Poker Night Food
- When it comes to food for poker night, it’s easy to fall into the trap of serving the usual salty, fatty, or sugary fare that ends up on the table. In most cases, most people won’t mind.
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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.
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
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.
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.
Poker Night Foods
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.
Guys Poker Night Food Ideas
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.
Other Items You Might be Interested In
Poker night is more than just a night of playing card games. We all know that it’s a night of fun with the boys and girls while sharing delicious food and drinks.
When it comes to food for poker night, it’s easy to fall into the trap of serving the usual salty, fatty, or sugary fare that ends up on the table.
In most cases, most people won’t mind. However, if you want to have that one poker night to remember or become the undisputed “best poker night host”, you’d better upgrade your poker game night snacks.
Lucky for you, we are here to help.
Food for Poker Night Recipes
We have scoured the internet for the best game night snack ideas so you don’t have to. Don’t worry these recipes won’t require the skills of a gourmet chef since they’re relatively easy to prepare. However, you can trust that they’re downright delicious.
Without further ado…
Philly Cheesesteak Nachos (Prep Time: 20 mins.)
When it comes to poker game snacks, it’s hard to go wrong with serving nachos. Upgrade the traditional nachos by combining it with a fan-favorite sandwich, the Philly Cheesesteak.
Check out this bound-to-be-favorite nacho recipe from All Recipes:
Ingredients:
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1/2 large onion, diced
- 1/2 pound shaved rib-eye, chopped
- 1 (18 ounce) package restaurant-style tortilla chips
- 1 (8 fl. oz.) jar processed cheese spread (such as Kraft® Cheez Whiz®)
- 2 fresh jalapeno peppers, sliced
Directions:
- Heat olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add onion; cook and stir until softened, 5 to 10 minutes. Transfer to a bowl. Cook rib-eye in the same skillet, stirring occasionally, until browned and juices have evaporated, 5 to 10 minutes. Stir onion back into the skillet.
- Place a handful of tortilla chips on each plate. Spoon rib-eye and onion mixture over chips; top with cheese spread and jalapeno slices.
If jalapenos are not available, you can use pickled jalapenos as a substitute.
Chicago Italian Beef Sandwich (Prep and Cook Time: 3 hrs. 40 mins.)
If you want to serve something with more bite, this recipe for the Chicago Italian Beef Sandwich from none other than Guy Fieri of The Food Network fame should get the job done.
Be sure to start preparing and cooking earlier because this recipe takes a lot of time.
Poker Game Night Food
Ingredients:
- 4 pounds, top round with fat cap
- 3 tablespoons Italian seasoning
- 2 tablespoons salt
- 2 tablespoons fresh cracked black pepper
- 1 teaspoon cayenne
- 1 tablespoon paprika
- 1 teaspoon red chili flakes
- 3 tablespoons bacon fat, or canola oil
- 3 yellow onions, chopped
- 1 cup garlic, whole cloves
- 1/2 cup red wine
- 3 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
- 1 cup beef stock
- 2 bay leaves
- 6 sourdough baguette rolls halved, toasted
- 1 cup chopped giardiniera vinaigrette vegetables
- 1 cup jarred red sweet peppers
Directions:
- Rub meat with dry ingredients, cover and refrigerate for 2 to 3 hours.
- Preheat oven to 275 degrees F.
- Add meat to a roasting pan with bacon fat, add onions and garlic, sauté for 15 minutes, deglaze with wine, and add Worcestershire sauce, beef stock, and bay leaves.
- Place roasting pan in the oven and cook for 3 hours, uncovered, or until an instant-read thermometer registers 135 degrees F in the center. Remove, let cool, then slice very thin.
- Cool broth in roasting pan and remove the fat that rises to the top. Strain.
- Reheat the broth, and add the sliced meat. Place some meat on each toasted roll, ladle with some broth and top with giardiniera vegetables and red peppers.
Slow Cooker Ranch Chicken Tacos (Prep and Cook Time: 4 hrs. 15 mins.)
This is not the tacos that we all know and love. Instead of the ever-familiar salsa, we will be using ranch.
This recipe from Who Needs a Cape is guaranteed to be a hit with your poker buddies.
Ingredients:
- 3-4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
- ½ cup water
- 2 tablespoons taco seasoning (or 1 packet of taco seasoning)
- 1 packet of ranch seasoning
- 8-10 small taco-sized flour tortillas
- ranch dressing, to taste
- 2-3 cups of cole slaw, without sauce
- ½ red onion, thinly sliced
- ¼ cup cilantro leaves, roughly chopped
- Optional: shredded cheese, diced avocado, diced tomato
Instructions:
- Place chicken breasts in slow cooker. Pour in water, then sprinkle chicken with taco seasoning and ranch seasoning. Cover and cook on high for 3-4 hours or on low for 6-7 hours.
- About 20 minutes before serving, use a slotted spoon to transfer chicken to a bowl, shred with 2 forks, then return to slow cooker and stir.
- When ready to serve, fill tortillas with shredded chicken, then drizzle with ranch dressing.
- Top with slaw, red onions, cilantro, and any additional desired toppings such as shredded cheese, avocado, or tomatoes. Serve immediately.
Feeling Hungry Yet?
All of these poker snacks are guaranteed to be delicious and will make your guests ask for more. These foods for poker night recipes are very easy to prepare and cook, and the ingredients are all easy to get.
What do you think of these recipes? Do you have a favorite poker night snack recipe? Feel free to share in the comments!
Poker Night Food Recipes
For more fun articles and tips about card games, visit CardGameInfo for a great collection of card game blogs.