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Huskies ante up |
Poker pros, watch out:
There's going to be a lot less "dead money" coming out of the UW in the near
future if Larry Zeldman has his way.
Zeldman, a recently retired stockbroker who's been playing poker for more than
40 years, has taught a poker class through the ASUW Experimental College since
last summer. Last night, his class hosted a 16-man tournament in Parrington Hall
made up of former students. The tournament was filmed by FOX Sports Northwest
for a future segment.
Rusty Caspe, a graduate student in materials engineering, jumped at the chance
to play in the game, even though there was no money involved.
"The e-mail I sent [Zeldman] was just two words: 'I'm in,'" Caspe said.
Caspe had turned the 200 chips he started with into 375 after about 50 minutes
of play.
He is one of many people who have become regular poker players during the recent
craze. Zeldman said he's happy with the high profile poker has taken in recent
months.
"I think it's great for the game," he said. "You have a whole big infusion of
new blood, young people coming into the game."
While there are many variants of poker, Zeldman focuses on Texas hold'em, the
poker version that can be seen on countless TV shows recently. He chose to focus
on Texas hold'em for two reasons.
"It's the most popular form of poker out there now, and I think it's also the
most pure form of poker," he said.
Zeldman's classes focus on various aspects of poker, including psychological,
strategy and math. Instead of simply lecturing, he teaches people through
live-action games.
He also offers one class period for students to learn a second version, usually
Omaha.
The class is taught on campus, so no money is wagered in the games. Instead,
Zeldman offers his own incentives for winning.
"To make it interesting, I give out prizes," he said. "But we do have chips, and
we have green felt-covered tables, so it's just like being in a card room, but
there's no actual gambling."
Prizes include gift certificates for food, or sometimes various items donated by
local casinos.
Zeldman has profited plenty from poker over the years, and has several high
tournament finishes to his credit. He finished 10th of 198 in last year's
Washington state Poker Championship, and 16th of 460 in the Four Queens
tournament in Las Vegas, Nev.
"I'm relying on it, expecting part of my income each month to come from poker,"
he said.
Still, for Zeldman, the game isn't all about the money, and he doesn't want the
class to be only about competition.
"It's not successful if people don't have fun and if I don't have fun," he said.
"I try to keep it lighthearted and make sure everyone's having a good time."
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