What Beers Should You Drink While Playing Online Poker?

Are you thinking about an upcoming online poker session? Maybe it’s a Friday night, and you want a little drink to up the ante. We have some great beer recommendations to help you enjoy the gaming and not lose your head while drinking and playing online poker.

What Makes a Beer Suitable for Online Poker?

You’ve got to think that whatever alcoholic drink you have, you don’t want it to take away from your online poker strategy. Therefore, it has to follow a few criteria. Firstly, it can’t be too strong. If you drink lots of 8% NEIPAs or DIPAs, you’ll find that you are gambling without any restraint quickly, and the high ABV will go to your head. Look for a lower percentage of beer so that you can prolong your enjoyment of both the beer and online poker without becoming drunk. The other attribute is that it can’t be too flavorful. Vault City, a Scottish brewery famed for its exceptional-tasting sours, has landed in the U.S., but while these are very tasty, they could also distract from the game.

Non-Alcoholic Options

If you want to be of sound mind and not let alcoholic drinks get the better of your poker strategy, then it would be a good idea to bring some non-alcoholic beers. In 2024, there are many options for this, as the market for 0% ABV beers has grown massively over the past 20 years. Many mainstream American breweries like Budweiser, Coors and Miller make alcohol-free beer. Although Dutch, Heineken 0.0% is a highly-rated zero-alcohol beer widely bought in the U.S. Guinness 0 is another popular choice from a mainstream brand. If you’re new to online poker or drinking (or even both), then this is a great place to start, as at least the alcohol won’t impair you from taking advantage of the best online poker for real money here so you can enjoy the taste and remain sharp!

Lower-Alcohol Volume Beers

Some people want alcoholic content in their beer instead of it being 0%. They might like that feeling of drinking but not wanting an excessive sensation. This is where beers with lower ABVs enter the fray. These are a good option for those playing online poker, as a moderate amount of alcohol can heighten the excitement while helping them keep control of their faculties. Corona has recently started selling Corona Premier at 4.0%, a beer aimed at this audience who wants a product between 0% and the average beer volume. Other breweries may follow suit and start to produce beers within this ABV range for the emerging demographic who wants a beer with alcohol, just not that much.

Sierra Nevada is one of the original American craft brewery companies and has always been able to adapt to the changing marketplace. As such, they offer two flavorful brews without excessive alcohol. Trail Pass IPA and Trail Pass Golden appeal to the craft market without excessive strength, as both beers are only 0.5%.

Mainstream Lagers

Why are lagers mainstream? Because people like them. Why do people want them? Because they are inoffensive and do the job. While craft beer connoisseurs might scoff at the idea of drinking a light beer for pleasure, there is ample market demand for simple lagers. The online poker player might not want to travel for ‘the best low-ABV’ beer. Instead, a humble Heineken, Budweiser or Coors Light will do just as well. These can usually be bought in various multipack sizes or single cans/bottles, meaning you can find the best one even if you’ve never drunk them before. If this sounds like your type of beer, exercise caution. These beers are comparatively a lot stronger than the beers above. Therefore, you can’t neck as many and feel the same; if you drink multiple beers, you should log out of the online poker platform to preserve your money.

However, if you want value for money, it could be worth looking at the grocery store’s brand lagers. These are often modestly priced and low in alcohol content, which can be ideal for online poker.