Biggest Surprises of National Poker Week
National Poker Week attracted 33 State Directors from the Poker Players Alliance (PPA) plus a throng of the game’s elite to Washington, DC. In the end, over 100 meetings were held on Capitol Hill. Poker News Daily was on-hand for the festivities and reviews several of the surprises of National Poker Week.
Prepare to Meet with Aides
If poker players take the time to visit their Congressmen, they should be prepared to meet with staff members. Being a Congressman means running frenetically between meetings and votes. Although conferencing with constituents is important, Congressmen have a full plate. Staffers, however, are extremely influential, a point echoed by lawmakers like Congressman Robert Wexler (D-FL) and former three-term Senator Alfonse D’Amato (R-NY) during National Poker Week. Congressmen regularly defer to aides for insight on both critical issues and those that may not receive front-page headlines. Therefore, don’t be discouraged meeting with Congressional staffs.
Poker Really is a Game of Skill
A study by Cigital and PokerStars performed in December studied 103 million cash game hands on the world’s most popular online poker site. The results revealed that 75% of pots did not go to showdown. Instead, the process of betting and bluffing took down hands. It’s one thing for industry representatives to say that poker is a game of skill. It’s completely different to hear the sentiment from an American lawmaker. Congressmen Lynn Westmoreland (R-GA), for example, told online poker forum PocketFives.com in an interview, “Poker is a sport of skill. If you don’t believe that, you need to watch some of the tournaments on television and understand that these are very talented people. They can win a hand with a lot worse cards than anybody else. It is a game of skill and not just what cards fall.” Well said.
Emphasize Personal Stories
When you meet with Congressmen or their aides, be sure to share your personal story. This was the number one point emphasized by the PPA. The rationale behind sharing your personal story is to break the stereotype that poker players are shady individuals, far from being law-abiding citizens. Instead, poker players are students, housewives, firefighters, soldiers, doctors, and teachers. They’re just like you and me. Formulate your personal story prior to calling, e-mailing, or visiting your Congressmen. While knowledge of the issue is of paramount importance, it was surprising to learn that the personal story is even more critical.
Generosity Makes the World Go Round
Poker players are an extremely generous group. Churches, synagogues, and other religious institutions around the world regularly employ poker tournaments as fundraising vehicles. The turnout at the PPA’s charity event was extremely impressive. Some of the world’s top pros turned out, including “Celebrity Apprentice” runner-up Annie Duke, who came armed with a fistful of $100 bills in order to rebuy wounded warriors at her table. 2004 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event Champion Greg Raymer imparted knowledge of the game to his tablemates and Howard Lederer (Duke’s brother) tried to out-rebuy his sibling. Generosity really is a quality of poker players. I’ve seen it first-hand.
Poker’s Role Models
The roster of pros that turned out to the PPA’s Fly-In as part of National Poker Week was truly impressive. In addition to Raymer, Duke, and Lederer, the movement to legalize and regulate online poker in the United States also attracted “The First Lady of Poker” Linda Johnson, Women in Poker Hall of Fame member Jan Fisher, former MIT Blackjack Team member Andy Bloch, online poker star Jordan “iMsoLucky0” Morgan, PokerXFactor instructor Chris “Fox” Wallace, and Team PokerStars Pro member Dennis Phillips. Even talk show host and poker veteran Montel Williams turned out.
I’m an economics major, so I’m familiar with opportunity cost. These pros came to Washington, DC voluntarily to help advance the game in the United States. There are plenty of opportunities they passed up in order to attend. My hat is off to each of them. They are truly poker’s role models.
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- PPA Launches National Poker Week
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- NBC National Heads-Up Poker Championship Day 2: Negreanu, Rousso, ElkY, Hellmuth Move On
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- Phil Hellmuth To Defend National Heads Up Championship
- Tony G at Final Table of National Poker League UK Open
- The Poker Shrink, Vol 48: Blocking
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- Breaking Down the NBC National Heads-Up Selection Process
Poker jargon:
- RAGS - Board cards that are small, not suited and not in sequence, e.g., 9-5-2. When "rags flop", it is unlikely that anyone has a good hand, except possibly the big blind in an unraised pot.
- KICKER - In hands containing pairs and trips, the highest card not matched. In draw games, sometimes a card kept for deception purposes.
- ROYAL FLUSH - An ace-high straight flush, the best possible hand in regular poker.
- ALL-IN - To have all of one's chips in the pot. A player who is all-in cannot be forced out of the pot by more betting, but is only eligible to win that portion of the pot he has contributed to. Generally, a SIDE POT is created each time a player is all-in.
- TAPPED [OUT] - Out of money. Can refer to a player running out of money in the course of a hand, thus still active for the main pot; or can refer to a player who has lost his bankroll and can no longer play.
- BET - To put money into the pot, pursuant to the rules of the game, thus maintaining a chance of winning the pot.
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