Say “Black Friday” to almost any poker player, and they’ll immediately think of April 15, 2011, the day the DOJ shut down PokerStars, Full Tilt, and Absolute Poker, and changed the American online poker landscape forever.
But that other Black Friday, the original one that signifies the biggest retail shopping day of the year on the day after Thanksgiving, can strike almost equal fear into the hearts of many, as you wrestle with what to get your poker-loving cohabitants of Planet Earth.
Yup, the gift-giving season is on the horizon, which means it’s time to figure out what the heck to buy a poker player.
As you probably know, poker players are picky. Every flaw an online poker site or land-based poker room has will be complained about ad nauseam on poker forums.
Poker players are hard to please, so you’re going to have your work cut out for you when holiday shopping. The good news is, they aren’t impossible to please.
There are certain gadgets that will make the pickiest poker player happy, or just any poker player. When you’re planning to shop for a poker fan this holiday season, consider these incredible gift ideas (and no, we haven’t linked any of them, because we’re pretty sure you know how to use the “copy/paste/search” function in your tool bar).
Old Las Vegas Casino Poker Chips
Many poker players collect items from casinos around the world, so where better than Las Vegas? If you search eBay, Amazon, Craigslist, et al, you will find people selling poker chips from demolished Las Vegas casinos and older poker chip versions from active casinos such as Bellagio, Venetian, and Mirage.
Some of these chips can be quite expensive, but if you truly do love that special poker player in your life, what’s money got to do with it?
The Embody Chair
Playing eight hours of poker online each day can be hard on the body. That’s why every online poker player needs a comfortable chair.
The Embody chair from Herman Miller is, without question, the perfect desk chair. The Embody was designed to replicate the human spine and can be adjusted to match your gift recipient’s body. The only downside is the cost (approximately $1,100) but, again, love matters more than money.
Dell UltraSharp U3011 30” Monitor
This is an example of a high-quality monitor that works perfectly for those that multi-table. The screen quality is phenomenal and the screen size is just right even if you play 12 games at a time.
Again, the price isn’t cheap (approximately $1,000), but the features are exactly what any multi-tabling poker player needs.
Vegas Vacation
Want to truly make your favorite poker player happy this holiday season? Send them on a paid vacation to Sin City. There isn’t a better place to play poker in the world than Las Vegas.
You can book affordable travel through airlines such as Allegiant, Frontier Airlines, and Spirit. If you book a Strip hotel, such as Excalibur or Luxor, for travel Sunday through Thursday, you will likely get great deals. If you’re really good friends, you could even book nightclub table service for one night, although let’s be honest: most poker players would rather be sitting at the felt than in a smokey nightclub anyway.
iPad Pro (32 GB)
Times have changed. You don’t need a computer to play poker online. This is convenient for a poker player on the go.
The Apple iPad Pro (32 GB memory) is just what the poker doctor ordered. With a 12.9-inch screen, you don’t need 20/20 vision to see the screen when playing poker, but it’s not so big that it becomes a hassle to carry around.
Poker players aren’t easy to please, but if you ship one of these gifts, you won’t hear any complaints this holiday season, we promise you.
