It’s 1 a.m. on a Monday night. The board reads 6-8-9-jack-ace. Slow Winner is holding three aces but doesn’t realize that Fusbol has a 9-high straight. Fusbol bets all his chips, and Slow Winner eagerly calls. Fusbol flips over his 7-5 off-suit and takes in a $40 pot. As Fusbol throws his hat and jumps up in celebration, the Cuban Card Kid turns to me. “That’s why we play poker, man,” he said. “That was awesome.”
Check or bet? Call or raise? Bluff or fold? These are just a few of the thoughts going through the minds of Georgetown students on any given night. Poker’s the new thing on and off campus, and everybody’s getting in on the action. If you listen closely around campus, you will hear the sounds of chips being stacked and wax playing cards gliding across a table. Recently purchased poker chips rest on mantelpieces, waiting to be used again. Groups of newfound friends stand in the corner of a party, analyzing their latest poker game. One person jokingly says what everyone’s thinking: “Let’s go play some cards.”
The game, most often, is Texas Hold’em. It’s not like the five-card draw you played with mom and dad as a kid. Sharing five communal cards with everyone at the table and having four rounds of betting makes for a very complicated game. Where you’re positioned at the table, how many chips you have in front of you, how well you know your odds, and how well you know your opponents are just a few aspects of the game that is known worldwide as the “Cadillac of poker.” Movie buffs may be familiar with Texas from the 1998 film Rounders; ESPN viewers may know it from the 2003 World Series of Poker. It’s an intriguing game-simple yet delicately complicated, fast-paced yet relaxing, friendly but competitive, fun but at times painful.
I’ve been playing poker-Texas Hold’em-for almost four years. It started off as an occasional break from the Georgetown routine of “work hard, play hard.” But as the game so often does to new players, it drew me in. By sophomore year, I was hosting card games once or twice a week in Village B. Some nights it would strictly be a two-hour “pre-game” before heading out for the night. Other nights, it turned into six- to eight-hour card-playing marathons. By junior year, both my skill level and the stakes had risen. During a semester abroad in Dublin, I played three or four nights a week in the top card club in Ireland. After that, I considered myself a semi-professional. So when I came back to Georgetown, I looked forward to playing with my card buddies, but I never expected what would happen next.
“Hey man, I hear you play Texas Hold’em. We play too. You want to join us tonight?”
“Yo, we just bought a $450 poker table, you gonna come over and play with us?”
“Hey, I’m looking for a regular card game. Can you give me a call when you’re playing?”
Poker’s alive at Georgetown, and there’s tons of action every night of the week.
Perhaps the most consistent game on campus is the “Rounders house,” where you’ll find action every night of the week—always a $20 buy-in, always pot limit. A group of six roommates chipped in together and purchased a really nice poker table for their house. It would mark the beginning of a housewide infatuation with the game.
The first time they sat down to play, there were mistakes everywhere. People betting out of turn, kids thinking a straight beat a flush-you name it, it happened. Still new to the game, they just wanted to play. But wanting to play while not knowing the structure of the game being played is a painful combination. It took a couple of days, but everyone eventually figured out the game they would come to love.
“Man, this game is more addictive than drinking,” remarked Tiny Hands, as he returned to the table, fresh from a trip to the ATM, after swearing that he was done for the night five minutes earlier.
“Yeah, but you can’t get laid playing poker,” Shakes replied.
To protect their anonymity, I’ve come up with nicknames for my poker associates. Why is Shakes called Shakes? Because when he’s holding good cards in his hands, it looks like he’s a 7.7 on the Richter scale. “Hey, I shake all the time, not just when I have a good hand,” Shakes claims.
There’s Fusbol, who, due to his rigorous athletic schedule, is always looking to play cards during his free time. Upon winning a monster pot with a full house, aces over jacks, he ripped his shirt off and ran out of the room in excitement.
Then there’s Slow Winner, who with good reason, prides himself on his ability to consistently take his roommates’ money and send non-roommates packing, even though his slow play tends to fry opponents’ nerves. “Go home!” he says upon knocking out an opposing player.
Then you’ve got Joey Strings and Schick Razor, who, even when not playing due to dwindling funds, sit close to the table to watch the action.
Bartender Bluffy flat out loves to bluff.
Lowe Cards Lowe has yet to see a hand that he doesn’t like, and you can count on him playing a hand until the very end.
Nary-a-fold says he loves playing cards because “there’s a lot of money on the table, and everyone playing is an idiot.”
The Cuban Card Kid and Cards Canada, two ex-Georgetown athletes, have adopted cards as their newfound competitive outlet. Seeing them in class or around campus, they’re always gleaming from last night’s card game.
“I love this man, I haven’t had to get a job because of poker,” remarked the Cuban Card Kid.
While the action at the “Rounders house” would be more than enough for the average card player’s fix, there are many other games going on around campus.
The “high rollers” game takes place every Monday night in Burleith. With a $50 buy-in, it doesn’t take much to lose $200 in a single night. These guys graduated a few years ago, and every Monday look forward to taking a break from their rigorous jobs to relax and play poker. They’ve read the books, know the strategies and represent a true test of one’s poker abilities. I’ve brought Pocket 10 and Kansas City, two of my friends who have been playing with me since day one, and they can’t handle the intensity.
“I love to play cards, man, but you guys are just too crazy,” said Kansas City, as he stood up from the table after a not-so-profitable night.
The “K-frat” game, a $20 game, has a lot of action on most weeknights. Run by Camel Lights, the game flows smoothly and there’s always people waiting for a seat. Camel Lights isn’t afraid to admit that he’s addicted to poker, and has become one of the few students on campus to venture into online poker.
“Hey man, I just wish I’d known so many people played earlier. I love playing cards,” he said.
Mini-fitoussi, another self-proclaimed “gamblaholic,” enjoys the mid-week poker nights.
“Poker does a good job breaking the monotony of the week,” he says. “When we can’t drink, we can at least feed our gambling habit.”
Mikey Blades got tired of playing Poker the wrong way and, after listening to some tips from his mentor, he’s dedicated to playing the right way. “Yeah, I have a mentor, so what?” Mikey Blades says. ” I used to be blind, but now I can see, and winning money looks good.”
Students from Maryland once made the trip to Georgetown to get in this game, leaving penniless. “Hey, come back anytime—your money’s always good here,” someone shouted as they walked out the door.
There’s a $20 buy-in Wednesday night game above a trendy Prospect Street caf? and a late-night employee game at a popular Georgetown hangout. There’s a Texas Hold’em max bet of $6 game on N Street, and a Hold’em/Omaha pot-limit game on Prospect. A few Saturdays ago, two houses on 33rd Street had two full Hold’em tables running while Village A had three. S Street has a weekly game, and on Thursday nights on 37th Street, there is the infamous “editors’ game.”
In the game of poker, there are many cardinal rules. In Rounders, Mike McDermott, played by Matt Damon, defines the cardinal rule of poker as “always leave yourself outs.” In other words, always have a backup plan in case you go bust. But in the college game of poker, there’s one essential rule: Never play with money you can’t afford to lose.
There’s no debating that poker is fun, but the painful aspect of the game-losing too much money-takes a toll on certain players.
Shakes, for one, only plays once a week these days. “If I play three times a week, it kills my bankroll,” he said.
“I was very close to quitting,” said Joey Strings, “but I’ve been winning lately, so I’m OK.”
All too often someone leaves the table disheveled because they’ve just lost the money they needed for the bars. They’d be headed home to ponder their insecurities if it weren’t for someone at the table, out of empathy, promising to buy them a drink.
On the other hand, sometimes a player gets on a hot streak one night and walks away from the table with $100. Since it’s technically “free money”-he had a lot of fun and won as well-he goes out and spends it right away. The next night he sits down to play and he’s not getting the hot cards from the previous night. Those flushes and straights that were hitting with regularity, aren’t hitting this night, and all of a sudden he’s losing. Desperate to regain that feeling of invincibility from the night before, the sucker keeps buying in over and over again and can’t step away.
If you want to keep having fun at the poker table, don’t become either of the players described above. Poker, while not at the same level of gambling as craps or blackjack, can be very addictive. If you’ve only got $20 to go out with one night, don’t risk it at the poker table and prematurely end a well-deserved night of fun.
When you do win big one night, put 25 percent of the money away. Don’t blow it all, because, unless you’re a skilled player who plays the right way all the time, those heavenly cards that you won $100 with aren’t always going to be there. Having money to fall back on always improves a somber situation.
In addition, you can’t expect to win every pot. Know your Kenny Rogers—you gotta know when to hold ‘em, know when to fold ‘em. Too many players get attached to big cards like aces or kings, and hold on to them for too long. Be able to fold when you are beaten. Be able to accept a bad beat. And don’t be a sore loser-nobody likes that. Realize that eventually everyone gets dealt the same cards, and if you play your cards right by betting when you got it and folding when you don’t, you’re going to come out a winner. As McDermott put it in Rounders, your goal is to win one big bet an hour.
Georgetown students are learning more about reading people and game strategy at the poker table than in the classroom. Students are replacing trips to Yates with rounds of poker to fuel their competitive blood and using the mathematical skills used in finance classes to outplay their friends.
“Poker makes you think in a way you’re not used to,” Shobes says. “By calculating odds, percentages and ratios at the poker table, it’s like using your education in a way you never thought you would.”
Every week at Georgetown another resilient friend finally breaks down and agrees to play the game that others have already become infatuated with. For those already hooked, some are venturing online to discover a variety of affordable poker books. Sundays, Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays are quickly becoming “poker nights,” and you better have a midterm or a note from your doctor if you’re not there.
It’s 11 p.m. on a Tuesday night. There’s only a few more hands left before the game breaks down and everyone goes their separate ways. There’s $30 in the pot, Joey Strings, Slow Winner and Nary-a-fold are in the hand. Joey Strings, down on the night, and a little edgy, bets $4. As Nary-a-fold (obviously) calls, Slow Winner picks up his cell phone and answers a call.
“C’mon man, It’s your turn!” yells Joey Strings, “You can’t talk to your girlfriend when you’re at the poker table.”
Table rule: never answer your cell phone unless it’s your parents.
Rather than the standard “everyone ante”, the two players left of the dealer pay a small blind and a big blind, which, for Georgetown games has come to be a 25-cent chip, and a 50-cent chip. All the other players have to match or raise the big blind to play. Betting, just like dealing, always progresses in a clockwise rotation. Two cards are then dealt face down to every player on the table. After betting takes place, three communal cards are dealt face up in the center of the table, called “The Flop.” More betting takes place and then a fourth card is dealt up, called “Fourth Street” or “the turn.” After a third round of betting takes place, the last card, or “The River,” is placed face up in the center of the table. A final round of betting ensues.
Raise with high pairs and very strong hands before the flop. This puts more money in the early pot and encourages weak and garbage hands to fold who could otherwise hit a lucky flop and beat you.
Fold the garbage. Playing 2-7, 3-8, 4-9, 2-10, 3-Q, even 2-K will only get you in trouble. When someone says, “it’s only 50 cents,” it’s music to a good poker player’s ears.
Don’t draw to the low end or both ends of a straight. If an 8-7-6 flops, you want to be playing the 9-10 and not the 5-4 or the 9-5.
Play low-flush cards carefully. If you’re holding 6-8 clubs and you make your flush, don’t assume that you have the best hand. I’ve seen countless times this year where people raise up the pot with a mediocre flush, and are stunned when their opponent turns over the ace-high flush.
Play starting low pairs cautiously. 6-6, 5-5, 4-4, 3-3 and 2-2? Only when the price is right. If you don’t flop a “set’ (three-of-a-kind), you should fold.
Be willing to fold your pocket A-A, K-K or Q-Q. If you’re holding pocket Q-Q and the flop comes A-K-9, don’t play your queens to the end. If someone appears to have an ace or king, suck it up and fold those beauties.
Play aggressively when you have a two-way draw after the flop. If you can make a straight and a flush or three-of-a-kind, bet or raise.
Watch out for uniform flops, like 6-5-4. They can easily turn into straights that can overtake your high pair.
Look at the raiser’s amount of chips. Players that are close to all-in frequently rush the betting just to get all their chips in a sink-or-swim last hand.
Beware of suited flops that can make a completed flush. In this case, you should usually hold the nut in that suit, or have trips or two pair that can fill up.
Get caught bluffing once in a while. You never want to be classified as predictable. You win pots that you don’t deserve when your bluff works. You lose a few chips when it doesn’t work, but it will get you calls from weaker hands down the line.
Study your opponents, especially when you are not playing hands and can pay extra attention. Do they always bet with a good hand or wait to call? Do they bluff? Can they be bluffed? Do they have any “tells” (give-away mannerisms) that disclose information about their hands, etc.
