Sonoma State Star

Issue date: 12/7/05 Section: Sports

It's a game of lying and luck. In the wild wild west people were being shot for a good bluff, at least that's what the movies say.

Texas Hold 'Em has emerged out of the best liars sleeve and is the fastest growing poker game around. It has become so popular that people of all ages are beginning to play.

ESPN has made the game into a national phenomenon with their World Series of Poker tournaments on TV. For years, it was the well known players beating out all the new young blood trying to make a name for themselves in the poker circuit. Now it is the unknown players toying with the players with the highest reputations.

Texas Hold 'Em isn't just growing on television and Las Vegas, it is the underground game of the century. College students play for food money and bet their rent money. A few phone calls can get a game started in a matter of minutes.

"My buddies and I play all the time. We try to get as many people we can to play, everyone wants to take everyone's money. The whole game is constant bragging of one another. Most of the time we play with twenty dollar buy ins and games can go on till the sun comes up," said college student JP Whymiller.

Even celebrities are getting in on the action. New York Yankee Alex Rodriguez was warned by the big man upstairs, George Steinbrenner, that playing in illegal clubs is dangerous and can be harmful to his image. There have been reports that Rodriguez was playing at illegal underground clubs with professional card player Phil Hellmuth last month.

"I'd say that Hold 'Em is very contagious. I've taught many and I was taught by my friends. It's a game of luck and the ones who are better then others are the ones who win hands that they shouldn't have been able to win," said college student Jon Lupa.

Poker is a game where lying is a must; a game in which parents can't yell at their kid for not telling the truth, but cheer them on when the lie is successful. An entire new generation of young people are learning this game. Seeing twenty-year-olds on TV playing in tournaments inspires college students to do the same.

"To play in big tournaments on ESPN it costs ten grand or so to enter, so for most college students that's way too much for any of us to afford. That's why we gather up buddies and take their money. Some games can get intense; I have played at a tables in little Indian casinos where people have fought and can't control themselves to the point where they are being escorted to their cars," said college student Chris Migala.

Poker is an emotional ride that goes up and down in seconds. Losing hands are turned into winning hands by players who have learned to play the game successfully. Maintaining a strong poker face can take a player far but it ultimately comes down to whether or not a player has what it takes to go all in.

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