Poker and more Poker

I got wind of a poker tournament on Friday night. It is a local poker club, and one of the only games close to my home. What could I lose just trying it? Well I get there and right when I walked in, I knew this was not my place nor were they my kind of poker players. First of all, I am very suspect of anyone who has a game at their own home and invites total strangers to play. Hell, I don't like strangers in my home for any reason, let alone for hours to play cards. The worst part for me was that most of the players were broke. The tournament was $30 + $10 bounty chip. Some of the guys were playing with the last $40 they had. Hey, I like winning money just as much as the next guy, however, there is a difference in winning $1000 from someone who pulls out another grand, and winning $30 from someone who has nothing left. I get no pleasure from breaking a broke player for his last $30. My friend Judy warned me about going, but I could not resist. Bottom line, I won the tournament and won most of the bounty chips, but the environment was not to my liking, so I will not be going back.

On Saturday, my buddy Judy asked me to join her in a low stakes Omaha game. It was 4-8 limit. While I had won a lot then lost most of my winnings, I enjoyed the company and the environment. Like Judy, I have given up all aspirations of making some kind of living playing poker, so environment and the people I play with are the primary reasons why I play, not to get rich. She has many interesting insights, check her out at www.jkhart.blogspot.com.