What's the Deal With Poker? - 05/25/04
Mention the game of poker a few years ago and you would probably picture a bunch of guys smoking and drinking
while clumped around a table in some back room of a dingy bar. Mention the game today and
the scene now shows us millions of fans, games televised all over the world and a whole new group of players
that you would never expect. One of those players might even be you!
I've spent a lot of time in casinos over the years, so I already know why I like the different games but poker
has taken on a popularity that even I cannot figure out. Millions of people are logging on to computers to
play in online tournaments and many more are moving to the real-life games in the card rooms. If that isn't
enough poker, you can tune in to no less than six major poker shows on everything from the Travel Channel to
regular network television.
The popularity of the game has been growing over the last few years, but the big push that made it a smash hit
came at the World Series of Poker in 2003. A tournament rookie named Chris Moneymaker, known as "dead money" because he had no chance of
winning, made it to the finals and won the $2.5 million dollar grand prize. There were 839 contestants for the tournament
that year and this year, the total has grown to 2,576. Along with the increase in players, the prize money for first place has also exploded to $5 million.
The simple fact that any player off the street who is willing to plunk down the $10,000 entry fee has a chance to
be a champion is something that catches the imagination of anyone who has played in anything from a friendly
game to a serious tournament.
There aren't any other sports where anyone with a little practice and a lot of luck can sit with professionals
and champions and play for all the marbles. It's true that most peolpe don't stand a chance against a Johnny
Chan or a Phil Helmuth, but every now and then a Chris Moneymaker comes along and steals the show.
That victory was enough to transform the world of poker to what we are seeing today. Now, when you hit the tables,
you are seeing men and women from all sorts of professions and educations including lawyers, doctors, actors and
scientists. They all have that same Cinderella dream to beat a world champion and make their mark in the game of
poker and if the cards fall the right way, it might just happen.
I don't know if this fascination with a card game will be just a passing fad, but there's something very basic
about the whole thing. You're sitting down to play a game with very simple rules. You all have the same goal, but
the methods for achieving that goal are as different as the personalities of each person at the table. It's a test
of your luck, but it's also a test of your skills as a person. Being able to persuade and influence your fellow
players well is the intangible ability that may mean the difference between being dead money and a world champion.
Honestly, I'm still wearing the dead money jacket for sure, but just like eveyone else who plays the game, I
think I have a little Moneymaker in me. I guess it's up to the cards, and a little bit of luck.
~SM
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