Enjoy The Silence 10

The Great American Card Game

We are currently in the midst of a gaming phenomenon, a craze that is taking the world by storm. Strangely this particular activity has been with us for decades, but has been stereotyped perhaps as a past time for those with serious gambling related illnesses or criminal association. Well no longer is this game confined to smokie back alley pool halls or even the glitz of Vegas. Ladies and Gentleman, Poker has been brought to the masses.

Remarkably in the last 2 years the popularity of Poker has boomed across the globe. More and more people are seeking to play Poker as a profession, or in the mainstream as a great hobby and past time. I for one have been roped into Poker in recent weeks, a friend of mine joined a local club and invited me along for the ride, and I was quite frankly horrified by how enjoyable it was! For those who have never played the game you may be forgiven for thinking it is like any other gambling activity and alot of luck is involved. Well they say it is better to be lucky than to be good, but luck alone will not win a game of Poker and that is the beauty of it. There is so much strategy to the game, mathematics and logic are involved in every decision to be made and as they say “it takes 5 minutes to learn but a lifetime to master” and once you have the basics covered, mastering the game is so very rewarding!

There are a number of reasons for the takeoff of Poker. ESPN have been doing some terrific coverage of the World Series Of Poker in Vegas, in previous years it was a very gray and dull production, but now there is so much vibrancy and character in the presentation of the show that it will appeal to a much more mainstream audience and they even take time out to teach you the basics of the game throughout each episode. Also the Internet has played an integral part, the simple ease to get online and play means that Joe-Average can learn the game in minutes, either playing for “play money” or putting your cash where your mouth is.

There are huge amounts of money to be made playing Poker, with any of the big tournaments offering over $1,000,000 to the winner and the best part is anyone can do it! But I must also point out that money is there to be lost also, and Media Rebellion would like to take this opportunity to encourage responsible gambling within your means, thank you! But people will very quickly fall in love with the game once you’ve played it a few times and maybe dream of being the next Doyle Brunson or Phil Hellmuth (former world champions), many people already have. The winner of the World Series of Poker in 2003 Chris Moneymaker (the name is so appropriate!) entered the competition via an online qualifier or what is known in the Poker world as a ‘satellite’ tournament. This means instead of fronting the $5000 required to enter the WSOP you pay something like $50 to play a series of smaller tournaments and the winners of the smaller tournaments will enough to buy into the WSOP main event. Chris Moneymaker being an account by trade saw good value for money and invested his $50 and turned it into a $3,000,000 jackpot.

It doesn’t matter though weather your playing with the pro’s in Vegas or with your friends in a home game, Poker is fun, challenging and very exciting and looks like it is here to stay. So as they say in the game “shuffle up and deal”.