Poker

It was too wet too hike today. No snow to ski on. Not my weekend with the kids. So with nothing to do I drove down to Blackhawk to play some poker. There was a tournament starting at noon so I paid $80 and took my seat.

I Love Poker.

I knew the general rules but never really played until about 3 years ago when a change in my marital status left me with more free time than I was used to. I started playing on the internet and immediately loved it. I'm not talking about the love of an addicted gambler looking to get rich. And I don't love it so much that I fantasize about quitting my job and turning pro. (I'm lying...I fantasize about it all of the time.) I just loved that it was so simple that anyone could learn it but so complex that you could never stop learning. I loved that online I was playing with people in Germany and Russia and Argentina and Australia. I loved that when I play live, I'm playing with a commodities trader from Chicago and a farmer from South Dakota and a Mary Kay rep from Florida, and a retired golf pro from Texas and a businessman from Korea.

And I didn't just enjoy it...I started to get...I don't want to say good at it, but I became competent at it. After a few months of playing, I turned and $11 entry fee into a $12,500 package at the World Series of Poker in Las Vegas. After playing against the real pros from all over the world in Vegas, you'll understand why I won't say I'm good at it....yet.

Today I started out between a truck driver with a pony tail to his waist and a cute little Asian girl who had to show her ID to prove she was old enough to play. I was trying out a new "lucky piece". A small white stone that I brought down from the top of Mt. Bedford this month. Most poker players have little luck tokens that they place on top of their cards. I've seen dinosaurs, rubber ducks, silver dollars, pictures of kids, etc. The truck driver had a little rubber brain with his name on it. I always start slow. Betting very conservative. Watching people. I spent the first hour winning a little and losing a little. Staying even.

I love the language of poker. Bad beats, pocket rockets, runner runner, trips, suck out, rivered a flush, put em in the air, flop a monster, donkey, maniac, ducks, sucker straight, drawing dead, open end, gut shot, the nuts, rags, big slick, big blind, check the turn. You can say, "I woke up to big slick on the button but foolishly limped. The flop gave me top pair and top kicker so I pushed but the donkey in the big blind called with a gut shot and and sucked out on the river." Fun, huh!? Say that to any poker player in the world and they'll know exactly what happened. It's like talking in code for a secret society.

After two hours at the tables today I loosened up and started chatting and joking a little more. I got away with a couple of bluffs and and built my stack from 8000 to 14,000. The girl and truck driver were both busted out.

I love the life lessons from poker. Be patient. Wait for your spot and act boldly. Act confident when you are weak. Bad beats happen. Don't dwell on them and move on. You can be dealt a great hand and play it stupidly and lose. You can be dealt rotten cards but play them brilliantly and win. Luck is a factor in life and poker. (both kinds) Every day you wake up, you get two new cards to play. Have the sense to fold when you are beat and save what you can to make a comeback on the next hand. Pay attention to signs and signals and learn to read what they are telling you.

After three hours I nearly busted out. I checked from the big blind with a 4 5 to a couple of limpers. The flop came J 5 5. I checked and the first bettor bet 2,000. The next bettor (the truck drivers wife) reraised to 6,000. I figured one of them had the jack and would call if I went all in so I pushed in 30,000. The first guy folded but the woman called and turned over A 5. I was screwed and started gathering my stuff to leave. A king came on the turn and then BOOM! 4 on the river to give me the boat. I was saved and just doubled up to become chip leader. But I felt too guilty to act happy and mumbled a sorry in her direction as I stacked my chips.

Chip leader is a great position to play from because you can start building your stack by bullying people. (another instance of poker imitating life I suppose) You can play with questionable cards and push people off their hands just by betting large. Your opponent has to go all in just to call your bet that is just 20% of your own stack. So I started making big bets and stealing blinds and busting people out. I got lucky a few times when my KQ hit against AJ or when I was dealt KK and a guy pushed with 88, and by 5:00 there were only 3 of us left. We were tired and roughly equal in chips so instead of playing to the end we decided to chop the pot and split the $2,400 remaining in the prize pool.

$80 to $800 in 5 hours. To celebrate, I drove down to Denver and took Samantha and her boyfriend out to dinner. (and slipped her $100) It wasn't a free meal for them though.

I made them listen to my poker stories!