WHY
Why do you want to start or join a card club? Is it something you will want to see through, or is it a one-time fleeting decision that you will later regret? Before you start your own club, you may want to join one already in progress to see how they operate. You will get a better feel for your likes and dislikes that way without a commitment.

WHO
Who would you like to have in your card club? Are you attracted to the more outgoing personalities or quieter ones? Depending on the game or games you will be playing, you may be able to pinpoint the types of people that may want to join your group. If you wanted to start a bridge group, for example, you would probably have a quieter crowd than a poker club.

WHAT
What type of card games, or other games, do you want to play? Should you just stick with a pinochle game week after week, or poker, bridge, gin rummy, or some other game?

Perhaps you would rather have a group that learns new games and plays one per month. That would give you twelve games to play per year. For people who like variety, this may be a good idea.

WHERE
Finding a place to meet is one challenge. You could try the local library or possibly a town hall or community building. Some cities and towns that have parks, also have a recreation department that could help you find an ongoing game to join. If there is not one to join, they could tell you what rules to follow in starting your own and using their facilities.

Sometimes restaurants like people holding meetings, such as a writers group, to attract business. You would need to speak with the manager to make sure card playing is allowed at the establishment. There may be rules, such as no gambling.

If you try the town library, the rule of no gambling or playing for money is one rule you will definitely need to follow. Usually you will need to accept anyone who walks into the library and wants to join the game. Libraries are for open access. The library may be one place to learn the new games.

If you get a group of friends or co-workers together, take turns meeting at each others houses. No one should have to be the permanent host or hostess, unless they want to.

WHEN
This is a very big question. Do you want to hold meetings in the morning, afternoon or evenings? Are weekends an option? Will this happen every week or every other week?

The best thing to do in this situation is to poll the members to see what open times and dates the majority have in common. As you already know, there is no pleasing everyone. Do not be too hard on yourself if some people drop out because their times don't mesh.

HOW
There are many card organizations available on the internet. Just search for the type of game you would like to play and see if there is already a group in your area.

If you want to try meeting people, there is a group meeting site on the internet called meetup. Just google meetup, as one word, and you should have a lot of options to choose from depending on where you live.

You could try posting flyers around town to advertise your group. Sometimes local penny papers will have low-cost advertising. The local library might let you advertise your group for free.