TEXAS HOLDEM ONLINE POKER
TEXAS HOLDEM ONLINE POKER
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Online poker sites and software gain web acceptance - and growth |
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As online Texas Holdem poker enjoys a popularity surge on the back of television shows like Celebrity Poker, younger players are emerging. Part of the trend is fueled by Web sites targeted at the youth market. Some, like party pokercan have as many as 50,000 players worldwide at the same time, even doling out rare seats at the World Championship of Poker to winners. Rick Salois, a hockey referee, is far enough along into the game to have acquired a nickname -- a must-have for serious players. His is "hackey," and it comes from a hackey-sack he fiddles with while playing. (Raymer's comes from fossils he uses as card protectors.) His parents have grown used to his habit by now, and don't mind it "as long as it doesn't turn into a problem." Perhaps what is unusual about players like Salois, and his friend Adam Randall, a University of Maine at Augusta student, is that they do not fall to the lure of playing big. "In college, we played quarter games, or dollar games," Salois said. "Every once in while we play $5 to $10 games." His biggest losses run up to about $30 or $40. For Salois, who says he is "terrible at counting cards," the point is to relieve tension and socialize. "There's a (online) sidebar with a chat tab, and for the most part, it's pretty friendly," he said. Randall, 24, plays the game more often, logging on nearly every day, he said. He picked the game up three years ago, also in college. But the stakes stay low. "You can play as big as $200 or $400, or as low as $5 or $10 or even 5 cents or 10 cents," he said. "The (Web) sites don't make money." Brian Lessels, a freshman at Colby College, said that he is an avid player, sometimes going through days on end of playing online. But he often plays for no money at all. "There are all kinds of free services," Lessels said. "It's just a lot of exhilaration." The gameTexas Holdem is not rampant at Colby, but it isn't hard finding someone to play poker with, said Lessels, who picked the game up in high school with friends. Wednesday nights would sometimes be poker nights in his dining hall. For those like Salois, the appeal of the game partly lies in its quirky traditions. Raymer wears glasses with hologram eye prints, Salois pointed out. The championship winner for 2003, Chris Moneymaker, sports Oakley sunglasses as his talisman. But television broadcasters, quick to sense any youth trend, play a part. The Travel Channel runs the World Poker Tour, while Bravo shows Celebrity Poker. ESPN has taken to running the 2004 World Series of Poker and even old games from the early 1990s. "I guess it gets the blood flowing watching it," Salois said. "It gets you excited to play." And when the game gets going, the buzz begins. "As long as you're not losing, you're into the zone," Salois said. "You kind of see things before they happen. That's the fine line, between people who say it's a luck game, and people who say it's a skill game." Some would warn against the well-known dangers of falling into the gambling habit, even as they laud the social aspects of playing. "If it's done for gambling, it can be just as addictive as drugs or overeating," said Bert Jacobs, chairman of the psychology department at the University of Maine at Farmington. "But if it's done for socialization, then I don't see any harm in it." Jacobs does not think much of online Texas Holdem poker, since he believes players who log on are in fact playing against computer programs. But he acknowledges that poker has an enduring appeal in this society. "A large component of it is bluffing, the ability to impose yourself on others by tricking them," he said. "Some people find that very attractive. But I don't believe poker is any more evil than chess. Also, it goes back to the Wild West. It's a way for people to develop a community." Still, sales of poker products appears to have picked up at local retailers. "We have seen an increase in that type of paraphernalia, probably because of the television shows," said Julie Gilbert, manager of Skowhegan's Wal-Mart. "We're selling more cards and chips. In bigger stores, the (card playing) tables do very well. It started this summer, and we expect it to go through the holiday season." Most who buy the paraphernalia are male, Gilbert said, in the 20-to-30 age range, "especially the guys heading up for weekend going to camp," she said. "It sells well, but it's not like we're not bringing in extra to keep up with demand," said Gerald Tyler, manager of Augusta's Wal-Mart. For all its current popularity, the game's young online fans don't expect it to last. Salois believes the television shows are jumping on a bandwagon while the trend lasts -- "Its popularity will start to wane," he predicted. "It's very 'in' right now, but I'm not sure if it will stick around," Randall said. "It might peak out at some point and level off." |
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