Go all in for your guests this fall!
Hosting a Poker Party can be a great way to share your creativity, hospitality and poker face all in one night! Of course, in Texas, the best kind of poker party to host is clearly a Texas Hold’Em Party. There are a few things you’ll need to know before you deal the cards, so we’ve come up with some suggestions to make your Texas Hold’Em party rival the prestige of the World Series of Poker (or close to it, anyway).
First, there must be food. An easy item to offer would be logo cookies from Texas Treats, emblazoned with a simple heart, spade, diamond and club. As for the main dishes, we’ll let you come up with the recipes, but here are some poker-themed names for food that might inspire the hidden chef in you!
- Full House 5-Layer Dip
- Ace High Straight Chicken kabobs
- Two Pair Pear and Cheese Plate
- All-In Chili
- Check Raise Cornbread
- Fold and Hold Tacos
- Big Slick Chocolate Cake Balls
- Pocket Pair Pizza Bites
- Bad Beat Banana Pudding
Once you’ve decided on the food choices for the evening, you’ll want to find the perfect décor to set the mood. Here are some easy poker-friendly decoration suggestions:
- Use red and black plates, napkins, utensils and tablecloths. Easy to clean and they match perfectly with the color of the cards!
- Create over-sized cards to display on the door and on the walls of your home.
- Take one set of chips and pull out a color that will not be used in playing, then scatter them among the food as an easy, festive and colorful addition to your serving table.
- Pre-make nametags with silly poker-specific nicknames on them for your guests (for example, “All-In Allison”, “Folding Frank”, “Raising Rebecca”, etc).
- If you’ve got little ones coming to the party, consider getting a Texas coloring book to help keep them entertained!
Finally, here are some things you should remember about setup and game play:
- You will need to pick a location that has enough space. Texas Hold’em is best played at tables of 6-9 people, so you’ll want plenty of room for plenty of friends! It would be wonderful if you had a fancy tabletop for each poker table, but in the end, a simple tablecloth that will help keep the chips from sliding will do just fine.
- Each table needs it own deck of cards, dealer button and multi-colored betting chips. To make your party Texas-worthy, why not try getting some cards from Texas Treats. We’ve got a great selection of designs including the Texas flag, the State Seal, a Texas Collage, a Texas map, and even some honoring Texas Hero Davy Crockett.
- Tournament Style is best played with 15-20 minute blinds, but whatever time you choose, agree on it before-hand and make sure everyone knows who’s announcing the blind raises, and who’s in charge of the official timer.
- If playing tournament style, consider having simple prizes for those who go all-in first and lose, those who have a bad beat (full house beat by four of a kind), and, of course, those who make the “final table”. You might also consider having a place for a “2nd chance table” for those who get out of the tournament early. Some ideas for gifts of this kind could include: a deck of cards, a set of Texas Coasters, or a “First Out” food gift.
- Depending on how serious your crowd is, you might want to consider printing out a copy of the rules (we’ve found one here that should work well).
Finally, have fun. Getting together in Texas is all about good friendship and good food. Throw in some friendly competition and you’ve got a recipe for a great event!
Texas Treats 