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So
there I was, the short stack as usual, waiting for a
couple of decent hole cards to go all-in, and I'm dealt
a queen and a four, suited. Those aren't particularly
good cards, so I auto-fold and decide to wait and try my
luck next hand.
The flop brings up a pair of fours, so I had already
folded trips. The turn wasn't much help, and lo and
behold, the river brings up a queen. The guy who won the
hand had a pocket pair and walked away with a fairly
large amount of money - my money.
Like golf, Texas Holdem poker is a game that usually
brings a lot more pain and suffering than it does joy.
But just when you're ready to quit, you hit that perfect
tee shot, or you get exactly the card you need on the
river, and you're sucked right back in.
My cousin has a quote on his Instant Messenger profile
that goes something like this: "I've been playing
Texas
Holdem
poker for
12 months, and I've been trying to quit for 11. What a
game."
The popularity of
Texas
Holdem
poker has
increased dramatically over the past few years.
Television shows such as World Series of Poker and World
Poker Tour have enjoyed success because so many people
are learning the game.
Vegas seems to be doing just fine as well. Last
Thursday, Harrah's announced it is buying rival casino
Caesar's for $5 billion, making it the nation's largest
casino company.
Although casino revenue growth has slowed to a crawl,
down from nearly 21 percent in 1999 to a paltry 1.9
percent last year according to American Gaming
Association figures, the acquisition is a clear
indicator companies are determined to capitalize on
Texas
Holdem
poker's
renaissance.
Why is
Texas
Holdem
poker so
popular now? In addition to the aforementioned addictive
characteristic, it's cool.
In the Houston Chronicle, Marcus Allen was quoted as
saying, "If you want to be cool now, you've got to play
poker."
Recent films such as "Rounders" and "Ocean's Eleven"
glamorize gambling,
Texas
Holdem
poker in
particular, and those are just a couple.
What isn't cool about having a guy named Chris
Moneymaker being one of the best
Texas
Holdem
poker
players in the world? I don't know if that's his real
name, but who cares?
Wouldn't it be rad if Joe Montana were Joe Touchdown? Or
if Barry Bonds were Barry Boomstick? You just don't have
stuff like that in other sports.
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