Want to build connections, improve your work, and foster a supportive artistic community in your local area? Then hosting a regular poker night might be the ideal solution you’ve been looking for.
While this might sound odd on the surface, there’s a pretty respectable precedent for it: a regular poker game involving high-end artists such as Richard Prince, Christian Luiten, and Shio Kusaka, has been one of the industry’s most influential evenings for years now. And while you can’t expect that Leonardo di Caprio, Bruno Mars, or Jack Black will swing by your event, you can still get some of the benefits by hosting your own regular poker night.
Now, the question is, how do you do it? We’ve outlined everything you need to know below.
Make It Open
Your game will start small, in all likelihood because unless you live in New York or L.A., you probably don’t know that many artists in the first place. So the first evening might simply involve inviting your artist friends round for a game of poker. In general, you’ll want your evenings to be open to any and all artists, so if an artist acquaintance of your artist friend is in town, then make sure they know that they’re very much invited.
Should you invite non-artists to these evenings? Yes, especially if you need to bulk up the numbers. Plus, no one wants to go to a party that onlyhas artists. But artsy folk should make up the bulk of the guests — let’s say, 60% at least.
Understand the Game
Don’t worry if your friends aren’t experts at poker from the first moment they arrive. The game is easy to pick up, so after they’ve overcome the initial teething problems, they’ll have no problem getting involved with the game. By week three of hosting, they’ll be ready to be competitive.
With that said, while your guests might not know the game too well, at least one person should. The game’s rules and poker hands ranking lists are freely available online and should ensure that the game runs smoothly. It can also be useful for hosts to play a few games beforehand, either online or in-person, just so they’re fully ready to guide newcomers through the game.
Setting the Tone
Setting the right tone for a poker night is paramount no matter who’s coming. But when it’s a bunch of artists? Then it becomes imperative. After all, artists are all about tone and vibe. They’re not going to settle for an aesthetic that looks like it’s come straight from a cafeteria. They’ll be looking for the elegant, sophisticated casino-room energy.
Happily, this is one of the easiest aesthetics to recreate. Play jazz through your speakers — good jazz, not standard ‘Jazz To Play Poker’ videos you’ll find on YouTube — and keep the lighting low.
Consider Serving Artistic Snacks
Poker nights can — and probably should — go on for a long time, so it’s important that your guests are kept well-fed and well-watered. One interesting way to put an artistic spin on the evening is to serve snacks favored by some of history’s most celebrated artists.
For instance, what an Andy Warhol ‘sandwich,’ which was in fact just two slices of bread with squashed chocolate in the middle? Pablo Piccaso ate a delicious Mediterranean diet, along with rice puddings — which might be a perfect mid-game snack.
See It a Connecting Experience
Finally, view your artist-focused poker nights not so much as an opportunity to talk about art directly, but rather as connecting experiences. The conversation will naturally turn to art from time to time, but it doesn’t have to be the focus of the evening. Instead, just view these evenings as social occasions, albeit one where you never know what might happen after. We’re not saying that the next great artist collaboration will happen as a result of your poker evening, but we’re also not saying that it won’thappen, either.