It seems I’m one of the few people in the northern hemisphere that doesn’t play poker on a regular basis. It’s more for a lack of time than invitations or interest.
Some folks get pretty serious about the game. Dan has his own Yahoo group for poker nights, and even went so far as to build a table — the famous Green Monster — for the events. Now all he’s missing is Dave Foley to color commentate the thing from his living room.
My desaparecido streak ended last night with a couple of entertaining games at Rich’s place. First, we feasted on microwave snack food that had been picked over by the dogs while watching the Patriots squeek out a win against the Colts. Then I went out in a blaze of glory (or, as I described it last night, a blaze of incompetence) at the poker table.
I had such high hopes, too. Things were going well. I was biding my time, eventually landing a straight directly off the flop. I went all-in only to learn The Hard Way(tm) that it wasn’t a straight at all, but rather a random collection of meaningless cards since you can’t wrap a straight around the ace. It’s either high or low, but it can’t be in the middle of a straight.
Oops.
On the positive side, the hand would have garnered major style points in Uno. Unfortunately, we were playing Texas Hold ‘Em.
It’s funny to step back and realize how intense things get over a five dollar game. But it’s not really about the five dollars, it’s about having to leave the table or just sit there as a spectator after you’re out. As long as you’ve got a couple of chips left, you’re still part of the game, making decisions and affecting the outcome.
This was the first Texas Hold ‘Em experience for me. Even without the smoky environment, green felt table, and watered down drinks, it was fun.
It was fun! Aren’t you itching to make your own green monster? Or better yet, your own poker table? 😉
I don’t know about the table, but I wouldn’t mind making a green monster pile of cash. What was the pot that night? $35 bucks?
Cha-ching!
Of course, I have to learn how to play first. 🙂
I’m not one for poker because I have a curse of bad luck placed upon me for any sort of gambling event, so I only like to play for pretzel sticks or Skittles, but I did have fun learning Texas Hold ‘Em earlier this year. Of course, I promptly forgot how to play because my memory on card game rules is terrible.
Well Jon, the rules of Texas hold-em is that you give all your money to me! Ha!
(Ron and Joe: Don’t tell him I didn’t win a hand).
He didn’t win a single ha–
Er, nevermind! Pay no attention to the man behind the Del Scorcho packet! 🙂