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BY ALYSSA WORK

In print | September 23, 2004

It’s after midnight. Silence fills a darkened room as hardened gamblers peer over racks of cards, trying hard to decipher their opponents’ every glance. A stack of chips sits in the center of the table, waiting to be claimed.

Atlantic City? A Texas saloon? No, it’s the poker scene, right here at Swarthmore. Nightly games in dorm lounges and weekly student tournaments are gaining popularity on- and off-campus, and more and more students are anteing up.

“It’s a competitive game,” said Joshua Berney ‘05, who frequently plays poker on campus with a group of six to eight friends. "People like competition, and there’s the possibility of winning decent amounts of money."

Alfred Shon ‘05 attributes the game’s popularity to its accessibility.

“Anybody can play … it’s an intellectual game,” said Shon, who won (but has not yet received) a $100 gift certificate at Saloon Night during orientation week. “I’ve never read books because I wanted to master the game on my own hands. But there’s a lot of psychology involved in gambling strategy.”

Many students have noticed a rise in the number of students playing poker this year, a trend that has ESPN to thank. Shows like “World Poker Tour” and “Celebrity Poker” are bringing the game out from its smoky back-room origins and into the living rooms and hall lounges of the mainstream.

Students typically gather in dorms, empty lounges, or down at Qüb in groups of five to eight to play Texas Hold ’Em, the most widely known variation of the game.

Players believe that Hold ’Em is the version of poker where luck and skill are most evenly balanced — where luck will still affect the game, but where skill is essential for any substantial wins.

“Since more inexperienced players know it, you can win more playing against inexperienced people,” Berney said.

Hold ‘Em is the game to be played at the campus poker tournaments held in Mephistos each week. Organized by Anders Taylor ’07 and Jeff Schneider ’05, the tournaments will be hosted "Fridays and Saturdays when there’s not much going on," Taylor said.

“We’ll have a bunch of different buy-ins,” Taylor said, “and all the money taken off the top will be played for in the last tournament by the people who won the previous tournaments.”

Last week’s Willets tournament attracted about 30 people at a $1 registration fee and $5 buy-in. Taylor said the e-mail list has about 50 players, but he “hopes it will grow as people hear about it.” Although the last tournament was completely male, Taylor said he was surprised and would like to see more girls playing.

The buy-in for next week’s tournament is expected to be higher, between $10 and $20. This may be considerably higher than most students are used to playing for on campus.

“Unfortunately, we play for zilch … there’s nothing to be won except pride,” Shon said about his nightly Wharton matches.

Online poker, however, offers the opportunity for higher stakes and more anonymous play. Internet matches are “really increasing in popularity,” Berney said. “Relatively intelligent people can make serious money online.”

“People play higher stakes than when they’re with friends,” said Taylor, who plays online about once a week. “I guess you feel more justified taking money from people you don’t know.”

Games and tournaments go on all year for most students devoted to the game, and experienced players know what it takes to win. Veterans cite a willingness to take risks as one of the most vital qualities for a serious poker player to have. Winning requires a combination of both knowledge about the game and an ability to read your fellow players and figure out what they’re thinking.

“It’s a complex game … there’s a lot of skill involved,” Taylor said. “Anything people call luck is odds of the hand, and it depends what you do with it.”

Despite the possibility of walking away with less than they brought to the table, Swarthmore poker players keep coming back for the love of the game … or the money.

“There are swings of luck,” Taylor said. “It’s like playing any other game, except with stakes.”

And in the end, he said, “it’s nice to have a little extra income.”

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