With the recent robbery and injury to a game keeper, some of the games in town have shut down and others have added some security. With the threat of robbery, I would be very leary of any game that does not take security seriously. If you play in a game, I think you should consider the following:
o How well known is the game? Soom game managers are very aggressive in promoting their games to players and just flat tell too many people about their games. I think some of them use poor judgement about who they let play. One way to improve security is to limit the number of people who know about a game. Another is to only invite people you trust - who won't blab about your game to other people, especially those that might help someone rob you.
o Location? Some parts of town are just more vulnerable. Also, apartments are arguably more vulnerable. Access to them is easier and people are coming and going. A house, especially one with some room around it is better, because you can see people coming who don't belong there.
o Physical security? If you have the right location, you can protect yourself with a strong locked door with a peephole. Think of Teddy KGBs location in Rounders. Of course this may be impractical. If the game is at a strip mall, bar, or whatever - in other words a fairly public place, physical security can be important.
o Guards? One of the best measures is to have a competent security or off-duty police officer. I personnally like the latter. I like to have someone around who knows how to handle a worst-case scenario. If you have competent security, odds are thieves will find a more vulnerable game. I think this is much better than some yahoo in the room itself with a gun. I think the last thing you want is a gunfight in the poker room itself, especially if the person with the gun has no training or experience.
