The 10 Perfect Gift Ideas For a Poker Player in 2023

If you have someone from loved ones who is a poker player or would enjoy this new hobby, then you have come to the right place. As a poker player, I know exactly what someone interested in poker would like to have. With my selection of perfect poker gifts, your loved one will keep you in dear memory for many years.

Great gift ideas for a poker player in 2023 are a book named Theory of Poker, a poker chips set, a subscription to a quality poker training site, and a poker table-top.

These are great gifts, but there are more to choose from depending on what kind of poker player you are buying the gift for.

I would enjoy getting something that is of great use to me. I have read many poker books, so buying a book for me would not be ideal as I have most likely read it already. But it could be an excellent gift for someone who doesn’t have ten years of experience playing poker professionally. Just keep that in mind when choosing the right gift.

I have divided the gifts into the following categories:

  • Best Overall: Fat Cat Clay Poker Chip Set – You can’t go wrong with a good poker chip set. Perfect for home games.
  • Best Poker Playing Cards: KEM Arrow playing cards – There is no playing poker without them.
  • Best Book: The Theory of Poker by David Sklansky – Perfect for newcomers to poker. Good to turn your hobby into a profitable side income gig.
  • Best Poker Training Site: Upswing Poker – Great for serious players who want not just to win at poker but win big.
  • Best Card Shuffler: Trademark Poker Card Shuffler – Great gift for someone who is hosting home poker games with buddies. No more manually shuffling cards. A great combination with poker playing cards (both together will still fit into low shopping budgets)
  • Best Table Top: Smartxchoices 48” Poker Table Top – Take home games to the next level even if you don’t have space for a poker table.
  • Best (Affordable) Poker Table: Barrington Collection Poker Table – Plenty of options to chose from. From simple and cheaper options to high-quality massive tables.
The list of gift ideas for a poker player
Need to buy a gift for a poker player? I am a poker player myself and can give you first hand advice on which gifts a poker player will like.

Note that these are not the most expensive gift ideas in each category. They are simply what I believe is the best fit for a gift.

In a hurry? Here is the quick comparison table with prices on Amazon:

Best Gift Idea Overall: Fat Cat Clay Poker Chip Set

Poker chip sets are a classic gift for a poker player. You can’t go wrong buying this one as it comes to good use to anyone playing poker.

You could host a home game without money or chips, but the real authentic feeling of playing poker comes with poker chips. Hearing everybody at the table playing with their stack of poker chips and throwing them in the middle of the table when going all-in can’t be compared to holding some screws in your hand as a substitute for chips.

Fat Cat Clay Poker Chip Set is the best when it comes to value vs. price comparison. It comes with 500 striped clay poker chips, along with 2 decks of cards. The dealer, small blind, and the big blind buttons are also included, to give you the real feel of a poker game.

Five hundred chips included are enough to have a home game with up to 9 players. You can’t expect top-notch quality for the price, but they are still very decent and, most importantly, very affordable for a gift given their low price. Despite the reasonably low price, it comes in a nice aluminum case, so don’t fear that your present will look cheap.

If you want to get something more splurge-worthy, then you can go with this Laurel Crown Ceramic Poker Chips Set (500 poker chips). Chips are made of ceramic and clearly showing its top-notch quality.

If it is still hard for you to choose, then read this article where I review many different poker chip sets.

Best Poker Playing Cards: KEM Arrow playing cards

If poker chips are as a football goal crossbar to American football, then playing cards are the football itself. There is no playing poker if you don’t have playing cards unless you play online with friends.

These KEM Arrow Pack of Red and Blue poker cards is considered to be of top quality. The cards are made of special plastic, which makes them very flexible and durable. This means they won’t scuff and break easily and will last longer than cheaper playing cards.

If you want to go for a budget pick, but still of good quality, then Bicycle poker cards are the right pick. With a very affordable price, you will get 4 decks, which will be enough for many nights of poker.

If you cannot choose which playing cards to get, read the detailed review of the best poker playing cards.

Best Book: The Theory of Poker by David Sklansky

The Theory of Poker is a classic poker book and a must read for anyone that is new to poker or just needs some refreshment of winning fundamentals. This book aged really well, and many of the strategies are still enough to be a winner in nowadays more competitive games.

On top of all the strategies, it also contains the rules of playing many different poker games. With around 300 pages of solid advice, it is excellent for anyone interested in poker.

It is no surprise that this book made it on our list of best poker books that any poker player should read to win more games.

Best Poker Training Site: Upswing Poker

This one is not for everyone. Not everyone wants to make big money from playing poker. Either because of lack of time, or they just don’t want to take it seriously as a profession or side income. And that is totally ok. But if your friend is or wants to be a successful poker player, then joining a poker training site is a must.

With hundreds of videos, many strategic articles, and even specialized courses for almost any poker format, Upswing poker is leading the pack among the best poker training sites.

The most common and popular is their Upswing Lab, which costs $99/month, suitable for anyone who wants to take poker seriously. Or you can purchase their Postflop Gameplan, their mini 45-minute course, for only $7.

Best Card Shuffler: Trademark Poker Card Shuffler

Card shufflers don’t need to be expensive to do their job well. In fact, this one is so cheap that you almost need to buy a pack of cards with it, which would make it even a better gift.

It has the capacity for 6 decks, so you can be assured the downtime between playing and dealing will be drastically minimized.

Cheap card shufflers like this one are not suitable if you want to create a casino like atmosphere, but they are perfect for home games with friends.

You probably don’t know, but there are 2 different sizes of playing cards. And this card shuffler accepts both sizes (standard poker size and bridge-sized cards).

If you want to splurge out, then Relaxdays Electric Shuffler is the correct pick. Despite its name, it still requires batteries, but other than that, it is of high quality. Unlike the cheaper look of Trademark Poker Card Shuffler, Relaxdays Shuffler has an elegant leather look, which not only makes it more stylish but also gives more of a casino feeling.

Still unsure which to get? Check my detailed review of the best card shufflers.

Best Table Top: Smartxchoices 48” Poker Table Top

Smartxchoices 48” is not just a poker table top. It comes in a bundle together with 500 Poker Chip Set. So it truly is a complete package for home games.

Table top accommodates up to 8 players, and 50 0chips is enough to spread them around nicely to each player. On top of that, you will receive 2 decks of cards, a set of dices, dealer small blind, and big blind buttons. Table top has convenient cup holders and a special tray for poker chips. It is also foldable, which makes it easy to transport to a friend’s house.

Best (Affordable) Poker Table

I have said it many times; you don’t need a top-notch table top to create a great poker night at your house. A simple bundle of a table top and poker chip set is enough to have fun.

If you still want to get something more luxurious, then you are already in the real poker tables territory. Especially popular is the Barrington Collection Poker Table.

It doesn’t take too much space as it is foldable. But because it is not just a poker table top, but a real poker table, it comes with a price. This one accommodates up to 10 players and has nice padded rails. It is more something like men and not boys would use, for the Saturday poker nights with buddies.

If you are by any chance interested in the best poker gear including the monitors, then I have an article with just the right information.

Conclusion

Now you have some great ideas about which gift to buy for a poker player. Just remember, you can also buy something that is not poker related at all; we poker players are still human beings, and like things that have nothing to do with poker also :).