Poker Explosion
by Brad Wlazelek
What
is it that draws us to the game? The strategy? Luck? The chance
at making a quick buck? Whatever the draw may be, people are logging
on by the hundreds of thousands to play online games of poker
for play money against real, live opponents – and the boom
doesn’t just reverberate online, people are playing in bars,
at home, in casinos; just about anywhere you can setup a table
and some chairs.
Ever since the World Poker Tour televised coverage of the 1993
“Main Event: Texas Hold-Em” and a host of other variations
of the original Poker game, the popularity of the sport has steadily
increased. More recent coverage of the 2003 “Main Event:
Texas Hold-Em” on ESPN, especially, has caused this steady
increase to fluctuate to an exponential leap in popularity –
the scene literally blew up with activity.
In my experience, played mostly in home games for fun or for small
stakes rather than in casinos, the sport has captivated me. It
encompasses many different modes of competition: competition based
on actual winning hands, betting strategies, ability to understand
the way the players around you are playing, adaptability to other
player’s styles, the ability to switch gears (or switch
your style of play to correspond to the players), the ability
to control your own mannerisms enough not to give a tell (a “tell”
being an indicator of strength or weakness) about your own hand,
and ultimately to pick up tells on your opponents. When you put
a single hand of poker under the microscope, there are so many
layers of activity going on at the same time it can be as mind-boggling
as it is fun to master.
Somewhere along the line last semester, games began to break out
in the student lounge and I quickly added another venue to my
poker playing. All games played were strictly “Gentlemen’s
Games”, meaning for no monetary stakes, due to obvious gambling
legislation. Between classes or during long breaks we would play
what is now the most popular variation of poker, “Texas
Hold-Em”, just for the sake of playing the game for experience
and fun. It’s amazing what you can learn about your play
as well as the play of others simply by playing free games or
online games for play money. With this explosion of activity occurring
on campus as well as all across America, it was only a matter
of time before someone took the initiative to get something big
together locally, for real stakes, while remaining within Penn
State’s Official Codes.
Student Government Association is sponsoring a poker tournament
at Lehigh Valley Campus Saturday, Feb. 5th. It will be similar
to Monte Carlo Night in terms of prizes instead of cash awards.
I think it’s great that we as students can explore our intellectual
as well as recreational activities together, especially because
of the amount of interest I believe this event will generate and
the combined sense of community. We could see a new tradition
of card play at Penn State Lehigh Valley that may continue long
past our years here. For further information contact Luis Candia
at luisc@psu.edu.
