For the Love of The Gamble

For freshman Gregg Arenson, the world of no-limit Texas hold 'em poker began in 2002 when an amateur poker player named Robert Varkonyi went head-to-head with the best poker players in the world and took home the coveted World Series of Poker bracelet.\n"He's really not any good," Arenson said of Varkonyi. "But that's the beauty of it. Anyone can win. After that we stopped playing other games altogether and just played hold 'em."\nThe World Series of Poker is Olympia for all poker players. In 1970, Benny Binion, owner of Binion's Horseshoe Casino, created the tournament to showcase the world's brightest poker talent -- like Doyle Brunson, Johnny Moss, Amarillo Slim -- to determine who was the world's greatest poker player. Moss won that fateful match-up Survivor style, with a vote among all the players. \nToday each game has its own tournament with its own bracelet for its own champion. There are 33 events total, which means 33 WSOP bracelets to be had each year. Although no limit hold 'em is only one game played at the World Series, it is indisputably the world championship poker event.\nThe winner of what is proclaimed to be Indiana's largest poker tournament said a bracelet is always the ultimate poker dream.\n"I want to eventually try to win the World Series, but I know that's a far-reaching goal," freshman Steve Rosenberg said. \nRosenberg stared down 660 other competitors after three days of competition to go home the victor. The tournament, organized by the U.S.A. Poker Club and billed as the "Shark Hunt," went down at the Bloomington Convention Center. With first place in hand, Rosenberg was awarded a $1,500 cash prize and a free seat at a $1 million tournament. But he said he's not in it for the money.\n"This is the biggest tournament I've won, but I usually play with the same people," he said. "The money motivates me, but we play cards for fun too."\nSmall card games are rarely farther than a rock's throw away any given night at IU. From no-money games for fun to $20 buy-ins to $50-per-seat tournaments, it seems there's not an empty seat or an unused felt table on campus.\n"On Sundays we just watch football and play cards," Arenson said. "There's really nothing better than sitting down and playing with your friends."\nIn addition to the myriad of real-life small tables, students now can play poker anytime with people from all corners of the planet online. One popular Internet gaming site is www.partypoker.com.\n"The worst is playing some of these kids online," Arenson said. "They stay in for the worst hands. Some of the things I've seen so far are disgusting."\nNo-limit Texas hold 'em is a simple version of poker. Each player is dealt two cards, called the hole cards. After blind bets, the dealer reveals three cards from the deck, known as the flop, which are common for every player. More bets ensue, then a fourth card, the turn, is added to the stack of community cards. Following another set of bets, the dealer lays down the final community card, known as the river. The final round of bets will make or break a competitor.\nAlthough it takes skill to be a good poker player, there is still an inordinate amount of luck involved. Every player can remember some instance when he or she had the best hand but still lost big.\n"I was at a $10 tournament," Arenson said. "I had kings down and raised to $200, and someone raised me with queens. He caught a queen on the friggin' flop. I was the chip leader at the time, and that killed me."\nThough the gambling aspect of poker can lead to some heavy losses and even heavier headaches, it's the one reason most people keep coming back.\n"I pretty much consider myself a gambler," said freshman Scott Coggeshall, who made the final table of the "Shark Hunt" tournament.\nAmarillo Slim waged some of the most famous bets in the history of gambling. Among his most famous wagers is the time the Texan once defeated the reigning table tennis world champion in a game of pingpong with a Coke bottle. He also beat Minnesota Fats in a game of pool -- with a broom.\nAnd with the love of the wager comes the love of the cards, as Rosenthal admitted to a gambling proclivity.\n"I've gambled on a lot of stupid things," he said. "You know, horses, dice. Sometimes I gamble on the dreidel."\nBut a betting man is destined for as many bad losses as miraculous wins. With gambling comes spoils, but also some harsh defeats.\n"I hate to lose," Arenson said. "I am passionate about winning, but there's nothing worse than losing. All my friends, we're just very, very competitive."\nMost players dream of taking home their own World Series bracelet. But Coggeshall said he has no delusions of grandeur.\n"When I'm older and if I have the money I'd probably try it," he said. "But I don't have any illusions of actually winning it"