Clandestine Friday night activity offers winning hands

By Camille Blake

April 5, 2005 | You have an ace of spades and a jack of spades; five more cards decide whether you can afford tuition next semester or not. As each card is turned over you can fold or keep going.

Choose wisely.

To many college students this describes a typical Friday night. The game of choice: Texas Hold'em. Ever since the ESPN World Series of Poker had its 2.5 million dollar winner, Chris Moneymaker, in 2003, many frat houses and dorms have decided to introduce "poker nights."

Blaine (last name withheld), USU student, says he plays Texas Hold'em every Friday night. His group consists of seven to 10 regular players. They charge a $5 fee to play. Blaine said they mostly play for fun, but it can get serious.

The most he has ever won at one of his games is $150. Blaine's group tries to keep the bets low, but he said when a good hand comes around, the greed gets high.

"The night I won $150 was a rare night," he said. "I just kept getting lucky. It was as if I couldn't lose."

At a game with Blaine, one can find 20 ounce Mountain Dew bottles in front of every player, a bag of Cheeto's and a pizza from Dominoes. They sit at the round kitchen table from Deseret Industries and play for hours. Blaine said the longest game he's played lasted from 7 p.m. to 1 a.m.

"I think people like playing Texas Hold'em because it is easier to see what strategies other players could be going for," he said.

The game is simple, Blaine said, if you have played some poker before. Each player is dealt two cards and antes in a chip or two. Then the first three cards, called the flop, are laid down. The players can bet based on what they can make out of the two cards and the flop. The fourth card is laid down and players can bet again. The fifth card, called the river, is laid down and players bet for the last time. Whoever has the best hand out of the five on the table and the two in their hand, wins. Blaine said it is easy for newcomers to learn because it is all laid out for them.

Kelly Jaques, USU student, said he's been playing poker with the same group of friends for more than two years. They played poker during high school in Morgan and kept playing when they moved to Logan to go to school.

"The house we moved into was perfect to get three tables going," Jaques said.

He also said he likes to keep the same group because he can tell who is bluffing. He said one friend bites his tongue when he is bluffing and another one double checks his cards when a good card comes up.

Jaques and his roommate, Chad Covill, said they loved playing poker so much that they even built a poker table. They bought a hexagonal wood table from Savers for $5. They sanded it down, secured the frame, re-stained the wood and covered it with green felt from a material store. They even cut holes for cup holders and used frosting containers to put in the holes. Jaques said with reserving time between school and work, it took them about a week to complete it.

"I think we stayed up till 2 in the morning once just trying to the get the felt right," Covill said.

Another avid poker player, Tiffany (last name withheld), 20, loves to play Texas Hold'em with her parents. She started playing with them last year. Tiffany said it's just the chance of winning and knowing she played a good hand that makes her want to keep gambling. The best hand she can remember having was two Aces and there was another Ace in the flop. Her three of a kind beat her dad's two pair. She won $20 from her dad that night.

"It just doesn't feel like Friday until I play poker," she said.

Tiffany said she knows it is illegal for her to gamble in Utah or anywhere else for that matter, but she said she still loves to play.

According to Utah law, gambling "means risking anything of value…[based] upon the outcome of a…game, when the return or outcome is based upon an element of chance…" It is a class B misdemeanor to gamble in Utah. There is a possibility of up to one year in jail, or a fine set by a judge if charged.

If gambling is illegal, then why was Sigma Phi Epsilon able to hold a Texas Hold'em tournament last November?

The Salt Lake Tribune published a story on the tournament Nov. 23, 2004. According to a Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity member, Jared Westbrook, the tournament was held for charity. Those who wanted to play donated $10. The proceeds went to children in Africa with AIDS. The total was nearly $2,500. The fraternity didn't award any cash prizes, but a local business donated a new MP3 player to the winner, Zach Clegg.

Other groups have tried to get away with publicized Texas Hold'em tournaments and failed. On Dec. 28, 2004, Deseret Morning News covered the tournament held by Diamond Poker Tour. It was run by Shawn Moore, Josh Colledge and Doug Baker of Ogden. The Tour received a permit from Salt Lake City for a "card room" to hold its tournament at the Salt Palace Convention Center. The Tour placed 12 ads in local papers announcing the tournament.

According to the article, the tournament was disrupted before it started by Salt Palace officials. The officials were told by the Utah Attorney General's Office that the tournament was illegal.

The tour defended itself by posting a sign stating that by playing cards with the Diamond Poker Tour, players should not expect to win any prizes of value.

Tiffany, Blaine and Jaques all know said they now it is illegal, but they do not advertise their games or hold any tournaments.

Jaques said that police don't bother enforcing the law on private games because they aren't publicized and also what judge is going to issue a warrant to break up a group of friends playing poker?

Blaine said he thinks it would be hard for police to enforce because of the fact that it is in someone's home and they can't just come in based on how cars are parked outside your house.

Despite the illegality of poker, the popularity of Texas Hold'em remains steady based on the article from Deseret Morning News. Marsha Gilford, Smith's Marketplace spokesperson said the hottest item last Christmas was poker paraphernalia, such as chip sets and cards. A Salt Lake Albertson's featured poker supplies at the front of its store during Christmas.

"Poker has been around for a long time and I can see it staying popular for awhile," Tiffany said. "As long as I keep winning sometimes, it will keep me playing.

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