All in, all out

Sweat. I sit staring at my opponent, hatred in his eyes, ready to fight tooth and nail so that he can be called the best; ready to bleed, deceive, lie and cheat for victory. He grits his teeth. All I do is sit in a hot, putrid sweat and wait. In the end it will all be mine or all is his. The pinnacle of greatness all rests in the next moment. We hold our breath, our fists tighten, our glares intensify ...\nAnd the river card is an ace of spades.\nThe poker table has become a refuge for many students at IU and the collegiate environment all over the world. This is an interesting phenomenon considering the commonly accepted standard of "poor college student." However, increasingly I hear students off to Texas hold'em tournaments talking poker strategy and guys and girls alike canceling dates or neglecting homework so that they can go sit for eight hours at a poker table among cigarette smoke, foul language and stale potato chips. \nThe glamour of poker has been perpetuated by ESPN, and who can blame them for tapping into a new, unexplored market? Lonely people who have never had the physique, the athletic ability and the looks to get noticed can now get online or head to a local poker table and get noticed immediately for winning a few hands at the luck of the draw. ESPN has finally discovered a way to make thick eye glasses and old men sexy; glorify the game they play. There's no doubt that it's fun and has after all sprung a new 'sport' to sell beer (Old Milwaukee is the official beer sponsor of the World Series of Poker). \nBut with this new trend and acceptance of gambling among students comes a new form of irresponsibility. Poker offers an enticing way to justify the postponement or general disregard of studies simply by asserting the idea that one night of studying produces a good letter grade, while one night of poker might produce $50. Let us be honest folks, how many of the approximately 38,000 students at IU do you know who would pick an "A" over $50? All signs point to not many. \nThe problem is that at a poker table of eight players engaged in a rousing bout of Texas hold'em, only one of those players can win. That leaves seven with lighter wallets at the end of the night. Who pays for that loss? Maybe we have a few too many students spending their parent's money. Maybe some won't be able to pay tuition. \nI do know this, so take some advice: Watching "Rounders" and the World Series of Poker doesn't make you a brilliant poker player. If you're losing money, just stop playing. For those who are very good at the game, I say keep taking the cash. There are plenty of suckers out there that have more money than they know what to do with. I'm sure you could use it. Take it.