Wednesday night saw me at a poker table again. It’s been a long while since I last played in a tourney and gosh was I so thrilled. Before the event, I didn’t even know that there was a place near my area I can play in. Jinno Rufino, DJ Eri, Producer Jimmy Muna, and FPT 3 Champ Neil Arce graced the event.
Pokerstars.com sponsored the event. Pokerstars has greatly contributed to the popularity of poker as a sport globally. They host some of the most well-known and legendary poker tournaments all over the world, including the World Championship of Online Poker (WCOOP), the World Series of Poker (WSOP), Asia-Pacific Poker Tour (APPT) among others.
I liked how Allan Escaño opened his Poker 101 to media/bloggers who are not too familiar with the game. Allan founded the Filipino Poker Tour (FPT), which was sponsored by the same. Pokerstars.com held the first FPT coming from the big success and local response to poker during the first leg of APPT that was held in Manila last year.
“Texas Hold ‘Em is not gambling, it’s actually a sport.” I couldn’t agree with him more. The thrill and the excitement that an unknown card gives you is the same thrill that an unpredictable weather/atmosphere/game play that soccer, football, basketball, chess also give you. Yes, a bit of luck is definitely involved, but more than luck, there are also a lot of mental skills that interplay with the game. Probabilities. Catching a bluff. The courage to call a bluff. Reading movements and personal conditions. Setting traps. It’s hunting. It’s definitely intense.
Shuffle up and deal!
(Photo courtesy of Allan Escaño)
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