Call or check. Raise the bet, fold or go all-in.

Call or check.
Raise the bet, fold or go all-in.

Those are the choices facing the participants in today's newest and growing phenomenon, No Limit Texas Hold 'Em poker.

It's a cross between sports and reality television that has captivated both sports fans and non-sports fans alike.

Poker has many things in common with sports. It has suspense, strategy, colorful personalities, a form of trash talking and an eventual winner. I, for one, have been fascinated by the anticipation of whether a player will risk all of their chips and money on the turn of the next card.

advertisement
Party Poker
The biggest online poker room with thousands of players.
Choose one of the following games:
Texas Holdem Poker, Omaha Poker, Omaha Hi,
Seven Card Stud, Stud 8 or Better.
Receive a 20% bonus of your first deposit up to a $100!!!
Party Poker

Any person can play the game, whether it be in a casino, at home with friends or on the Internet.

Any person can win, which probably is one factor contributing to its growing popularity. A majority of us aren't like former Oregon forward Luke Jackson, who earned a three-year contract worth $6.37 million to play professional basketball. But a majority of us do have the ability to learn No Limit Texas Hold 'Em and actually win money.

The several professional poker players on the poker circuit simply look like the average person, unlike actual sports athletes who stand 6-foot-7 and weigh 220 pounds. Athletes, whose physiques many of us cannot and will never physically have.

This year's winner of the World Series of Poker, which can be seen on ESPN today, earned a total of $5 million. Yes, $5 million dollars was made by the winner for the poker tournament that lasted just one week.

One week and $5 million dollars? No wonder a lot of people are taking up this game. A record 2,576 people entered this year's World Series, up from 839 in 2003.

This year's second place finisher came away with $3.5 million, while third place earned $2.5 million.

Not bad for a week's worth of work.

In addition to the World Series of Poker, three other channels are broadcasting this emerging game, including shows like the World Poker Tour and the Celebrity Poker Showdown.

The poker craze began last year at the 2003 World Series of Poker when accountant Chris Moneymaker, who earned the $10,000 buy-in to the tournament after paying $40 and qualifying through an online tournament, won the grand prize of $2.5 million dollars.

Viewers of last year's World Series saw the amateur Moneymaker take out the professionals like Johnny Chan and Phil Ivey -- who is also known as the Tiger Woods of the poker world.

If an amateur could win poker's most prestigious tournament, why can't people like you and me win it all too?

While many professionals will try to claim that there is a lot of skill involved, a lot of the game's success is from luck.

Just one year after Moneymaker won the World Series, he came back to defend his title this year, but lost all of his chips on the very first day.

This shows anyone can be lucky at any point and win.

Nevertheless, I'm still not up to that point of risking actual money to play. With several places online to play for free, that is enough to satisfy my dreams of winning an actual poker game.

Call it being cheap or just being a poor college student at this moment. Watching poker can be as enjoyable as playing because of the game's nuances, including guessing what other players are holding or staring down opponents to see if they are bluffing or holding a full house.

So fold or call.

Check or raise.

Do they have a hand or do you go all-in?

Oh, the decisions to make in this popular, ever-growing game.

Source: Oregon Daily Emerald

Sponsor: Pacific Poker