Poker, specifically the game of Texas Hold ’Em,
has temporarily taken over American culture (remember cigar bars
and Tamagotchi?). Multiple TV networks like Bravo, ESPN and the
Travel Channel now regularly broadcast poker played between
celebrities and poker champions. But this storied game of kings and
queens, jacks and the rest of the deck is more than made-for-TV
fodder. Poker is being played on the Internet, in gaming houses
(many are still illegal), private homes, college dorms and casinos
worldwide.
The stakes can be minimal, such as bragging rights, or huge,
such as seven-figure winnings doled out at the televised
championships. (Sometimes the payoff is delayed: This writer
recently inherited $1,000 won during a World War I poker game when
a GI in France, both unlucky and a bad bluffer, lost a Texas ranch
to my father’s great-uncle. My family sold the ranch in the
1990s.)
Decades ago, many casinos closed their poker rooms, seeing the
game as unpopular and unprofitable. That’s all changed: In Las
Vegas, for instance, the Golden Nugget, Harrah’s and the Imperial
Palace have opened their poker rooms once again, and lately it can
be challenging just to find an empty seat at a table.
“If you go by our poker room you see people of all ages,” says
Silke Finnegan, spokesperson for the Golden Nugget in Las Vegas.
“Gone are the days of a smoky room full of old-time gamblers. Now
we have women players, people of all skill levels and styles. You
can’t pinpoint the poker player these days.”
While games such as Omaha High, Omaha Hi/Low, Five-Card Stud,
Seven-Card Stud, Seven-Card Stud Hi/Low and One on One are popular,
Texas Hold ’Em is the current king of the poker hill, plus it is
easy to learn.
At the beginning of the game, players are each dealt two
face-down cards called “hole” or “pocket cards,” the value of which
are known only to the player holding them. The first round of
betting takes place based on these pocket cards alone.
Next, three cards (called “the flop”) are dealt face-up in the
center of the table, for all players to consider as part of their
hand, and another round of betting ensues. Then another face-up
community card, “the turn,” is dealt, followed by a third round of
betting. Finally, one more communal card, “the river,” is dealt,
and the last round of betting takes place.
At this point, it is time for “the showdown,” when the
remaining players reveal their best hands, composed of two pocket
cards and three of the five communal cards. The overall best hand
wins the pot.
The craze of this game should be understood by planners:
“Often, a planner asks for suggestion for team building, and we
offer poker and they love that,” says Joan Esneault, executive
director of resort sales at Foxwoods Resort & Casino, in
Mashantucket, Conn. “They are here primarily for their meetings,
and the poker is for when they want to have some fun. No question,
the game of the moment is no-limit Texas Hold ’Em. They have a lot
of fun doing that as a group.”