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Poker tournament catching on in local pool hall

By TIM BADLEY
Traveler Correspondent

Out of 30 poker players, the final table was reduced down to two: me and Jack Palmer. As a beginning poker player, I thought I had the poker game in the bag. However, Palmer showed a slight aggravation when tournament organizer Alex Torres stopped play and simplified the chips. At that moment, even though my chips totaled 80,000 points to his 30,000 points, Palmer had intimidated me.

The poker craze has swept the nation and has come to Arkansas City with a weekly tournament held here.

Since no real money is involved, most players do not get intimidated by the Tuesday Texas Holdem poker tournaments at the Puritan Billiard Parlor. I caught one player absently tossing chips into the pile saying, "I don't care. It is not real money."

Each Tuesday night at what is called the "pool hall", two games are scheduled. The first begins at 6 p.m. The second is scheduled for 9 p.m. but really begins about 10 minutes after the first game.

Organizer Torres works with Freepoker.com which has several free poker tournaments in the area. "You don't have to come with a cent," Torres said.

The top three placers of these poker tournaments are qualified for bigger poker tournaments in the area. For instance, last month winners qualified for a poker tournament at Tonkawa Casino where the winner received a trip to Las Vegas.

Owner Mike Bland considers the Tuesday poker games a success and appreciates the beer drinkers. For $1.75 a domestic bottle, it is hard to find better deals.

Bland does not get to play since he spends his time bar-tending; however, he does have poker advice.

"Bluff at the end of the game," Bland said. He added that at the beginning of a poker game, "You better have something if you decide to go 'all-in'."

While Bland gave this advice, Jan Nittler lost his second game. "I got second place in two great hands," Nittler said with a smile to shake off the disappointment. He added that he felt like a pitcher who was throwing a no-hitter and gave away a solo home run in the 7th to lose the game.

In the first poker game, Nittler had to explain theante to most of us beginners. "The person left of the dealer antes half of the blind," Nittler said. "The person left of him will pay the full blind." Thankful for the explanation, I tossed in my ante. However, Nittler had to force another smthe denomination of the bets.

I am not a big poker fan. However, my demeanor changed when I got a "5" on the river to complete a straight.

By the time I made it to the final table, I was hooked. I got some great cards and won some great hands. When I eliminated a player due to a poor bet on my part, I realized that luck was on my side. It was not the type of luck you get from four-leaf clovers or tiny leprechauns. It was beginner's luck and franklypoker tables do not take kindly to beginner's luck.

When Palmer began winning hands against me, members of the small crowd watching cheered, "Good cards, Jack."

When I won a hand, I could hear crickets chirping through the cigarette smoke.

Palmer pummeled me like Ali pummeled Foreman in the 8th round.

By the time I lost to Jack from an ace high, I was ready to leave. Most participants invited me back for another week. Like them, I knew my beginner's luck would not hold up again. So, I gracefully exited, figuring that I would probably not return; however, while walking down the street, a trip to Vegas began to sound pretty nice.