I'm All-In

By Dan Nied [send email]

It's not that I've ever won a dime playing poker. It's just that the possibility is there and as a poor American, I feel it my duty to win every under-the-table, black market cent I can.

But then, that's what makes for a good addiction

In all honesty, only about 15 percent of the hands I've ever played have been for money. The rest have been for pride and fun online. But I'll be damned if I have the ability to stop.

I know no other game besides No Limit Texas Hold ‘Em: all in at any time, play with the swings. In the movie "Rounders", Mike (Matt Damon) calls Hold ‘Em "The last pure game left". I feel that way because I've never played another. But Hold ‘Em seems pretty fair.

While poker hasn't quite consumed my life yet the signs are definitely there. Does a game trump a night out at the bar? More than it should. Would it be more beneficial to work on my resume or play a quick tournament on absolutepoker.com? Well, I don't have a job, but I did win the last two tournaments I played in. If my relatives want to visit with me on Thanksgiving, should I give in to their benign conversation or watch the final table of the World Series of Poker on ESPN for the third time? Lets just say that I knew Chris Moneymaker won, but I just had to make sure. Anyway, Aunt Thelma can wait until Christmas Eve to know that the job search isn't going that well and, yes, I do plan to move out of my parent's house soon.

So while I was supposed to be making chit chat with relatives I don't really care about, I was in my basement, pants unbuckled watching Moneymaker win the first professional tournament he ever played in and become world champion.

And therein lies the genius of the game. Since Poker has gained acceptance and popularity on ESPN and the Travel Channel, it has sat atop the "Hey, I can do that" sports world, bumping bowling down to second and putting Bocce Ball a distant third. Don't believe me? Well, if I got sick of the World Series on Thanksgiving, I only had to turn to Fox Sports Net to see a marathon showing of ANOTHER poker tournament. Both were on for at least eight hours that day.

The popularity of the game is unavoidable. Now, when we play, my old roommate Brett holds an unlit cigarette in his mouth like Sam Farha, his hero on the circuit. I get excited that Dan Harrington, World Series winner in 1995, is cousins with golfer Padraig Harrington and my hometown quarterback Joey Harrington. I actually said to myself "Man, those Harringtons really know how to turn out athletes." Of course, I consider poker players athletes. Hey, they're on ESPN. Most of them could probably beat Beano Cook in a race.

As the days without a paycheck go on, I turn my attention to a possible new vocation: Poker Player. Millionaire. Pro Athlete. It might be a stretch, but I haven't had this much dedication to a sport since my senior year of high school football.

I mean, that's what makes for a good addiction, right?