Rotary Sport Poker Challenge
Exhibition Games

PDG Efren De Guzman congratulates the 1st RSPCEG Winner PP Dante Verano of RC Marikina

ON THE ROAD TO THE FIRST EVER ROTARY SPORT POKER CHALLENGE BY THE ROTARY CLUB OF SAN JUAN DEL MONTE 3800 ON JUNE 17, 2006, POKER PARTY MANILA IS HOLDING A SERIES OF POKER EXHIBITION GAMES AIMING TO PRESENT POKER AS A SPORT RATHER THAN A GAMBLING MEDIUM, THUS ENJOINING MORE AND MORE INTO THE GAME OF POKER.

HELD AT A FELLOWSHIP OF THE LEAGUE OF LOVING PRESIDENTS OF ROTARY DISTRICT 3800[23 APRIL 2006, ANTIPOLO CITY], BOTH EXPERIENCED AND NOVICE POKER PLAYERS ENJOYED A WHOLE AFTERNOON OF SPORT POKER. (PROCEED TO EVENTS PAGE)

PPM PLAYS TEXAS HOLD 'EM POKER

TEXAS HOLD 'EM (ALSO HOLD'EM, HOLDEM) IS THE MOST POPULAR OF THE COMMUNITY CARD POKER GAMES. IT IS ALSO THE MOST POPULAR POKER VARIANT PLAYED IN CASINOS IN THE UNITED STATES, AND ITS NO-LIMIT BETTING FORM IS USED IN THE MAIN EVENT OF THE WORLD SERIES OF POKER (WSOP), AS SEEN ON ESPN, WIDELY RECOGNIZED AS THE WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP OF THE GAME. IT IS ALSO THE MAIN GAME IN THE WORLD POKER TOUR (WPT) THAT HOSTS INTERNATIONAL POKER TOURNAMENTS AROUND THE GLOBE. (read more...)

CHRON.COM | HOUSTON CHRONICLE
A READER BLOG ABOUT POKER
FEBRUARY 10, 2006

WITH THE 20TH OLYMPIC WINTER GAMES BEGINNING TODAY IN TORINO, ITALY, I'M REMINDED OF THE "POKER AS AN OLYMPIC SPORT" FUROR OF 2004. A FEW MONTHS BEFORE THE SUMMER GAMES IN ATHENS, POKERINATHENS.COM LAUNCHED WITH THE INTENTION OF MAKING POKER AN OLYMPIC SPORT.

THIS WAS A PIE-IN-THE-SKY IDEA CONCOCTED BY THE ONLINE POKER SITE FULLTILTPOKER.COM. OKAY OKAY, IT WAS JUST A PUBLICITY STUNT, BUT I DID ENGAGE IN A SEVERAL INTERESTING "IS POKER A SPORT?" CONVERSATIONS THAT SUMMER.

THE OXFORD ENGLISH DICTIONARY DEFINES "SPORT" AS:

AN ACTIVITY INVOLVING PHYSICAL EXERTION AND SKILL IN WHICH AN INDIVIDUAL OR TEAM COMPETES AGAINST ANOTHER OR OTHERS.

WITH POKER REGULARLY COVERED BY MAJOR SPORTS NETWORKS LIKE ESPN, FOX SPORTS, AND EVEN NBC, IT SEEMS SPORTS EDITORS HAVE DECLARED THAT POKER IS INDEED A SPORT! OF COURSE, WITH THE VIRUS-LIKE SPREAD OF POKER'S POPULARITY, TELEVISED POKER PROBABLY POINTS MORE TO ESPN'S DESIRE FOR PROFITS THAN DICK VITALE'S NEW LOVE FOR FLOPS. CAN YOU IMAGINE DICKEY V. IN THE BROADCAST BOOTH WITH HOWARD LEDERER? THAT FLOP IS AWESOME BABY!

FOR ANYONE WONDERING WHO COULD REASONABLY ARGUE THAT POKER IS A SPORT -- DO YOU WATCH BASEBALL OR GOLF? MAYBE BECAUSE I ALWAYS GOT PICKED LAST DURING RECESS, I'M DECLARING IN THIS SPACE THAT IF BASEBALL AND GOLF ARE SPORTS, THEN POKER IS A SPORT!

ACCORDING TO OXFORD, POKER MUST SATISFY THREE REQUIREMENTS TO BE A PROPER SPORT: COMPETITION, SKILL AND PHYSICAL EXERTION.

1. POKER PLAYERS COMPETE AGAINST EACH OTHER RATHER THAN THE HOUSE. THIS PUTS POKER INTO ITS OWN CLASS OF CASINO GAMES. RATHER THAN GAMBLING AGAINST THEIR CUSTOMERS, CASINOS CHARGE POKER PLAYERS A FEE FOR USING THEIR SERVICES -- SETTING UP POKER TABLES, DEALERS, FLOORPERSON, ETC. THIS ASPECT OF POKER CLEARLY DISTINGUISHES IT AS A COMPETITIVE ACTIVITY.
2. POKER IS A GAME OF SKILL. BASIC STRATEGY IN POKER INVOLVES GETTING YOUR MONEY INTO THE POT WHEN YOU HAVE THE BEST OF IT. THAT MEANS YOU ONLY BET OR CALL WHEN YOU HAVE A BETTER CHANCE OF WINNING THAN YOUR OPPONENT. PLAYERS WITH AN UNDERSTANDING OF BASIC ODDS AND PROBABLITIES HAVE AN ADVANTAGE OVER THE CASUAL GAMBLER. THE GOOD POKER PLAYER CAN MANIPULATE POT ODDS SO THAT THEY ARE A HUGE STATISTICAL FAVORITE OVER THEIR OPPONENTS. (A DISCUSSION OF ODDS AND PROBABLITIES DESERVES ITS OWN POST.)
3. POKER REQUIRES HEAVY PHYSICAL EXERTION. UMM... YEAH. OKAY, I ADMIT, THAT LAST STATEMENT IS A BIT OF A STRETCH. BUT TRY TELLING LAST YEAR'S WSOP PLAYERS THAT POKER INVOLVES NO PHYSICAL EXERTION. PLAYERS MAY BE SITTING ALL DAY, BUT STAMINA PLAYS A SIGNIFICANT ROLE IN A LONG TOURNAMENT'S OUTCOME. EVEN IF YOU'RE NOT PLAYING FOR 15 HOURS A DAY, IT'S EASY TO BECOME RESTLESS, TIRED AND DISTRACTED AFTER JUST AN HOUR OF INTENSE FOCUS. BETTER STAMINA LEADS TO BETTER DECISIONS DURING YOUR PLAYING SESSIONS.

 WHILE POKER WILL PROBABLY NEVER MAKE IT TO THE OLYMPICS (AS AN OFFICIAL SPORT ANYWAY), IT DOES PROVIDE THE SAME CHALLENGES AND JOY THAT OTHER SPORTS PROVIDE. HECK, POKER EVEN HAS ITS OWN WORLD SERIES -- TAKE THAT PGA TOUR! AND WHILE THERE AREN'T ANY WORLD RECORDS TO BE BROKEN IN POKER, IT CERTAINLY PAYS OFF TO TRAIN HARDER THAN YOUR FRIENDS.

AND NO, YOU DON'T GET A TROPHY FOR BEING THE SOLITAIRE CHAMP AT WORK
 

 HTTP://WWW.MNDAILY.COM THE MINNESOTA DAILY

SEVERAL MONTHS AGO, I WROTE : “ANYBODY WHO SAYS POKER IS A SPORT IS AN IDIOT.” AT THE TIME, I MIGHT HAVE BEEN ON TOP, OR PERHAPS EVEN AHEAD, OF THE CURVE WITH MY CONDEMNATION. AFTER ALL, WITH THE EXCEPTION OF WEEKDAY AFTERNOONS ON ESPN2, YOU COULD TOSS THE FIGURATIVE BRICK THROUGH BOTH THE TELEVISION SCHEDULE AND POP CULTURE AS A WHOLE WITHOUT HITTING POKER. I FIGURED THE PHENOMENON WOULD PETER OUT, LIKE SWING-DANCING AND KURT WARNER’S DEAL WITH THE DEVIL.

HOW NAIVE I WAS. HOW NAIVE WE ALL WERE, REALLY. POKER IS APPARENTLY THE GAME OF THE PEOPLE. NOW, YOU CAN’T FLIP THROUGH YOUR TV CHANNELS WITHOUT HITTING A POKER BROADCAST. IT’S NOW THE FLAGSHIP ESPN, NOT ESPN2, THAT’S FLOODED WITH EPISODES (AND RERUNS AND RE-RERUNS AD INFINITUM) OF THIS YEAR’S WORLD SERIES OF POKER, AND THE NETWORK’S WEB SITE REGULARLY RUNS COLUMNS REGARDING THE GAME.

EVEN BRAVO HAS MANAGED TO MAKE SPACE BETWEEN ITS 43 DAILY HOURS OF “QUEER EYE FOR THE STRAIGHT GUY” TO REGULARLY SHOW INSTALLMENTS OF “CELEBRITY POKER SHOWDOWN.” WHERE CAN WE GO FROM HERE? TIM RUSSERT DISCUSSING STRAIGHT DRAWS ON “MEET THE PRESS”? MOVE OVER NASCAR, THERE’S A NEW CULTURAL TREND IN TOWN, AND IT’S APPARENTLY GOT POCKET ACES AND THE CHIP LEAD.

YOU MIGHT NOTE IN THAT LAST SENTENCE MY BEAR-TRAP-LIKE GRASP OF POKER TERMS. NOBODY’S GOING TO ACCUSE ME OF BEING BEHIND THE CURVE. BESIDES, IT TURNS OUT I MIGHT ACTUALLY BE DECENT AT THIS PARTICULAR FAD. I BASE THIS ON ONE FACT: LAST WEEKEND, I PLAYED IN MY FIRST-EVER POKER GAME. SOMEHOW, I MANAGED TO BEAT SIX FRIENDS IN A NOT-SO-FRIENDLY GAME OF TEXAS HOLD ‘EM (FOR THOSE NOT UP TO SPEED, THIS IS THE VERSION OF THE GAME PLAYED BY BIG-STAKES POKER PLAYERS), IN THE PROCESS WINNING $30. I AM NOW A TOTAL POKER FANATIC.

IN THE SAME PIECE THAT I MENTIONED EARLIER, I WROTE ABOUT MY DEEP-SEATED BELIEF GOLF IS NOT A SPORT. SOME READERS POINTED OUT THEY THOUGHT MY LOGIC WAS FLAWED. “YOU’RE AN IDIOT,” IS HOW MOST OF THEM PUT IT. I’M NOT READY TO CONCEDE THEIR POINT YET, BUT I CAN SAY THIS: IF GOLF IS A SPORT, THEN POKER DEFINITELY IS. I CAN TELL BECAUSE BOTH OF THEM TURN OTHERWISE SOCIALLY-SKILLED PEOPLE INTO BLITHERING IDIOTS.

GOLF HAS ALWAYS CAUSED PERFECTLY NORMAL PEOPLE TO REGALE YOU FOR HOURS WITH TALES OF THEIR LATEST ROUND ON THE LINKS. THEY CAN’T HELP IT, AND I’M AS GUILTY AS ANYONE OF THIS TREND. IF WE DON’T TELL YOU ABOUT THE FIVE IRON WE HIT ON 13, WE MAY BURST. MODERN MEDICINE HAS YET TO GRASP THAT THE UPWARD TREND IN HEART DISEASE MIGHT NOT BE LINKED TO OBESITY, BUT INSTEAD TO PENT-UP FRUSTRATIONS ABOUT HITTING CARELESSLY-PLACED BUNKER RAKES WITH PERFECT PITCH SHOTS.

POKER IS NO DIFFERENT. NO RED-BLOODED POKER PLAYER CAN LET YOU MENTION THE GAME EVEN PERIPHERALLY WITHOUT LAUNCHING INTO HIS OR HER OWN TALES OF BLOOD, GUTS AND CRUSHING LOSSES TO SURPRISE FLUSHES. MOST OF THESE RECITATIONS ARE DONE WITH SUCH EXCITEMENT THAT THE RESULT IS PART WAR STORY, PART MURDER MYSTERY AND PART DAILY BRIDGE COLUMN. (“I HAD TWO PAIR, BUT WEST FLOPPED A FULL HOUSE, MEANING I HAD TO KILL NORTH WITH A SHARPENED 10-DOLLAR CHIP.”)

I THOUGHT THE POKER FAD WOULD DIE. I WAS WRONG. IT MAY NOT BE A FAD AT ALL. IT’S QUICKLY TAKING A PLACE IN THE PSEUDO-SPORTS PANTHEON, ALONG WITH BOWLING AND BILLIARDS. THANKS TO LAST WEEKEND’S POKER GAME, CYNICAL OLD ME IS ALONG FOR THE RIDE.

WHY DO I TELL YOU ALL THIS? I ABSOLUTELY HAVE TO TELL YOU HOW I WON OUR POKER GAME. SEE, I DREW 4-2 OFF-SUIT, AND I WOULD HAVE THROWN IT IN, BUT MY OPPONENT CHECKED INSTEAD OF RAISING … HEY! COME BACK HERE!
 

IS POKER GAMBLING? MOST PEOPLE (MOSTLY OLDIES) SAY IT IS BUT NOT COMPLETELY TRUE TODAY. JUST BECAUSE THE GAME INVOLVES A DECK OF CARDS, IT SHOULD NOT BE CONSIDERED AS GAMBLING. SO THEN, IS SOLITAIRE GAMBLING? ANYHOW, EVER SINCE THE 23RD OF MARCH 2003, THE FACE OF WORLDWIDE POKER HAS BEEN CHANGED - IT HAS BEEN RE-INVENTED.

THROUGH WORLD POKER TOUR, POKER HAS CAPTURED A GREAT FOLLOWING OF A DIFFERENT KIND. MORE THAN JUST THE PROFESSIONAL PLAYERS WE SEE AT THE LOCAL CASINO, THE TOUR HAS CREATED "FANS." AND, JUST LIKE ANY OTHER SPORT, POKER HAS ITS HEROES IN THE LIKES OF JOE HACHEM, T.J. CLOUTIER, PHIL HELLMUTH, AND MORE.

NOW POKER PARTIES ARE HELD EVERYWHERE EVEN WITH VERY YOUNG PLAYERS. FOR WHAT? WHAT ELSE BUT FUN, POKER PRIDE, GLORY AND SUPERIORITY.

ASIDE FROM THE DIFFERENT COMBINATIONS OF CARDS AND RULES OF PLAY, BASICALLY, WHOEVER GETS THE MOST NUMBER OF CHIPS WINS THE GAME. MONEY ISN'T NECESSARILY NEEDED.

NOW, POKER CAN BE GAMBLING WHEN PLAYED FOR MONEY. BUT POKER CAN ALSO JUST BE A GAME. IT IS A GAME OF SKILL RATHER THAN CHANCE - OF MATHEMATICAL PROWESS, CONFIDENCE TO BLUFF AND TO FRONT THAT EVER BEAUTIFUL POKER FACE.

OLDIES LIKE BINGO BUT BINGO IS NOTHING BUT A GAME OF CHANCE. WHAT? BLOTTING/MARKING YOUR CARD TAKES GREAT SKILL?...RIGHT!

NOW POKER ISN'T AT ALL BAD, YES?

TRY IT...JUST FOR KICKS!