I can stop at any time

Originally uploaded by georgeaye.

I’ve been playing “hold ‘em poker” with my friends for a few years now and it’s still great fun.

If I’ve not played a few weeks though, I start to get an itch that can only be scratched by either a home games with my mates, or at worst a visit to Gary, Indiana to play on the river boats, which are the nearest tables to Chicago.

Playing at the small sampling of seedy casinos I’ve visited so far there’s a ever present feeling that this is a slightly sad, pathetic activity. The sense that there are a lot of people here that have been welding all day, cashed in their welfare checks and are now squandering it all away at the tables is hard to erase. But after an hour or two of playing with a few of these guys and gals, you realise that everyone is the same underneath.

The latest place I played in, was called Artichoke Joes, right by the San Bruno station on the Caltrain, on the way north from Palo Alto to San Francisco.

Now I understand that each casino has it’s own house rules and customs, but this is the only place where players ‘tip’ each other after a bad beat. It seemed to be a custom that everyone understood, and it happened bad beat after bad beat. What nice bunch of degenerate gamblers!

If you’re interested in starting a new addicition then here are some handy tips for beginners.

Remember, recognising that there is a problem is the first step in dealing with it.