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Wharton: Poker craze
Published: 2005-04-13
 Wharton: Poker craze: Utahns say, 'Deal me in'
By Tom Wharton
Salt Lake Tribune Columnist
My father's relatives and friends once gathered in a tiny cabin at Camp Strawberry before the opening of the fishing season to play all sorts of strange poker games. Cigar smoke filled the room that was lit by a bare light bulb.
The language could get a bit coarse, especially when the dealer picked some strange hybrid. I can remember that a game called “no peeky baseball” elicited groans from the poker purists.
While my brother and cousins took up the game with gusto, it never much interested me. I thought a full house meant a family party and a straight flush was when the toilet worked.
Still, a sudden increase in poker
fueled by the Internet and televised poker tournaments is hard to ignore. Suddenly, everyone I know, from nephews to sons to friends, wants to play poker.
A new Utah business, Cards, Chips and More: Your Texas Holdem Headquarters, opened in January in Salt Lake City. It sells felt card tables, poker sets, chips, poker T-shirts (slogan: "I'm not lucky. I'm good”), card shufflers, card guards and instructional books and DVDs, with titles such as “Poker for Dummies” and “Play Poker with the Pros.”
Chris Shilts, who owns the store, said television has fueled interest in the old card game. Six channels broadcast at least one poker show a week.
“I love the game,” he said. “I don't know why. There is a percentage of luck involved. And, in my opinion, there is a much larger percentage of skill involved. You can be lucky or skillful.”
As I discovered so many years ago at Camp Strawberry, there is the social aspect.
“I love hanging out with people,” said Shilts. “There can be male or female at a table and there is always a little bantering back and forth. It is a great way to get out and socialize. To me, it is more than gambling and making money, even though I can do that.”
While playing cards for fun in Utah is not illegal, gambling itself does break the law. Of course, that doesn't stop hundreds of recreational players from competing in penny ante games in their homes or when camping any more than most I-15 drivers pay attention to the 65 mph speed limit.
Utah's conservative and religious culture also does not seem to hurt Shilts' business.
“It doesn't matter whether you are Catholic, Jew or Mormon, people love poker,” he said, adding “I have friends who go to church weekly who play poker and play religiously at least once a week.”
Like many things in modern society, the Internet also helped fuel interest. It allowed novices to learn the game without risking too much money or, perhaps more importantly, without looking foolish in front of their friends.
While I still haven't joined my father's monthly poker games - I guess I'm not a chip off the old block - I became interested in the game's history.
According to the Web site http://www.pokertips.org, the game's origins are unclear. Most historians believe it originated in Persia in the 16th century and was known as As Nas.
“The game played in a similar fashion to modern five-card stud and possessed poker hands rankings, such as three of a kind,” according to the Web site. “When Europeans began to play, they called it 'poque' or 'pochen.' While poker's origins may lie in Europe and Persia, it truly developed in the United States. Poker was first widely played in New Orleans in the early 1800s.”
Count me as a person who still doesn't have the confidence to play poker for money. But, like the old days at Camp Strawberry, the lure of the game to others is totally understandable. And it seems to be increasing in interest all the time.
wharton@sltrib.com
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Poker Phase A convert learns when to hold 'em
Published: 2005-04-17
 Poker Phase
A convert learns when to hold 'em
Sam Whiting
Sunday, April 17, 2005
Diana Brodie lives in a cottage half a block from Golden Gate Park, but that's not her idea of recreation. Brodie, 39, a video editor, spends her free time, and even her un-free time, playing poker online or at a card club in Colma.
Do you have a handle?
My friend wanted to give me a poker nickname, so she decided to call me "Too Tall."
How tall are you?
5' 3". I'm hoping that the sarcastic irony makes it catchy enough to stick.
When did you start playing poker?
Jan. 1, 2004. That was the first hand of poker I ever played.
How'd you do?
I think I ended up winning 20 bucks. I was hooked.
How quickly did you pick it up?
Last year, I won a multitable tournament on PokerRoom.com.
How much did you win?
I won, like $2,500 and I bought my car. I call it "The Poker Car."
What's your game?
Texas Hold 'em. You have two cards and everyone at the table shares five community cards. You make your best five-card hand out of those seven cards.
What's the most you've lost on a hand?
This weekend I lost $250 on one hand at Lucky Chances Casino in Colma. Online, the most I've lost on one hand is about a hundred bucks.
What's the most you've won?
Online, the most I've won on one hand is $300.
What are the advantages to playing online?
You can make really huge mistakes and no one's looking at you.
What are the disadvantages ?
You can't see their eyes. You can't see them react when the card hits the table.
What are the advantages of card rooms?
I have an advantage by being female. Guys will tend to be like, "Oh, I'd fold that, Little Lady, if I were you." That kind of attitude.
So it helps to be a woman?
Men have a tendency to target you. Every time you go into a hand, they're in it because they think they can outplay you. I've taken a lot of money from guys that way.
Do you wear a poker face?
I want to be nice and funny and entertaining at the tables. The more people are having fun, the more they're going to give you their money.
Have you played tournaments?
I played one live tournament at Lucky Chances. There were about 100 people and I came in 12th. The top 10 made money.
Was that a moral victory?
I took a guy down. Completely busted him out of the tournament because he underestimated me.
You didn't feel bad for him?
We all take the same risks. I'd bust my grandmother if she were still alive.
How much time do you spend playing online?
Last night I played six hours straight. I won about $450.
Do you have a hero?
I bid online in a charity auction to have dinner and a poker tutorial with Annie Duke. She won the Tournament of Champions and $2 million.
How much did it cost?
The winning bid was $1,800. I told her that she was my new couch. I'm still sitting on the old couch, but I'm playing poker a lot better.
Have you ever told yourself "That's it"?
I've cut myself off when I lost $500 in a weekend and take a few days off.
How often are you thinking of that $500?
Every second of those two days.
Is it addictive?
Very.
Are you addicted?
I can stop any time I want to. I just don't want to.
E-mail Sam Whiting at swhiting@sfchronicle.com.
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