Five Stupid House Rules, And Five Good Ones

Home games often have ridiculous ways of playing that detract from the experience and don't make sense. They drive me crazy!

Here's a list of some of the worst home game rules:

1) Five of a kind (with wild cards) beats a straight flush. No, I'm sorry, but I've never seen five of a kind on any poker hand chart. It's not a hand. If you have five 9s, it's four of a kind with a 9 kicker. Where did people get the idea that there's even such a thing as five of a kind?

2) You have to show your hand in the correct order after the showdown. Dudes, just show your cards instead of arguing about it for five minutes. No one cares! For the love of God, just get on with it.

3) You have to call your hand. Please, let the cards speak.

4) There's a max bet but no fixed limit. I guess that's no serious harm, but I'm going to bet the max more often than not.

5) You have to warn people before you pick up your chips to leave. I'm sorry, but where I come from, you can leave with your money any time you want.

And I have to list some rules I love:

1) If your girlfriend calls, you have to pay a penalty and throw money into the pot.

2) No rake!

3) The house is responsible for money missing from the pot.

4) Everyone pitches in for pizza.

5) You can smoke at the table.

Link:
Some notes on reading hands