The first part of my article 50 Poker Gifts Under $50 listed 10
great poker books that would make awesome presents for any poker
player. This is part 2 of that article, and it lists 10 DVD's that
would make great gifts. Some of them are just for fun, some of them
are educational, but all of them will please that special poker
player in your life.
1 & 2. World Poker Tour Season One and World Poker
Tour Season Two
There are a lot of DVD's available with World Poker Tour in the
title, but the boxed sets with 8 DVD's are the best value as far as
I'm concerned. I LOVE Mike Sexton's commentary during each episode,
because he gets so excited about what's going on. And the variety of
players you get to see each season makes these even more fun. You
can pick these up for less than $40 each at Amazon. (Actually,
Season One is more expensive than Season Two, but they average out
if you buy both of them. So I'm cheating a little bit by listing
them as poker gifts under $50.)
Hosted by Mike Sexton and Vince
Van Patten, with spokesmodel Shana Hiatt. Features some of the
following players: Hoyt Corkins, Phil "the Unabomber" Laak, Chris
Moneymaker, T.J. Cloutier, and a whole lot more.
3. Ultimate
Poker Challenge Season One
More televised poker greatness. This entire series was filmed at
the Plaza Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas, and the DVD features all 26
episodes of the first season. Features beautiful spokesmodel and
hostesss Brandi Williams, and players like Jennifer Harmon, Erik
Seidel, and Chris Ferguson, among others.
4. 2003 World Series
of Poker
2 disks with 7 episodes of the ESPN World Series of Poker
broadcast from 2003. Features players like Phil Hellmuth, Dan
Harrington, Doyle Brunson, and of course, Chris Moneymaker.
5.
Poker Superstars Invitational Tournament - Series 1
This was a 12 week show which featured the same 8 players each
week. The thing about this show was that the 8 players are arguably
the best poker players in the world. The players featured on this
DVD include: Gus Hansen, Doyle Brunson, Chip Reese, Barry
Greenstein, T.J. Cloutier, Howard Lederer, Phil Ivey, and Johnny
Chan. (Michael Konik, author of The Man with the $100,000 Breasts
is one of the commentators too.)
6. Rounders
This movie is considered the classic film about poker players.
Matt Damon and Ed Norton give tremendous performances, and it's
well-directed. Some of the actual poker stuff is silly, like the
scene where Damon bluffs Johnny Chan in Vegas, but it's a good
story. And John Malkovich is a delicious villain, even though his
poker tell is just plain silly.
7. High Roller - The Stu Ungar
Story
I don't think Michael Imperioli looks a thing like Stu Ungar, but
it's a great little film. Ungar was one of the youngest players to
ever win the World Series of Poker, and he was a three-time
champion. This was also one of the late great Pat Morita's last
films too. Definitely worth watching.
8 & 9. Phill Hellmuth's
Million Dollar Poker System and Phil Hellmuth's Million
Dollar Secrets to Bluffing and Tells
I've always thought that Phil's poker book and his videos were
excellent for the beginning player. A lot of intermediate and
advanced players scorn Phil's stuff, but again, for new players,
this is great stuff. He has a way of making the game of poker easy
to understand.
10. Howard Lederer's Secrets of No Limit Holdem
Another instructional video. I think that Lederer is one of the
smartest professional poker players out there today, and his
instructional videos isn't exactly exciting, but it IS full of
practical, solid advice for new no limit holdem players. And he
explains things in a non-threatening style, with plenty of examples
that are played out on the DVD.
This page was last updated on
January 5, 2006
