Texas is poker country! Haven’t you heard of Texas Hold ‘Em, one of the most renowned poker games in the word? Why do you think a fun poker game is named after this cowboy state? It’s because poker is a favorite activity for guys in Dallas and in the whole of Texas. It is a set Tuesday, Thursday, or even Saturday guy night. In fact, it is so important that most guys prefer that their wives have a night on the town, or a full day of shopping, providing they offer no objection to the “Guy Poker Night.” But if it’s your turn to host that great poker night then you need to follow a few tips, just to make sure you offer that fun poker atmosphere.
1. The Rules
Remember those football or basketball games, where someone calls a foul and someone else argues that it wasn’t possible. Suddenly, watching or participating in the game just isn’t all that much fun (the dickering gets to be too loud, lasts too long, and everyone stops enjoying the game). To keep this from happening at your poker game, keep the standard poker and house rules available at all times. Rules need to be set at the beginning of the evening and all players need to agree to these rules, whether they are standard, Dallas poker rules, or your own set rules, everyone needs to know of them from the outset.
2. Be Nice
You need to respect all of your guests, and by the same token they need to respect you; not a problem for a long standing poker group, but it can be a slight issue in the beginning with a new group of players. Players should not expect you to be a personal bartender. Ask players that drink to B.Y.O.B. and to clean up after themselves when the game ends.
3. The Right Chips
If you plan on being the host, you must have a case of quality poker chips. These can be purchased at most of the poker specialty shops around the Dallas area, or even online. These are quality chips that look much like the casino-like chips. Quality made chips have a dollar value assigned to them and these are printed on the chip.
4. Offer Great Finger Food
You may not want to offer the booze, as this can be expensive, but food is a great idea. You can offer pizza, chips, barbeque wings, sliders, etc. Just one thing though! You don’t want to have players eating at the poker table. That just gets the cards and chips greasy and means you have a harder cleanup time. Designate a ‘break time’ for snacks or eating. Otherwise leave the food out.
5. Make Room for a Poker Table
Although Dallas aficionados can play poker anywhere, having a great poker table to play on makes the experience even more tantalizing. You can use a regular fold out card table, your dining table or better yet, a dual purpose pool/poker table. Whatever you choose, just make sure the table has enough leg and elbow room to seat all of your friends at. If you have lots of junk lying around, this can make it uncomfortable for regular poker players, so you should reorganize, place clutter in other rooms or better yet, get one of the good storage units in Dallas TX, to put all the extra non-poker stuff in – at least for the time you will be hosting the guys poker night.
6. Get the Right Cards
If you’re the host, you have to have the cards. You can find a nice set of standard Hoyles or Bicycles to do the trick.
Once you have all of these items you are ready to host your next poker night. All you have to do is plan a little in advance. Remember, your friends may have other commitments too, so be sure to tell everyone well in advance of the great poker night you are hosting.
Image courtesy of Miramax, Rounders
– Written by Ashley Roberts
Guest Authors and Friends of Pinstripe Magazine, Online Mens Magazine for Gear, Girls and Gadgets.
