I have always been a keen card player and today there are two card games I regularly play. The first is Duplicate Bridge…this I have been studying since 2005 and have reached the EBU Standard of “One Star Master” (which means I am an above average bridge player).
Bridge is a game that will really stretch the grey cells in the brain! I still go to Bridge Lessons for advanced players and there is always bags more stuff to learn…I love it!
My other passion is playing Texas Hold ‘em Poker…a game I started 10 years ago and have never looked back. I play the ‘Tournament Game’ where the original stake is all you can lose. I simply love all aspects of this most intriguing game where I pit my wits against my opponents at the tables.
A knowledge of ‘Bluffing’ and ‘Bet Sizing’ and ‘Odds’ and ‘Body Language’ is learned over years of being beaten by better players. When you become more confident in your play you start to win and (unlike Bridge) ‘Lady Luck’ sometimes plays a big part. You have to expect that this will affect you somewhere along the line and you have to learn to take ‘The Knocks’ and ‘Bad Beats’ as well as ‘The Ups’ too.
It’s the players and their talk and moods which make this a most fascinating game…no one game is the same as the other. Everyone has an ego and it is my job to ‘come out on top’ and beat them at their own game. I often do and win good money…but I am not a gambling addict (just in case you were thinking that) because all I can lose is my start-up stake. I simply enjoy the challenge each poker game throw at me. Am I good at Poker…answer = not bad!
What does card playing do for you? It sits you down and gets you to use your brain while really enjoying the challenge. Will it prolong my brain and my life? Yes indeed! Do you make friends…yes and no! (They say there are no friends in Poker). Is it the most fantastic game in the world…YES.
I have quite a few memories of poker players past and present and I am doing a ‘rogues gallery’ of some of them…I have also written and recorded a poker song called “Pot of Gold” which you can see and here with this link…hope you like it.
Links to my card playing pages: