Despite the tough competition, the atmosphere of the poker tournament in the Student Activities Center on Saturday was a sharp contrast from most people's perception of a typical poker game on ESPN.
There were no card sharks, no shaded glasses, no cigars and cocktails, just college students and a lot of Red Bull.
This weekend, the Virginia Poker Association convened for its first annual Virginia Poker Championship, a two-day tournament of Texas Hold'Em. The championship began at noon on Saturday and continued for eight hours, until only nine players were left standing for the championship game on Sunday. The winner of the tournament took home a $2500 bond to enter the Poker Millionaires Challenge in Atlantic City, with a possibility of going to a $3.3 million tournament in Las Vegas with professional players.
The Virginia Poker Association is a CIO that was founded last fall by Jake Guzman, a fourth-year College student from Philadelphia. The club's plan is to establish a network of poker enthusiasts at the University, to provide free poker games and tournaments to its members and to provide opportunities for people to learn to play poker and improve their skills.
On Saturday, 119 of VPA's members played in the first tournament.
A unique feature of VPA is its corporate affiliation program, which connects its members to representatives from casinos as well as other large corporations. Poker managers from The Borgata, a casino in Atlantic City, attended the tournament to speak with club members interested in casino management, offering advice and connections to the casino industry. Poker players also offer desirable skills to potential employers in many fields aside from the gambling business.
"We have a company who sponsors us, the Susquehanna International Group, a stock firm, and they love poker players because they can think critically, they can take risks," Guzman said. "That's something you learn from playing poker."
In addition to pointing out its merits, Guzman responded to criticisms of the game.
"You know a lot of people are saying gambling is bad, and poker's bad because it's contributing to gambling, but with poker at least, it's not like roulette where a lot of it's chance," he said. "There's a lot of skill involved in poker, a lot of mathematics."
Additionally, Guzman said that tournaments sponsored by the VPA are free to its members. Therefore, no money is actually exchanged in events sponsored by the association -- which is prohibited on grounds -- and the VPA does not endorse outside gambling. VPA's website does, however, offer links to online poker websites, which have become the latest craze among enthusiasts.
"One of the things that has really contributed to the spread of poker is that you can play online," Guzman said. The game has accumulated a huge following recently as a result of online poker websites, where players can find hundreds of people to play against at any time and often for free. Beginners especially like this system, according to Guzman, because it gives them the opportunity to learn the rules of poker without the risk of losing money. Guzman recommends that people interested in learning to play should begin by visiting these websites.
"The great thing about poker is that anyone can play," Guzman said.
By that token, even a beginning player can buy into most tournaments and play against world champions. A featured guest player at the Virginia Poker Championship was Temp Hutter, a former University student and current Charlottesville resident who was ranked 20th among the best poker players in the nation last year.
Poker "is probably one of the only sports where you can just sit down and have the best [players] in the world to your right and your left, and that's what we offer here," Guzman said. "We have one of the best in the world." Hutter won two tournaments in Atlantic City last fall and came in second in a large tournament at Foxwoods, placing him in a league with many professional players. His net winnings were $1.2 million last year.
Despite his high rankings and winnings, Hutter said he plays only as a hobby and works as an accountant during the week. He considers himself "a ranked amateur who's done really well." Hutter recommended that players keep the game in perspective, knowing when to cash in on the best hand. He also suggested that students do not allow themselves to get too carried away by media coverage of celebrity poker and televised games.
"For most people, it's just a hobby," Hutter said. "You see a lot of people on television making a whole lot of money, but very few people make a good living playing poker."
Hutter's advice to fellow Virginia poker enthusiasts: "So you know for people graduating, don't quit your day job."
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