Liquor in the front, poker in the rear

Yeah, that saying never gets old, does it?


Some of you may wonder- why poker? Why the obsession over random card combinations?

Well, I do have an addictive personality to say the least- and it's a good thing I never snorted blow or shot up smack, cause I'd probably be dead now. But there's lots of other fun things to obsess over, and lots of other fun card games too. So why poker?

I'll man up and admit that poker on TV created the spark, seeing hole cards really made poker more watchable and understandable. Even someone with a rudimentary knowledge of poker could watch and scream at the TV set- "You idiot, why are you bluffing with 8 high, he's got a full house!!!" And anytime you have the chance to feel superior to someone who knows what they're doing is always a fun time. Even still, that's being a spectator and not a participant.

Eventually I got sucked in when the husband of my wife's co-worker overheard me talking to my buddy while at my kid's birthday party about maybe getting a poker game started up. He had already started a small league of people who played once a month in a hold 'em tourney and invited me to come to the next game. I almost didn't go, as I didn't really know anyone, but the wife twisted my arm and I went. (I wonder if she regrets that action now?) The result? I was knocked out first and lost 50 bucks- but I was hooked.

At first- the fact that random cards can come out and create chaos to someone's strategy is what lured me in, what kept me coming back was the mental challenge of besting someone. Sure poker is luck in the short term but in the long term, poker is skill. I finally found something to satisfy my competitive soul. Having been either hopelessly uncoordinated and/or woefully out of shape most of my life, I found something that allowed me to compete and not look foolish in gym shorts and striped socks. Yeah, I was okay at chess, checkers, and backgammon- but no one wants to get together and play on a regular basis, and if they do, then they were way beyond my skill set. So far, I've won more money than I've lost, so until I become a leaky sieve or a tilting donkey I'll keep playing and obsessing over poker.

I suppose it could have been worse- I could be playing Magic: the Gathering or bridge instead- at least poker is somewhat "cool" right now.