LC puts on its poker face

The flop, the turn, the river: all terms that have become popular buzzwords on college campuses, in pool halls and in casinos across the country with the recent explosion of No Limit Texas Hold'Em.

Last weekend, Loyola found itself caught up in the poker craze as the class of 2005 and the Office of Student Activities sponsored the first ever Greyhound Texas Hold'Em Tournament in McGuire Hall.

Roughly 180 Loyola students, faculty and poker aficionados attended the event, which spanned Friday and Saturday nights. The contestants were broken down into tables of seven players each. The winner from each table then moved on to the second round where there were four tables of six people and finally to the final round of eight players at one table.

The $20 entry fee went toward the grand prize, a choice between an all-expense paid spring break trip to Acapulco or a gift certificate worth $3,500 to Best Buy. The prize was determined by the number of people who entered the tournament.

Many of the players took the competition very seriously, sporting their best poker faces, sunglasses and distractions like funny hats or outfits to unnerve their opponents. The trashtalk was out in full force as well. Others were just there for fun and many were playing the game for the first time.

The hallmark event was deemed a success by tournament organizers. Mark Broderick, director of Student Activities, joked that the tournament "may be the college's newest way to form a male bonding retreat."

Broderick was pleased with the turnout, and especially pleased to see every class represented as well as a large number of faculty and staff at an event that had only been advertised since the return from winter break.

A great game for the novice poker player, Texas Hold'Em Poker is a relatively simple game. As opposed to other poker games like Omaha High or 7-card stud, which offer fewer opportunities to beat the odds, most anyone can learn to play Hold'Em in a matter of minutes and be pretty decent within the hour. Like any game, however, practice makes perfect and the more you play, the better you get.

Texas Hold'Em has also been deemed the new generation's game of poker by many familiar with the poker circuit. The game's easier concepts, fast pace and intense risk factor all make it appealing to the younger, flashier poker novice.

The game begins with the dealer shuffling a complete deck of cards and dealing each player two cards face down.

These cards are called the hole or pocket cards. The first round begins with opening bets. Like other variations of poker, the player may check, raise or fold at this point.

After the betting round ends, the dealer discards the top card of the deck and flips the next three cards face up on the table. These three cards are called the flop and are the first of the community cards. Any player can use these cards in combination with the two cards they already have in their hand.

Another round of betting begins with the player to the left of the dealer. The dealer then burns another card and flips another onto the table. This is called the turn, and is the fourth community card.

Another round of betting follows, the dealer burns another card and flips the final community card, also known as the river. Players can now use any of the five cards on the table and/or the two cards in their hand to form a five card poker hand.

Final bets are made and players either fold or call. This high-intensity round is called the showdown, when players reveal their hand and see who wins.

Texas Hold'Em has been popularized by the ESPN broadcast of the World Series of Poker, which runs periodically on the sports network. The World Series of Poker boasts 839 players who compete over five days for a grand prize of $2.5 million. Many college students watched as poker heavyweights competed in high stakes poker competition.

Other media outlets have been capitalizing on the popularity of Texas Hold'Em as well.

Cable television channel Bravo conducted its own Texas Hold'Em tournament featuring celebrities including Ben Affleck and David Schwimmer playing for respective charitable causes. NBC also plans to air "The Travel Channel World Poker Tour Battle of Champions" from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. opposite the Super Bowl this weekend. The Travel Channel also airs its own Texas Hold'Em Tournament weekly.

Loyola students seemed to enjoy the college's version of the tournament and were excited to see the game enter the mainstream of the college scene.

"I love poker, competition and winning prizes. This is the best on-campus event this school has sponsored and I hope there are more events like this to come," said junior Kevin Zazzali.

Junior Kyle Langham summed up his round with a line from the movie Rounders, which arguably started the revival of Texas Hold'Em poker.

"You can't lose what you don't put in the middle ... but you can't win much either," said Langham after he was ousted from the tournament's second round after going all in with his first hand.

The tournament lasted between three and four hours on Friday and the field stayed competitive until midnight as players began to filter into the second round. On Saturday, play continued equally late as the group was narrowed to the final eight.

Most competitors played conservatively, tried their hand at bluffing, intimidation and risk and added to their poker playing experience.

Sophomore Tom Caruso was the eventual winner, after taking an all- in bet pre-flop with $2,200 on the table with a pair of dueces with ace high. Caruso chose the all-expenses paid trip for two as his grand prize.

"We both stood up as the flop was laid out on the table. When I realized that I had just won the whole tournament with that one hand I was in shock and had to sit back down as I couldn't feel my own legs. I could not believe I had just won," said Caruso.