by Chris Humpherys

Created on: July 01, 2009   Last Updated: July 03, 2009

Soon after moving from Gainesville to Tampa only months ago, I began my search for a local poker game. Such illicit activity is not always easy to find.

My old Gainesville poker circuit was pretty robust. There was the Wednesday night game at Damion 2.0's, Thursday nights at JD's place and Friday's at Brother Bill's not to mention Mr. C's debaucherous, bimonthly 17-hour poker binges.

Damion 2.0 Wednesday's were $20 buy-in cash games with re-buys allowed as long as you had money in your wallet. Things would start around 7 pm, with people coming and going all night long. It was a game characterized by ber-aggressive play. With blinds holding steady at $0.25-$0.50, it was rare to see a flop for anything less than $3.25. It was not uncommon to see someone win or lose up to $400 in a single night.

Thursday nights were my original house game at JD's place, where the liquor was always free-flowing. We'd generally start the night with quarter games, i.e., Five Card Draw, Follow the Queen, In-Between or Screw Your Neighbor. Years back, we'd play tournament style but that slowly made its way to a cash game. A lot of the old school guys dropped out when things got too cutthroat, but the game also gained people as it got more competitive.

Friday nights at Brother Bill's were much more casual. With as many as 18 players on any given night, Bill's game was strictly tournament play. A gracious host, Bill's open bar always kept people animated on a Friday.
I played at all three of these venues for well over a year. The environs were comfortable. Every seat, every table, every format, every friend.

Enter the new house game.

A new friend invited me over to check out his local game. As I had become accustomed to supplementing my (lack of) income with success at my previous three house games, I accepted his invitation looking to make a mark.

When I got there last Monday, it was a different environment indeed. Instead of the usual sports or rock n roll music playing in the background, the crew that had arrived early, a mostly younger group, was watching the Get Smart remake. You know you're getting old when the crowd around you recognizes Alan Arkin, not from The In-Laws or Grosse Pointe Blank, but rather as the grandfather who dies at the end of Little Miss Sunshine. I didn't necessarily have a problem with the movie being played in the background until its second viewing. They never changed the channel. A man can only take so much Steve Carrell. Keep

• 1
• 2
• Next Page >>