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Morning Sentinel
'A minute to learn and a lifetime to master'
By CRAIG CROSBY
Staff Writer Kennebec Journal & Morning Sentinel 12/09/2007

By CRAIG CROSBY

Staff Writer

Mark Perry is down, but all he sees are aces. There's the one in his hand then another that just turned over on the flop.

Inside, Perry's heart is a jackhammer, but his face is stone. He continues to raise, hoping to slowly bleed his opponents of money. The pile of chips grows until one by one the others fold and Perry is the only one left holding any cards.

He reaches across the table, just now freeing his joy. Perry's pile of chips suddenly looks much bigger, but the battle of wit continues.

"Marky, you must be getting low on chips there, bud," says Mike Plourde from across the table.

"I just got a load from you," Perry fires back.

The scene is being played out at Perry's camp on Togus Pond in Chelsea on a recent weeknight.

But it's a scene that is replayed in countless homes across Maine just about every night of the week. From young professional men to retired grandmothers, Texas hold 'em has become a regular, and one of the most enjoyable, part of life. These same people, teachers and medical professionals during the day, by night are checking to the big blind and sweating out the flop.

There are different theories for the game's soaring popularity--the nearly nightly coverage of poker tournaments by networks such as ESPN almost certainly has played the largest role--proof of that popularity is everywhere, from Web sites that keep players up-to-date on what the professionals are doing to the state legislature's decision to change a law making it easier for organizations like the Elks and Eagles clubs to hold tournaments.

"As far as poker goes, Texas hold 'em is taking over," says Roy Boothby, a trustee at the Skowhegan Eagles Lodge who has organized two tournaments since the law went into effect in September. "It's all ages and it's men and women. I'm playing right now (on the Internet) as I'm talking to you."

Jason Everett of Chelsea started playing poker with his family as a teenager and got into a weekly game with friends as an adult. Everett, a married father of two who works for the state's Department of Transportation, started playing Texas hold 'em three years ago.

"They say it takes a minute to learn and a lifetime to master," Everett said. "You need to learn to read people. You're not just playing cards, you're playing people. Somebody may be more excited about their hand, somebody may be quieter. Or they may bet really low into a bigger pot when they have a really good hand and they want you to call, or they put out an outrageous amount of money. There's a reason for that."

Everett, Perry, Plourde and about a half dozen others have formed the Kennebec Valley Poker Society that plays once a week. The players are friends, but the ribbing is non-stop and the competition is intense.

"It used to be nickels, dimes and quarters, now we're playing for a paycheck," Everett said.

His limit is whatever spending money has been saved from birthday or father's day gifts.

"If I ever had to go below that, A. I wasn't a good enough player to continue and, B. that would give the indication that there's something wrong."

Perry and his brother, Peter Perry, have hosted a weekly Texas hold 'em tournament for about 20 years.

"I didn't even know these guys and I walked into the game and 20 years later ..." Plourde says.

"This place was purchased with Plourde's money," Mark Perry interjects, referring to Perry's camp.

Non-profit organizations like the Eagles Club were unable to tap into Texas hold 'em's popularity until the legislature took action earlier this year. Old laws limited the amount players could bet to just $1, which eliminated much of the strategy.

"If all you can do is throw a buck in the middle no one is going to fold," said Lt. David Bowler of the Maine State Police's gaming division.

Gov. John Baldacci signed LD 892, which allows non-profits to conduct tournament games, earlier this year. The law allows tournaments of up to 100 players up to a $105 application and entry per person.

A permit is only required when the house is going to keep a percentage of the ante or when concessions are sold.

"As long as everybody is a player and you're not selling them anything, and as long as you're not making money off the game, you can play for $1 million a hand if you want to," Bowler said.

The new law, which allows groups to have up to one tournament per month, covers any tournament card game, including spades or cribbage, but was primarily written to appease Texas hold 'em players. The state has licensed more than 15 games all over the state just since September, Bowler said.

"There was such an outcry from so many people," he said. "They got such an uproar from people saying we've got to change it. You get in a tournament like that and you want to play it like it's supposed to be played."

Bowler, who also has been bitten by the Texas hold 'em bug, said it is by far the most popular card game going.

"Five years ago you would never have seen a Texas hold 'em game on TV. The past three or four years, there's not a night you can't get on a TV. and not see a tournament somewhere."

New cameras that allow viewers to see players' cards have helped people understand the game, and the game got a boost from the 1998 movie, Rounders, starring Matt Damon, but Bowler believes its popularity stems from its open invitation to compete against the best players in the world at casinos across the country. Perhaps the best example came in 2003 when Chris Moneymaker turned a $39 online entry fee in the World Series of Poker into a $2.5 million jackpot.

"Somebody can put in a $5,000 entry fee and could win $1.3 million," Bowler said. "Name me one sport where I can put my money in and play with the best professionals in the world."

Regardless of how people are introduced to the game, it is the competition that keeps them coming back, said Nicole Desjardins of Augusta.

"It's a game of practice," said Desjardins. "It's a psychological game and I was a psych major in college."

Desjardins, 29, is the director of sales at the Hampton Inn in Waterville, but for a while made her way as a professional poker player, primarily plying her trade at Foxwoods Resort and Casino in Connecticut.

"That was my job for six months," she said. "If I was younger it wouldn't have affected me as much as it does now. I'm not going to lose a house or a car. I've seen too many professionals lose it all."

She continues to play once or twice a week for stakes between $500 and $1,000.

"There's a lot of people out there that love this game," Desjardins said. "If we had a casino in Maine that had Texas hold 'em they would make a killing."

Gail Cress of Fairfield recently returned from a trip to Foxwoods. Cress, 57, has enjoyed playing poker with friends her whole life, but the retired banker discovered Texas hold 'em about four years ago.

"We've had a few tournaments at people's houses and I've won," she said. "I've done pretty well."

Cress, who plays a couple times a week, primarily for stakes between $2 and $4, said her biggest challenge was developing a poker face.

"I'm from the old Catholic school days where lying is very difficult," Cress said.

Texas hold 'em has introduced Cress to new friends from across the generational spectrum, has helped keep her mind sharp, and has helped her read people as never before.

"To me, it's a hobby," Cress said. "Some people like to bowl or paint, for me, I enjoy Texas hold 'em."

Craig Crosby--861-9253

ccrosby@centralmaine.com

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Razorback of Brunswick, ME
Dec 9, 2007 1:06 PM
The State of Maine will screw it up before it is over just like everything else they put their hands in. report abuse

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