Since the 1700s (Wikipedia), variations of poker have been popular amongst Americans; popular in ways such as playing with groups of friends on Friday nights, killing time with fellow soldiers in the middle of a war, or for the lonelier of the gamblers, playing at a casino.  The existence of poker in these atmospheres has continued as well as adapted for centuries, but no matter the type of game, poker became a nice distraction from stress coming from either home, work or the war. The purpose of poker in today's world is not too different, but the pool of people involved in tournaments has spread greatly. Since 2003, average people who may not have even played poker in their basements on Friday nights started entering bigger tournaments hoping to win first place. The field of poker was no longer limited to professional players but was instead threatened by those who weren't as sure of what they were getting involved in. The rapid growth of tournaments such as the World Series of Poker stems from a single year when an once unknown accountant by the name of Chris Moneymaker surprisingly won the Main Event (pokerstars.com).
       Other unknowns like himself realized from this that they too had a chance to make it far in this once small, exclusive event. The general public does not look kindly upon gambling, and any average American might think that this new poker boom could be harmful if not dangerous to all those who get involved, when it is in fact quite the opposite. Poker is not just another form of "throwing one's money away." More goes into the complexities of the game than just luck and wasted money. Poker has an influence on people that is almost always overlooked by those who are not a part of the culture, and in addition to the "Moneymaker Effect" (pokerstars.com), the positive things that come from playing poker are also part of the reason that the poker boom is going on today.
        Since my younger brother was in high school, all he wanted to do was become a professional poker player. I never understood this ambition and neither did our parents. We worried about him as he blew off school and a possible college education for what we felt was the easy lifestyle. I didn't know that poker was more to him than an easy way out until I started playing myself at the beginning of 2009. First of all, poker is more about strategy and statistics than it is about luck. At any given time a person must know how good their own hand is, what other possible hands are available based on what's on the board, the chances of someone else having a better hand, knowing what cards are left in the deck and how they would be able to help or potentially ruin their win, and finally, how much they would have to bet to successfully force someone to either call or fold their cards depending on whether they have you beat or not. Being able to read people is one of the most important aspects of poker, and possessing that skill can make your good hands even better and your bluffs more rewarding. Mark Griffiths, part of the International Gambling Research Unit and a professor of gambling studies at Nottingham Trent University, states that skills coming from the experience of poker "can be utilized in other contexts to bring about success in other areas of peoples' lives, particularly in the areas of employability and future success within that job" (Parke).  He goes on to list skills such as critical, numerical, interpersonal, problem solving, learning, self-awareness and self control skills (Parke). Unlike other forms of gambling, poker can broaden the scope of tools one needs to become successful in life, as well as strengthen the ones that are already in place. In addition, the complexities that go into good poker playing make for a challenging atmosphere, and what some people think of as "easy" or even a "game" is actually work for the people who seriously play it.
        While professional poker can be a job and a lot of people depend on it for their main source of income, it is not to say that it isn't enjoyable. But who doesn't originally want to make a career out of what they love? Aren't we always told as children to follow our hearts and dream big? So why is poker looked at so differently from jobs such as writing or music-making or acting or teaching or even accounting, if that's what you love? While the outcome of playing poker may be less predictable or stable than a 9 to 5 job, the people who use this game as their means of making money know what they're doing and are good at it. And most of the time, these people are successful. Doyle Brunson, a famous poker pro, was originally headed for an athletic career when he got injured badly. He talks of his journey into poker: "Once I accepted the fact my career in sports was over, I started playing poker to support myself... At the time, I thought I was going to be a teacher/coach. Then later, when I saw that the pay scale for teachers was so poor, I decided not to pursue that profession" (pokerpages.com). He has been playing poker in many different arenas for over 50 years and his skills in the game have supported him financially and singlehandedly. In fact, many of the professional poker players don't have regular jobs, and never have. Their skills in the game that they love keep them alive, making it possible for gambling to become a profession.
---
        I mentioned earlier that I have recently started playing poker regularly. People who know me don't usually care about why I am choosing to use my spare time this way, but immediately start shelling out advice. "Don't get too involved with poker; it can be very addictive." "Make sure you don't spend too much money gambling; you need that money for more important things." I have listened to their advice with open ears, but continue to play. No one wonders why, and I want to explore that "why" for me as well as other newly self-labeled poker players. For months my brother begged me to come with him to our local bowling alley to play in the free poker tournaments they hold every night, and I always had an excuse. Eventually I decided I would try it out, because, after all, it was free to enter. The first time I played, I made it pretty far and decided to come back one more time. The second time, I made it to the final table out of 191 people, knocking out 9 of them, and eventually to fourth place, winning $80. It was the biggest rush I ever had: gathering the chips when I won a hand, hearing the crowd cheering for me when at one time they didn't even know who I was. I was the underdog turned crowd favorite. For the first time in a long time I felt a sense of community, and I knew instantly that I fit in. After that night, I started going regularly, and it became not only about the game or the money, but the familiar faces I would see each week. They would ask me how I had done the previous nights and we would share stories of crazy hands and amazing wins or ridiculous losses. These people who on any other occasion I would not speak to, nor have any reason to, had become my friends because they, unlike those not connected with the poker world, understood why I was there, and genuinely wished the best for me, even though we would at some point become competition. The great sense of purpose poker gives me has filled a once empty spot in my life, and the feeling of knowing I'm good at something and that people can see that, boosts my confidence more than anything else has been able to.
        The poker culture offers a sense of community for the people involved in it, and gives as much as it can to those outside. Mindi Trinidad was a new poker player about two years ago and started winning events. She made quite an impression on the poker world, and when she passed away from cancer in 2008, Full Tilt, which is an online poker website, sponsored an event in honor of Mindi which contributed to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society (pokernews.com). Over a thousand people showed up including many of the pros. Before she lost her battle to leukemia, Mindi was lucky to have those people in her life to support her through her struggle. The charitable event showed the mutual love and respect for that one woman from poker players all over the world as well as their care for those they had never met who are in need of donations. Mindi chose for her last days to be spent at the poker table, and her story demonstrates the raw connection and love these people have for each other.
        It is not just the tournaments, organizations and websites that donate to charity. Countless players in the World Series of Poker (WSOP) give percentages of their wins to a variety of charities. Phil Gordon, a poker player himself, started a fund in 2003 to help research in order to prevent cancer. In 2008, more than 100 people who entered the WSOP donated one percent of their winnings to this "Bad Beat on Cancer" fund (preventcancer.org). Unbelievably, this adds up to over 2 million dollars since 2003. More people donate each year, and donations have spread beyond just this tournament. Creating a fund like this allows poker players the chance to give to a good cause as well as play for something other than their own monetary success. Sometimes single players take donating into their own hands. A poker pro by the name of Dennis Phillips has a brother that was diagnosed with MS. Since then, he has spent his time playing more poker, winning more money and auctioning off personal belongings in order to donate to the National Multiple Sclerosis Association (sports.espn.go.com). The good that comes from poker doesn't solely transfer to the players themselves, but to many people outside the tournaments as well.
---
        Although the bowling alley I play poker at hosts free-roll tournaments, of course most other options for playing poker consist of spending money, or at least putting it on the line. The World Series of Poker Main Event has a buy in of $10,000. However, paying to get into a tournament isn't much different from a lot of other things we do for even our kids. If you take a trip to Disneyland, what exactly are you doing? Well, you're paying hundreds of dollars, depending on how long you stay, to have fun, or for your kids to have fun. Is that a waste of money? Maybe so, but paying for the experience of any amusement park is done all the time, and poker can be looked at the same way. In 2006, more than 16.5 million people attended Walt Disney World while more than 14.5 chose to have their fun at Disney Land (Rubin). In 2007, right around 6000 people entered the Main Event of the WSOP (neverwinpoker.com), and while that number is far greater than years previous, there are still far less people shelling out cash for that than at any famous theme park. When someone gives ten grand to play in the World Series of Poker, the seat they get in return is their ticket to an experience, to an once-in-a-year opportunity, and to a good time. Anyone who goes in there expecting nothing less than first place, or that can't afford to lose that buy-in money shouldn't be there in the first place.
        A new rule instituted in some schools around Michigan is the pay-to-play rule. This can range from sports teams to even the marching band. About 88,000 kids in south east Michigan alone pay these fees that add up to 10 million in 2007 (Girard). What was once a free part of the high school experience is now charged to the parent's credit card. In a football game, there is no chance of winning any money as there is in a poker tournament, but parents don't refuse to pay this new fee. If they did, high school would consist only of classes and homework. If these pay-to-play programs are still around, and people are still playing sports in high schools around Michigan, society must think it's okay to pay money to participate in something one enjoys doing. Except for card games, of course.
---
        Casino poker is much different from tournament poker. Your own money is involved in the moment and stakes can be a lot higher. This can get dangerous for a person especially if they find poker addicting. Poker has the potential to make people feel really good, as it does to make someone feel the opposite way. In this sense, poker is, just as any other activity or substance that can give someone a rush, addictive. Tournaments are different from casino gambling because there is only a certain amount of money given away by each player at the beginning, and there are no unforeseen risks involved. In casinos, when a person loses a lot of money, it is possible for them to continue playing in order to get their money back, because, in their minds, it is all about the luck of the draw. They're bound to win eventually. In reality they are searching for that feeling again. The great thing about casinos now, is that they offer help lines to people in need. If someone has a gambling problem, they can call the number given and take the first step in starting the process of recovery. The Greektown Casino in Detroit, Michigan has a helpline as well as a website offering information about gambling problems as well as opportunities for help (greektowncasino.com). Casinos also watch people very carefully. If someone seems to be underage, drinking too much, or showing signs of a gambling problem, the casino owners will simply show them the way out. In addition to watching out for this type of compulsive gambler, casinos are starting to advertise their message via T.V. commercial. These kinds of gestures force people to reevaluate their situations and take some time to work their problems out, even though it probably costs the casinos money. If everyone who gambles has a gambling problem, then there would be no one in the casinos. There are ways to play poker safely, even separate from the tournament setting, and casinos are willing to help people achieve that.
        The general public needs to be able to distinguish between professional poker players and gambling addicts because if the two are grouped together, poker players will have a harder time gaining respect and understanding from the outside world. Many pros do their best to help others out by giving to charity or promoting causes, so a widespread respect is deserved. A gambler with a problem feels a need to win back any lost money, borrows as often as they need to, lets it affect their personal life and relationships, and causes many other problems and destroys their well-being (greektowncasino.com). Serious poker players can be distinguished from this set of people because they think of the game in two ways: as something they love, and, most importantly, as a strategic career. A addicted gambler has the mindset of luck eventually coming their way, and usually plays until he/she is broke. One of the best poker players in the recent past, Daniel Negreanu, looks at poker in a strange but healthy way. "I don't let it feel like work. If it feels like work to me, I won't play any more. That's why I don't play as much, probably... if I were to just go in and play some regular game, I'd rather play ...scrabble or something because if it doesn't challenge me, it's boring to me (texasholdem-poker.com)." Most poker players are built to think about what they do in a logical way. Negreanu saves his poker playing for the bigger tournaments because it is more of an adventure for him, and it keeps his love of the game strong. He, like many of us, have lives outside of poker and interests that go beyond gambling. Poker may include aspects of gambling, but it the people who play it find that there is the comforting aspect of control. Play when you want to or when you can and build up the skills that make you better, and almost never rely on luck.
        The "Moneymaker Effect," despite sounding like a shallow reason for newcomers to gamble, is really about more than the money, if not everything but the money. When the money is won, a portion of it may be donated. If the money isn't won, the experience was worth more than the buy-in. Doyle Brunson, a living legend to any poker player, left the WSOP Main Event pretty early in 2007. He got knocked out and stood up, still using the aid of his crutch from the worsening injury he got 50 years earlier, and suddenly every person in the room, thousands, stopped what they were doing, turned to face him and started clapping. He smiled, waved and walked off. The support, admiration and respect that poker players give to their competitors make it the unique field that it is. No one ever wonders why people play poker for a living, or why they risk all their money on a tournament, but assume that there is a problem and how this "problem" started is unimportant. We don't want fame. And although it would be a nice addition, we don't necessarily want loads of cash. Maybe we want recognition. And the only place we have felt a sense of that is at the poker table. It's time for those of you out there to start to recognize us as people with legitimate careers; with generous hearts and good intentions; with intelligence and without symptom. I say, if you can go to Disneyland, I can play in the Main Event. Deal?