Deal 'em. That's to poker what "Gentlemen, start your engines" is to racing.

It seems poker is seeing a revival in our culture, thanks in part to cable television and its continual efforts to find quality programming. It began a few years back with televised world championship games in various gambling hot spots, spread to celebrity poker games, and now you can find a game or rerun of a game most days of the week.

According to recent news stories, even some members of the Greenville Police Department have become caught up in the game's renewed popularity.

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I've watched some of the televised games and couldn't help noticing that the players, mostly the men, look like inactive male pool players.

The primary exercise of a male pool professional is leaning on his cue stick. They are pictures of fitness compared to poker professionals.

It's also noticeable that none of the card professionals seem to have ever scanned the pages of GQ magazine. I've always pictured professional poker players as dapper dressers. This image was likely inspired by movies and television, and like most things from those sources, the image is a bit wide of the mark.

For me, poker has never been out of vogue. My father taught me to play as a rite of passage, and by the time I was a teen, I was frequently hosting games in my home.

Over the years, I've played poker with friends on a regular basis. Not long after moving here, I became part of a group that plays once a month like clockwork.

The poker evening has become as much about the food served as the game played. For a time we even got in touch with our feminine side by sometimes asking for recipes.

The testosterone kicked in and that became taboo, so now we simply inquire, "What's in this?"

At some point, however, it's time to play, and someone says, "Deal 'em." Actually, it's more like "First jack deals," then cards are dealt until someone gets a jack. The first jack deals the first hand. That's when you say, "Deal 'em."

Then the hard part begins, which is deciding what game to play.

My group has a multitude of games from which to choose.

Is it going to be a high-low game or one winner; five, six or seven-card stud; five draw; or any number of variations of those games such as McIntosh or Push and Shuck McIntosh?

Then there is Follow the Queen, Fiery Burning Cross, High Chicago and, of course, the game of choice for professionals, Texas Hold 'Em — plus variations of that.

Once a hand is under way, there is a recurring question among this aging group of friends: What's the game again? Memory is not our strong suit anymore.

This, of course, is not a problem with professionals. Their game never changes. It's Texas Hold 'Em over and over and over.

The way I see it, anyone can master one game, but to master many, as my friends and I have — that's a challenge.

However, I suppose having to remember but one game leaves plenty of time between hands for the pros to swap recipes and discuss their fitness regimen.

Source: Greenville Online