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Willow Oak
07-05-2012, 01:46 PM
By now perhaps most are aware of the $1 million dollar buy-in World Series of Poker tournament that took place in Las Vegas this past week. Entrants were required to buy in with $1 million dollars. The final table was shown on live TV on Tuesday night -- with a 15-minute delay in the broadcast. The winner's take was just over $18 million!

I have enjoyed playing poker ever since a group of my then current math students taught me how to play. I was the head coach of our school's math team, and the night before a tournament I had entertained a group of the boys at my house. We did a lot of preparation for the tournament, but since all work and no play makes Johnny a dull boy, the guys and I decided to play some cards as a way of taking a break. The boys suggested poker; I had never played poker before; they offered to teach me; the rest is history.

For several years I made regular trips to Tunica, Mississippi, to play in the poker rooms there. Overall, my net take over the years amounts to perhaps about $1500 -- not enough to declare that I actually won anything.

In the meantime, I have enjoyed the fact that poker is offered online. I have played a lot of poker online. Recently I placed 23rd out of 2700 entrants in a Freeroll tournament that paid out real money -- $200 total. My take for finishing 23rd? One dollar!

Paul Newman, playing the part of Fast Eddie Felson in the movie The Color of Money, famously said: "Money won is sweeter than money earned."

How sweet it is! Even if only $1.

Karen
07-07-2012, 05:24 PM
It is funny how there's now such a craze around poker! We used to play cards all the time as kids, rummy, pitch, cribbage and other games. I never learned poker's rules, though. But I know being mathematically minded does help!

Randi
07-08-2012, 03:56 AM
Yes, poker is probably one of the most played cards games there is, but I don't know it either. Not many play cards these days, but at Christmas with John's family, we played all sorts of games, including easy card games, but for pennies. It was so much fun! :D

Dan, don't go and ruin yourself!!