Holdem poker is taking the country by storm as one of the most fun means of entertainment. It’s not a fad, but more of an awareness of a great way to have some fun.

While there’s a ton of instructional info on the web to give you all the strategies and tips for playing your best, I’d like to focus on ways of getting the most fun out of playing holdem at home. 

Our perspective is that holdem is simply fun to play.  We’re not doing it as a means of income, but we’re playing for entertainment purposes.  The competitive aspects of friendly poker are no different than you’d find in your weekend golf or tennis game.

It’s simply nothing more than having a great time with friends or family at home.  So, let’s look at some of the things that can make it even more fun.

Create The Atmosphere…

The first way to enhance our fun is to create the proper atmosphere.  No, we’re not going to build a room that will hold the World Series of Poker or the World Poker Tour.  But, without a lot of trouble and not too much expense, we can create our own poker room environment.

Before we begin, I’ll state the obvious and suggest you get some high quality poker chips.  Personally, I prefer medium heavy, clay poker chips.  They’re more fun to play with, add to the game, and you can do all the neat chip riffles you see on TV that don’t work with cheap, plastic chips. Plus, they’re just cool.

Next, consider getting a poker table. While the dining room table may work, you can add greatly to your game by having a genuine holdem poker table.  They come in all price ranges.  You can get an inexpensive table-top that you simply put on top of whatever table you’re using.  They have the look of a real table but at a fraction of the cost.

But, if you’re really into your poker and can justify the cost, there’s some beautiful looking poker tables that are a genuine piece of furniture.  They are not only the best way to play, but they can be quite striking as furniture in a recreation room.

Now, if you’ve got a very nice table, how about adding a neat light above it?  One that’s tailor made for playing cards.  All kinds of choices from Tiffany lamps to poker lamps.

If you’re going to go all out for your game room, here’s a few ideas that really add that special touch.

-Jukebox

-Popcorn machine

-Dart game

-Electronic dart game

-Pinball machine

-Foosball

-Posters of poker champions or your favorite players

-Poker wall art

Neat Accessories…

If you want to dress up your game without spending a lot of money, here’s a few more ideas.

How about poker buttons to help the beginners?  You can get a set of buttons which include the dealer button and one for the small and big blind.  It can help remind beginners when they have to ante up and where the play begins.

Shoes for dealing cards and card shufflers are also inexpensive, but functional items as well.  Or how about a deck of World Poker Tour playing cards.  It’ll give you that “official” look.

You also might want to consider a chip case.  Or get the entire chip set including a classy aluminum or wood case.  If you have large games, you can buy packages that have as many chips as you’ll need.  How many chips are needed is covered in another article or you can do a web search.

So, these are just a few ideas to help you have the absolute most fun from playing poker with your friends.  Factor in the enjoyment factor and how much you’re willing to spend, then decide which of these ideas fit best into your entertainment plans.

Note:

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Copyright 2005 Expert Infoproducts LLC.  All Rights Reserved.

Dave Cushion is a professional web publisher and avid holdem poker player offering advice on poker equipment including poker chips, tables and other accessories.  Discover the unique poker site http://www.poker-chips-central.com and find more ways to have fun playing poker.