Last night I participated in my first poker tournament in quite a while. The last time I played a game of serious poker - for money - was in Lake Tahoe a few years back when I was with a friend and a bunch of his friends. We stayed up into the wee hours of the morning playing back then and I thought it was hilarious because I was robbing them blind. Even though I'd never played before.
When Alan was my roommate, he and I used to gang up on tables in online poker - though it was always with fake money. Last night, Alan hosted a poker event at his place. Most of these guys are serious players, they know all the nicknames, how to split the pots, time limits for each round, etc. Me? I was just trying to remember how to deal every once in a while. I figured they'd spit me up and chew me out within a few minutes and I'd lose my $15 buy-in but maybe could learn a few tricks. I really don't like losing my money, but I figured it would be in the name of socializing, which is always a good thing.
Four hours later, things were different. I walked out of his house with $220 in cash, taking the boys to town in each of the rounds. I had enough good hands to make them buy the bluffs and I outright bought the pot several times with that strategem. I was king on that night, though I know next time I'll probably get skunked.
Of course, I'm so cheap that I still walked home that night, despite the fact that it was about 10 degrees outside and the cab ride would've cost me, at most, $5. Refer to the fabric softener and yogurt case studies for more evidence of that :o) !!
J. Riley
