While your local casinos may or may not be open, and the online tables will be busy if you're based somewhere you can access them, many poker players spend some time away from the game over the holiday season.
For many of us, there’s simply too much going on to get a game in. Family, kids, food, church, trips to the in-laws, nights out with the outlaws… Routines get broken and time gets filled, and let’s be honest we can all use a break sometimes.
Or maybe not? If you find yourself stacking Pringles in piles of exactly 20, or reaching for the hoodie and sunglasses when your 9-year-old niece challenges you to a ‘friendly’ game of Scrabble, then maybe you’re Jonesing for a game of poker more than you think.
If that sounds like you, here are 6 ways to keep your head in the game, even when the only cards you can see around you are Christmas cards.
Watch a documentary series: Chase The Dream
Poker documentaries can be fascinating, but also problematic. As we’ve discussed in the past, the fact that most poker docs are funded by, or produced in association with, major poker brands can sometimes make them feel less like fly-on-the-wall representations of reality, and more like promotional videos.
Then, when stories arise such as the recent controversy over the use of AI to put words in people’s mouths, it’s easy to wonder whether anything you’re watching is real.
That’s part of what makes Chase The Dream so appealing. Not only is it presented by RecPoker — a group of poker fans with a well known love of the game (and unaffiliated with major poker brands) — but it documents the real experience of everyday poker players.
Watching super high rollers play for millions is undeniably exciting, but it’s not a relatable experience for the vast majority of players out there. Watching the likes of Jim Reid, Jay Carrafiello, Brett Kimes, Craig Savage, Mikha Richards and Dayanna Ciabaton and Rob Gardner take it to the streets, on the other hand, is an experience that will ring true for many of us.
Season 2 started just a couple of months ago. Go check it on YouTube now.
Read a novel: Shut Up and Deal
Jesse May, a former poker pro and commentator, published his debut novel in 1998 and it became an instant classic.
Set — obviously — in the pre-poker boom era, the world of limit hold’em grinders in Atlantic City may not be so relatable to today’s NLHE generation watching million dollar pots live on stream. But the depiction of a lifestyle filled with downswings, upswings, shady characters and, above all else, the burning desire to stay in action will surely resonate with many poker devotees.
Told with wit, style and flair, Shut Up and Deal excels at evoking a time and a place, but most importantly a feeling.
It’s the perfect holiday read, go get it now.
Watch a movie: California Split
While we’re talking about non-hold’em stories worth knowing about, if you haven’t seen Robert Altman’s 1974 classic California Split then you’re missing out on one of the best poker movies ever made.
While it’s undeniably a Hollywood production — Steven Spielberg even worked on the original script — there’s something true and raw about the depiction of the lives and adventures of the film’s two protagonists (played to perfection by Elliot Gould and George Segal). They’re grinders, probably before grinders was a word, always on the lookout for the next game — even when it features the likes of Amarillo Slim, who plays himself.
There’s no hold’em here — draw poker is the name of the game — and no glory. Just a never-ending chase for action.
Availability will vary depending on where you’re based, but California Split is available in the US at Apple TV and Amazon Prime Video.
Listen to a podcast: Thinking Poker
With a new episode every two weeks, this podcast from Andrew Brokos and Carlos Welch invites some of the biggest names in the game to share their personal stories, strategy and more, in episodes that generally range from 60-90 minutes.
Guests throughout 2025 have included the likes of high roller Sam Greenwood, WPT Prime Championship winner Zak VanKeuren, strategy authors Alex Fitzgerald and Matt Matros, mixed game specialist Chris Vitch, and Irish Poker Open co-owner Paul O’Reilly.
Bottom line: If you enjoy thinking poker, you’ll enjoy Thinking Poker.
Play a different game: Balatro
We’ve already shared our love of Balatro, but for those not in the know it’s a single-player videogame based around making poker hands to score points. So far, so pedestrian, but things start to get weird once you add jokers and upgrades into the mix.
We don’t mean traditional jokers, but special cards which alter the gameplay in specific ways, such as being able to form straights with just four cards, flushes with any red/black cards, or gaining bonus multipliers every time you play an 8.
And as far as upgrades go, you can power up certain hands so, for example, a high card is worth more than a full house, or alter the deck so you turn deuces into kings, hearts into spades, and so on.
It’s endlessly replayable and available on console, PC, iOS and Android, so there’s no excuse not to give it a try. Once you get addicted and start missing meals, meetings and meet-ups… that’s when you’ll need the excuses.
Learn more here.
Watch some classics: PokerGO
Yep, it’s behind a paywall, but PokerGO has enough quality poker video content to see you right through the 12 days of Christmas without coming up for air.
Right now there’s every WSOP for the past 15 years — and not just the Main Event — as well as cash games from High Stakes Poker to No Gamble, No Future and even Poker After Dark episodes from the glory days of 2007.
Documentaries, podcasts and more make this a great option for bingeing poker content, whatever you’re into (and a subscription also makes a good gift for other poker lovers in your life — or just yourself).
Plus, with a ton of content available for free on the PokerGO YouTube channel, free is also an option.
Find out more at PokerGO.
