Terrapin Tables

We need to get another PA poker night soon.

Can someone explain this poker craze to me? It didn't start until after I moved to Texas, so maybe I'm missing something by not playing it in the right crowds. Or maybe it's lacking excitement because I'm not betting in the thousands of dollars per hand like you see on T.V. But from what I've gathered from the way you guys play, you pretty much play each other all the time, so the money just kind of goes back and forth and everybody comes out about the same in the end. I mean, I've played a few nights of poker since I moved down here, and, well, it's just poker. If you're looking for an excuse to get together with people and drink, there're are plenty of other ways to do that. I've even watched poker a few times on T.V. The celebrity ones aren't too bad because of all the side conversations, but the poker itself is nothing special. I'm not trying to say that I don't enjoy playing poker, I just don't see what the huge draw is. What am I missing?

Poker?

I think it is a bit more of an intellectual exercise than I usually conduct while I am drinking. While it may not be chess or anything as esteemed, it is something of a puzzle that you try and figure out with variable pieces. And some of the pieces are your friends, which is fun.

It's something fun to do because it's a competitive activity that requires some strategic thinking. I think we all feel somewhat accomlished as long as we don't lose all of our money. If you win a few bucks, you congratulate yourself, and if you lose a few, you can always blame the cards :)

And yeah, no one's in it for the money. I don't think we even have regular winners despite playing regularly for a while now. And the way we look at it, if you lose a few bucks, you still had a few hours of conversation, a little excitement, and a lot of beer.

He's in it for the money!

It's kind of rare for us to see a pot go over $5, but still, we don't want to lose. The friendly competition is fun, the rush of flopping a flush is fun, trying to stifle yourself and hide all expression is fun, drinking is fun.

We enjoy the cards, we enjoy the hanging out, we enjoy the drinking. Plus, we all know when Mike has flopped a set of Queens.

in line with others - i don't do it for the money. i don't play backgammon or rummikup for money, rather i think they, like poker, are fascinating games of skill and strategy. from a nerdy perspective, it's probability in action (little known fact: the origins of probability theory came are in gambling) and it's a social game, including drinking, joking, and all the emotions that go with both good and bad luck.