U of Poker

A gathering of sweat has formed above his brow. His finger taps anxiously. He wants to be still on the outside, but inside his heart is pounding. It’s a tell. If anyone were to notice his uncertainty, it would be game over.

He just moved all-in. His cards: 3-7 off suit. He hopes he has executed the bluff to perfection. This tournament is on the line. If he wins this pot, he’ll be closer and closer to — his alarm goes off. 7:40 a.m. Damn early morning classes. A man has got to sleep. He shuts off his alarm and looks back to his computer. Someone called his all-in bet. His hand was caught in the cookie jar. He was eliminated, $5 poorer.

He stops in the bathroom and looks in the mirror. After another all-nighter spent playing poker, he looks like hell. He returns to his bedroom. Class begins in 16 minutes. He grabs his backpack and starts for the door. He makes it two steps then stops. He drops his bag and returns to his seat, his computer, his casino.

He enters another $5 buy-in tournament and takes his virtual seat. “Tournament will start in one minute,” the screen informs him. What about class? Not today. Today he is attending the University of Poker.

Texas Hold’em is becoming an increasingly popular pastime among college students. But what is it about the game that makes it so enjoyable? And is it worth the risks?

According to Chad Peelle, a senior at Butler University, Hold’em is just like any other sport.

“It gets the adrenaline pumping,” he said. “When I’m in a big hand it gets my heart pounding. There’s no feeling like the relief and payoff that comes from winning that hand.”

Hold’em also has the mental aspects of a sport. Whoever can outsmart the competition wins.

“I like the mathematical, psychological and strategic challenges of the game,” Peelle said.

There is luck involved, but skill is what ultimately separates the winners from the losers. Matt Damon’s character makes this point in the 1998 film Rounders when he argues with his girlfriend, saying, “Why do you think the same five guys make it to the final table of the World Series of Poker every single year? What, are they the luckiest guys in Las Vegas? It’s a skill game, Jo.”

And the rush that comes from outplaying someone makes the game addictive.
“There’s no thrill like that of victory,” Peelle agrees.

In a single day, over 100,000 people may be playing online poker at the same time.

Thanks to the World Series of Poker on ESPN, the World Poker Tour on the Travel Channel and countless Internet poker programs, the game is as popular as ever. And many college students are spending less time on the books and more time at the poker tables.

The College Poker Championship™ is one poker site that is capitalizing on the explosion of poker among college students. This September, the third annual College Poker Championship™ online tournament is scheduled to launch. Students everywhere are encouraged to use their poker skills to compete for cash scholarships and donation prizes.

The Web site says that by making the tournament free to enter, it is not encouraging students to gamble. But by offering this “risk free” opportunity to receive money, they know that students will sign up. Then the Web site will throw out promotions and deposit bonuses that players can use to get extra money if they only put in a little bit of real money into their online accounts and play a certain number of hands with it. Also, students can make $5 for each friend they get to sign up. The profits sound good, and students will go all-in.

“If I could eventually get the funds for it, I would definitely consider playing poker for a living,” Peelle said. “It would be a fun and fulfilling way of making fairly easy money.”

Students see people on television like Daniel Negreanu, who dropped out of high school to play poker and has won millions since. Student don’t see the people who drop out of school to play poker and fall deeply short of their goals.
Students also see people like David Williams, who dropped out of college after finishing second place at the World Series of Poker last year, winning $3.5 million. What students tend to forget are the 2,574 people he outlasted — most of whom paid the $10,000 buy-in and left the casino with nothing but a dented bank account and a story.

And what did David Williams say his plans were after winning this life-changing amount of money? To take advantage of a real risk-free opportunity.

To eventually go back and finish school.