Casino Poker Party Ideas
May 9, 2016 - Explore Julie Downey's board 'Casino Party Ideas', followed by 208 people on Pinterest. See more ideas about casino party, party, casino theme parties. Casino Party Decoration & Food. Not to forget that the right decoration of your casino party can basically make a huge difference at your event. Decorations like cards on the doors, huge dices on the table, fake money on the windows and doors, balloons, poker chips, casino table decorations with bright colors. If you are going to include poker at your casino party, we recommend you give out these hand-rank sheets. They’ll help newbies to understand how poker works and what hands are the most valuable.
So you decided to keep it classy for your casino night with a poker party. It will likely be a more intimate affair with friends who can play poker or want to learn, and you don’t have to prepare as many different kinds of tables. But you still want your poker night to be one that’s remembered, so here are a few poker party ideas to make your poker party the talk of the town.
What to Do First
In order to have a good poker party, there are a few things you need to take care of first. Settle on a budget and stick to it like the intelligent players at https://gamblingca.net/poker. Decide on your guest list before you start planning food and materials, as these will depend on how many guests you have. Consider whether you would like to hire a professional dealer, or do it yourselves. Then get on to the fun poker party ideas!
Materials and Decoration
When it comes to decorations, you can go as big or as small as you like. Having a proper poker table would be great, but you can just decorate a regular table with green felt. You also need to make sure you have enough decks of cards and chips for all the players – at least 35 chips per player. Even if you are playing for real money, poker chips just make it more fun. If you want to go all out, a few poker night party ideas for decorations include a fake money bunting, containers made out of cards (in fact you can stick cards on almost anything), decorating your doors like cards (with paper cutouts) and poker chip coasters.
Refreshments
Different people will have different ideas for the perfect drink for poker night, so you should have a few options. Classic cocktails like the martini is a must, as well as beer and perhaps some spirits for those who want to emulate an underground mafia poker evening. If you want great poker party ideas for drinks, look up casino themed cocktails.
When it comes to food, decide on what style you want your poker night to be – you might want to go for classy canapes, chips ‘n dips, or go all out with red, white and black themed snacks. It’s a good idea to stick to finger food so guests can snack while they play. Also avoid greasy or messy food that will mess up your cards. Stagger the food, perhaps bringing out a new dish or dishes every hour or so so your guests stay satisfied and to keep the excitement going.
Games
You could keep it simple with a traditional poker night, or you could have a few other options for your guests, such as Texas Hold ‘Em, Omaha, 7 Card Studd or Razz. There are actually many different kinds of poker games to choose from, or you offer as a choice for your guests. If you decide to stick with Texas Hold ‘Em, you could do really fun things with decorations and food with a cowboy theme. Some great Texas Hold ‘Em poker night party ideas are hosting it as a barbecue, decorating your venue like a saloon, Western bandannas as napkins and a yellow rose of Texas silk flower for the ladies’ place settings.
Keep It Fun
We hope that we have given you enough poker night party ideas to get the creative juices flowing in your head. Remember to lay down some ground rules before your guests start playing, to avoid petty fights. Also prepare an activity, such as a table where losers can play together, to keep guests occupied even when they are out of the game. Keep buy-ins low if you are losing money. This is a night to have fun and you don’t want to start any feuds, and some of your guests will not have fun if the stakes are too high. Now go out there and plan the best poker party ever!
Poker night? We’re all in. Check out our pointers for planning one.
Invitations
Get started by sending an Evite invitation, like the free “Who’s In?” cards-themed invitation below or a premium “Ante Up” poker night invitation. Check out our game night invitation gallery for more designs.
Decorations
It’s easy to find a home poker kit that includes cards, nice chips and a good playing surface. But if you don’t have one of these fancy kits, take a trip to a fabric store and get a big swatch of green felt to put over your tabletop.
It’s important to make sure you have enough poker chips for all of your guests. You probably can’t get by with less than 35 chips per person — most experts suggest more like 50 to 100 per head. If you don’t mind a mish-mash, ask your guests to bring some extra chips of their own. If you’re playing Texas Hold ‘Em, make sure you have a special chip set aside for the button.
To round out the theme, pick up some casino-themed napkins and plates decorated with images of dice, cards or dollar signs from a party store.
Attire
Even if you’re not playing for high stakes, you can still dress the part. Asking guests to come in suits and ties or cocktail dresses makes a simple get-together seem like an event.
Casino Poker Party Ideas Games
You can also go casual and ironic by getting cheap costume armbands and green plastic dealer visors — poker doesn’t have to be super serious.
Playing with some card sharks? If they arrive wearing shirts with billowy sleeves, make sure they roll them up when you play so they can’t hide cards in them.
Variants
Texas Hold ‘Em is all the rage, but you can have a great card party with other poker variations: five-card draw, seven-card stud, hi/lo, baseball poker and other make-up-your-own-rules games.
The most important thing when playing poker is to be familiar with the winning hands. Here they are from high to low:
- Royal flush
- Straight flush
- Four of a kind
- Full house
- Flush
- Straight
- Three of a kind
- Two pair
- One pair
Casino Poker Party Ideas Party
Too confusing? Just remember that a full house flushes a straight.
Food
Get a pizza delivered for quick sustenance that minimizes card-playing down time. Or put together a simple spread of appetizers. Make your own or get a big box of warm-in-the-oven hors d’oeurves at a warehouse club store. Just keep the food away from the playing table.
Casino Poker Party Ideas Finger Foods
Drinks
If you’re playing poker, you might be thinking martinis are in order. Martinis will make your party upscale for sure (but they do call to mind James Bond, and his game was baccarat). If you’re going to go for some straight liquor, grab a bottle of single-malt scotch. Or, to mix cards and cocktails, consider the classy, old-fashioned cocktail called the Sidecar.
Sidecar
- 2 parts Cognac
- 1 part triple sec
- 1 part freshly squeezed lemon juice
Pour all ingredients into a cocktail shaker. Add ice. Shake, then strain into a chilled highball glass.
There are many who say that serious cards need to be played without the hazy influence of booze. So for a non-alcoholic alternative, grab some carbonated soda water and mix it up with some Italian syrup.