I grew up playing board games. Scattergories, Balderdash, Pictionary, Rummikub and Scrabble. Man, you better believe I can really nail you with a mean triple word score. Card games are another story. I never really progressed beyond Go Fish and War. The closest I've ever come to playing real cards was the couple of times in college when the guys tried to teach me Euchre. I never really caught on. Probably because the first time I heard the game's name I thought someone was sneezing and quickly blessed them.
This is all probably why the poker craze has eluded me. Or I've eluded it. Either way, going to the Isle of Iowa Texas Hold 'Em Tournament Friday night at the El Kahir Shrin Temple was definitely an educational experience. While we waited for the tournament to start, I talked to more than a dozen players. Everyone was more than happy tell me what they thought was the key to being a top-notch poker player. Some tried to convince me it was all luck, others placed their bets on skills and still others said it was a combination of reading your opponents and being aggresive. The one that confused me the most was the guy who said the trick was to fold often. Huh? That's was my response too. But, he says that way you get to stay in the game longer. Who knew? Not me. But, I figure now I have notebook full of tips. So, should I ever decided to sit down for a hand, I'll be one step ahead of the, er, game.
The tournament was also a chance to learn about the Isle of Iowa organization. Prior to this event I didn't even know what a Parrothead or the Isle of Iowa was. For those of you that don't know either - a parrothead is someone that's a huge Jimmy Buffet fan. And the Isle of Iowa is a group of 150 or so parrotheads. The organization is part social and part philanthropic. A few weeks ago, for example, they threw a Halloween dance and raised $1,400 for the American Cancer Society. They're going to use money raised by Friday night's poker tournament, which pulled in 78 players at $75 a head, to fund next year's big charity event.
I also learned that the El Kahir Shrine Temple often hosts poker tournaments as fundraisers for different groups. They take a cut of the proceeds in return for providing the space and running the tournament. Stop by the temple to see when the next one is. Who knows maybe you'll see me there.
Nah. If you could see my face, you'd know I was bluffing. But, you will see me at Lindale Mall next weekend catching up with the after-Thanksgiving Day shoppers to find out what everyone wants for Christmas.