Poker Guide
Are you looking for Christmas or birthday gift for someone who plays poker? Do you really want to impress someone, with very a special gift? Our Poker Gift Guide will help you pick the perfect gift with our ideas for best gifts for poker players.
Gifts for Poker Players: Cards and Accessories
Artisan Playing Cards: Luxury Set
The button is always guaranteed to be in position post-flop, making it the best position at the table; you’ll make more money from the button than anywhere else in your poker career. As a rough guide, most experienced players will open about half of the time when they’re on the button – using the top 50% of hands, that is. If you are looking for a poker strategy guide, this book isn't for you. If you are looking for hand rankings and learning about suited connectors, go pick up a 2+2 book. There are lots of them out there, and some are very good. While some hand analysis is examined at the end of this book, this book is meant to show you the lifestyle of a poker pro.
Every poker player owns some set of cards. But not every poker players owns Artisan cards. The art on those cards is breathtakingly detailed. Everything comes in a very beautiful looking box that just screams perfect gift. You can check the price and see more photos on Amazon.
JPC 500 Piece Crown Casino Poker Set
Every poker player should have their own set of nice poker chips. This set provides some real quality for a reasonable price. There are 500 chips total which is usually enough for games with up to 10 players. The set also includes two decks of playing cards, five dice and a dealer’s button.
Everything is packed in a sturdy good-looking aluminium carrying case.
13,5 g Clay Poker Chips Included
We should also talk about the chips you get. JPC Crown Casino chips are one of the more heavier ones with 13,5 grams. This provides nice feel as they don’t seem cheap compared to some of the lighter ones. As such this set is a nice gift for everyone who doesn’t already own a set.
Card Shuffler
Card shuffler is a nice budget gift. You should probably check before if your giftee likes to use the shuffler since some players find them annoying – especially if they’re using more expensive cards.
Gifts for Poker Players: Books
Poker books are one of the best gifts for poker players. Those we recommend here ware written by some of the greatest poker minds. As such they provide both entertainment and a learning experience. They are great even for more experienced players.
Poker Guide Pdf
The Mental Game of Poker by Jared Tendler
There are plenty of books that an experienced poker player wouldn’t care much about. The Mental Game definitely isn’t one of those.
As the name suggests Jared doesn’t focuses entirely on the mental game, rather than the poker strategy. That makes the book a great gift for anyone who gets angry when unlucky streak comes.
Plenty of readers said that the book is very rewarding on rereads. This is indeed a rare sight in the flood of different poker books on the market. The mental game is important for poker players of all levels levels.
The Grinder’s Manual by Peter Clarke
Poker has changed a lot in the last decade. Peter Clarke does an amazing job of teaching the reader new tools of the trade. The Grinder’s Manual is therefore great read for a returning poker player.
Information is provided in a very technical and math-heavy way. It will open new ways of thinking about poker to your giftee.
Easy Game by Andrew Seidman
Even if poker seems like an easy game it truly isn’t. You could say it’s easy to learn and hard to master. The book is a great gift for everyone who wants to get better at poker, except for the professional poker players of course.
Lots of readers were skeptic of the book’s high price (check it on Amazon). After reading it, they said that it was worth every penny.
Gifts for Poker Players: Poker Tables
Poker tables can also be a great gift. There are plenty of choice and today we’ll highlight two. One is a nice budget friendly build, where you’ll get the most bang for your buck. The other is more on the high-end spectrum of tables.
Barrington Poker Table (10 players)
Barrington Poker Table is the most valuable table you can get for a very reasonable price. It supports up to ten players and is easily fold-able.
It provides enough space for up to ten players. Padded rails provide comfort for forearms during play. It also has built-in cup holders, for keeping the table cloth clean without depriving players of refreshment.
Prestigious Table for 4
Maybe you’re looking for more of a high end gift? This table for four isn’t cheap that’s true. But it definitely delivers with its distinctly American look made with finest woods available.
The table actually supports both poker and bumper pool – with accessories included. It can also turn into classical diner table which looks great in a living room. If you want to know more about it, you can check it on Amazon.
Gifts for Poker Players: Clothes
Poker themed shirt or a hoodie is a great gift. It’s hard to know which book would be the best gift, but for a shirt – all you need to know is the right size. You don’t even need to worry about usefulness – an extra shirt always comes in handy!
Fun Poker Shirt
Who doesn’t like fun shirts? The one above our favorite. Maybe they’ll at least fold this one.
Poker Hoodie
Hoodies are neat! You can wear them anywhere, they’re comfy and warm. If you giving them to a poker fan, there are plenty of poker-themed ones on Amazon.
Best Gifts for Poker Players – Recap
Hopefully we helped you find the perfect gift for a poker player. To quickly recap – you really can’t go wrong with a poker book such as The Mental Game of Poker. On the other hand if you’re giftee doesn’t have a poker set, that might be a cool idea.
During all the shopping for gifts – don’t forget – the biggest gift is always the kindness and attention we give to one other.
Our other gift guides:
- Online Poker Rooms Ranked
- Basics for Poker Beginners
- Rules of Several Forms of Poker
- Advice for Playing Online
- Comprehensive Strategy Guide
- Detailed Poker Site Reviews
Poker is one of the best known card games in existence. Early versions of poker were first played in the 19th century, and the game has certainly evolved over the years. Playing poker is now a very popular pastime among people all over the world. It can be played simply for fun, like most card games, but the real appeal is in playing for real money stakes.
There are many variations of poker, each one having its own set of rules and strategies. Learning how to play the games is relatively easy, but mastering them and learning how to win is much harder. It takes time and effort to become a successful poker player, and not everyone is cut out for the job.
However, it’s a lot easier to test your skills at the game than it used to be, thanks to the advent of online poker. These days it’s possible to play over the internet, for real money, and against real players. You can play any time of the night or day without having to leave the comfort of your own home.
We’ve produced this poker guide to teach players everything they could possibly ever want to know about the game of poker, including playing online. We’ll help you get started if you’ve never played before and we can help you win too. We explain all the important aspects to how online poker works and also make recommendations for the best places to play.
This page details everything our guide has to offer, and we would suggest reading through it all. If you’re looking for something in particular, though, you can head straight to the relevant section.
The very fact that you are reading this page suggests that you are thinking about starting to play poker, or are possibly even playing the game already. Either way, it’s very important to understand that there are risks involved when it comes to playing poker. There’s always a chance that you’ll lose money during a game and it’s important to be fully prepared for that reality.
A lot of people choose to play poker because it’s gambling against other players rather than against a casino or bookmaker. Casinos always have the advantage in casino games due to the house edge and bookmakers always have the advantage because they get to set the odds for the wagers they take. Poker is more of a level playing field, with all players essentially having the same chance to win. That doesn’t mean it’s easy to win though, and in fact, it can be quite the opposite.
That’s right, most people that play poker lose money. You’re sadly mistaken if you think that it’s possible to just learn the rules of the game and then sit down and take money from all the other players. It’s far more likely that they’ll be taking money from you, particularly when you first start playing. You might win money some of the time, but the likelihood is that you’ll lose more often than not.
Some people accept that they’ll lose money and choose to play poker purely as a form of entertainment. These players tend to view poker in much the same way as they do casino games; a fun activity which offers a chance to win some money. They try to win if they can, but they don’t mind losing as long as they enjoy themselves. They basically just want to gamble and hope they get lucky every now and then.
There’s absolutely nothing wrong with approaching poker in this way. Plenty of people enjoy playing in the casino even when they know they’re probably going to lose, so there’s no reason why people can’t do the same with poker. If you just want to have some fun, then you should go for it but please make sure that you set a budget and gamble responsibly.
The key difference between poker and casino games is that you don’t have to accept the fact that you’re going to lose money. It’s up to you how you approach the game. You can just play for the fun of it if you want, knowing that it’ll probably cost you money, or you can try to do something to increase your chances of winning.
Whether you win or lose is, to some extent at least, within your control. There’s nothing you can do to guarantee that you’ll win every time, but you can certainly put the odds in your favor. If you’re prepared to spend the necessary time and effort to learn everything there is to know about the game and all the strategy involved, then there’s nothing stopping you from making money from poker.
Please note, though, that even the best poker players in the world have losing streaks. It doesn’t matter how good you become, the element of luck in the game means that there’s always a chance of losing to players who aren’t as good. Setting a budget and gambling responsibly is still important, even as a skilled player.
How you choose to approach poker is entirely up to you. That’s part of the beauty of the game. It appeals to those just wanting to have some fun and it also gives those who want to play for a profit an opportunity to do so. No matter what approach you take, you’ll be sure to find the rest of this poker guide very useful.
Poker Basics For Beginners
If you’re completely new to poker, then our section on the basics of poker is the best place to start. It explains a number of things that you should really understand before playing, and it can help you decide whether poker is the game for you. We look at the pros and cons of this form of gambling, plus we have included a list of do’s and don’ts that are very helpful if you do choose to play.
There are articles on each of the following topics too. Although these articles are all written with the beginner in mind, an experienced player may even find them interesting.
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Poker is fundamentally a simple game. The different variants, formats, and structures do make things a little more complicated though. You don’t need to learn how to play each and every variant there is, as you can choose to stick to just one if you want. However, there are some things that are essential to learn before you start playing.
Initially, you’ll need to understand the two main formats of the game. These formats are cash games and tournaments, and we’ve explained each one of them in detail in the following two articles.
You also need to understand all of the different betting structures and limits, such as no limit and fixed limit. We’ve explain all of these in the following article.
Somewhat obviously, you also need to learn the rules for any variant that you choose to play. You can find the rules for a number of variants in our poker game guides. We’ve listed the most popular of our guides below and these also contain a range of other related information. We recommend starting with Texas Hold’em, as this is the most widely played game, but it’s ultimately up to you.
Poker Guide
Introduction to Online Poker
If you’re interested in playing poker online, then you should definitely take a look at our introduction to online poker. All of the information in this introduction has been compiled to help you fully understand everything that’s important to know when playing online and to make sure that you have the best possible experience. It features a step by step guide to getting started at your first poker site and answers to a comprehensive set of frequently asked questions about online poker.
There’s plenty of other useful information too. The following topics, and more, are all covered.
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Due to online poker’s increasing popularity, there are a myriad of websites available that offer poker. Some of these are excellent places to play, while some of them don’t quite hit the same standards. You obviously want to play at the better sites, but it’s not that easy to determine which ones are good and which ones are not. You don’t need to worry about this though, as we are here to help.
We are constantly testing and assessing what’s available for online poker players and this enables us to recommend the best places to play. The following sites are currently our top ranked options.
It’s important to note that the right poker site for one player may not necessarily be the right site for someone else. This is why we also rank the top sites in several specific categories.
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Poker Strategy
The strategy section of this poker guide is an incredibly useful resource for anyone that’s interested in becoming a winning player or someone who just wants to improve their overall game. It has been compiled by experts and contains information and advice for players of all standards. Regardless of whether you are a complete beginner, a very experienced player, or somewhere in between, it’ll help you take your game to the next level.
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Our poker guide also features information on a range of the biggest live poker events that take place around the world on a regular basis. You can explore the history of these events, including past winners and full details of when and where they take place. Where relevant, we’ve also provided some advice on how you can qualify for them by playing online.