowed and vanished, and games that were simply set up to clip one rich guest. Before you play, you need to know who runs the game, who vouches for the players, and how the money moves. If you cannot answer those three questions, do not sit.

A practical path

• Beat the mid-stakes games in a public room until people recognise you.
• Move into the biggest public game you can afford and be a regular, not a visitor.
• Be likeable. Pay fast, tip fair, never gloat, never complain.
• Play some tournaments. A deep run on a stream or TV does more for your name than a year of cash-game grinding.
• When the invitation comes, do your homework on the host before you say yes.

Reviews of the Vegas rooms where this scouting happens are on my other site, pokerwar.com.