I host home games of 8 to 20 players almost weekly. A few tips I can give would be.
An actual poker table is nice but if you dont have the funds or room get a table topper or at least some poker felt to put down over your table.
Make sure everyone knows the tourney structure/buy in before they get to your house. If you are playing cash announce the blind levels when inviting buds over.
When playing tourneys use 2 decks of cards at each table to ensure speedy play. The person in front of the dealer(small blind) should always have the 2nd deck of cards so they can shuffle them and have them ready to go.
Have planned breaks in the tourney blinds schedule and decide the payouts after collecting the money and before the tourney starts even if its just the percentages. I usually pay 3 spots and give 3rd place their buyin back and give 60/40 with whatever money is left to the top 2.
Make sure only 1 or 2 trustworthy folks have their
hands in the money.
Its nice to have a nice set of chips(values on the chips is also nice) and nice plastic cards.
Make sure you have a timer set up before starting, don't just use someones cell phone or watch the clock for the blinds.
Make sure you know the rules of the game. Do not let folks argue or constantly chat and hold up the game. (We usually seperate the women to help with this.--sorry if the sounds bad but its true)
Serving snacks that are poker friendly. I..E...Buffalo wings are not usually a good thing to serve. Anything that makes messy fingers usually isnt a good idea.
If you want to start at 8 tell folks 730. If folks are going to be late just set up their chips and starting blinding them until they get there.
If you have new faces at the table introduce them to everyone before starting.
Try to decide on what time you will end the play a few hours before you stop.
Make sure all $$$ stays on the table, if one person borrows money from another it shouldnt be from chips/cash already in play.
The more organized your game, the easier it will be to have repeat customers. If someone turns out to be an a-hole just dont invite them to the next game. One dumbass can ruin everyone's night.
