Poker Night

Kevin, with whom I work, is quite the poker buff. Unless he's bluffing, in which case he's not, but then he was bluffing, which means he probably is. Anyway, he has a game each week and I'm probably going to go play. But this brings up the interesting point, that I really don't know how to play.

I'm looking forward to this. Poker night with a few beers. It's just so American. When I was growing up, poker wasn't nearly as popular as it is now. But I did see American men playing on TV. Like in Roseanne, Dan and his friend were relegated to the garage to play a few hands of poker, drink beer and eat pizza. In the garage. But now poker has an acceptable quality to it. It's a game women can play just as well as men and on an equal footing. It surprises me that it's only become really popular in the last few years (so it seems to me at least). This is, of course, down to television, with it's learned commentary and "poker cams" that let us see the cards. Not to mention the many online poker sites that have sprung up on the Net over the past few years.

This leads me to my problem. I only play online. I can probably count on one hand, the number of "real" games I've played. I can probably cut all my fingers off and still count them all. Which means I've not had to worry about working out how much to add to the pot to call a raise before me, keeping track of chips, playing out of turn, etc. It's a lot to worry about on top of having to actually play the hands I'm dealt. The other issue is that online you can't judge the people you're playing against. You can't see reactions, so you tend to not hide your own. I half expect to jump up shouting in joy when I get a pocket pair. It will be interesting. I'll have to keep visions of Phil Ivey's poker face in my head (if you know the world of poker then you'll know what I mean)

But I am looking forward to it. I don't expect to win of course (see my original comment that I can't actually play) but it's not about winning. The buy in is so small that it's about the game itself, about the interactions with friends. It's about socialising. So yeah, Kevin, I'll see you in a week or two. (Imported beer is better than American gnats piss, excuse my French) :-)

p.s. The picture is one of mine. Made on the computer in Bryce and photoshop.