Calling all bar poker businesses
I'll do a lengthier response to Taimy's post below in a day or two, but my first reaction was to steer her toward bar poker.
It works like this: a bar needs entertainment. Instead of a karaoke machine, they bring in a company that has poker tables and dealers. People come in and play for free -- often at non-peak hours, say at 7 p.m. on Tuesdays or Saturday afternoons -- with the implication that, hey, maybe you'll buy a beer or two or some food.
Good deal all the way around; usually involves a $5 dealer tip, but still a cheap way to play with live cards, learn protocol and make reads. (You also pick up bad habits, but that's for another post.)
So, I'd like to list all the bar poker organizations on this blog somewhere. If you run such an operation, please respond to this and we'll set up the links for potential players to shop for a game.
NICK SORTAL began playing 3-card "gut" and "Indian poker" on high school band trips, moved on to "night baseball" and "pass the trash" during a Dr. Pepper-infused midnight game in the 1980s at the St. Louis Globe-Democrat, and now play in a regular neighborhood Hold 'Em game in Plantation. I have been given the assignment of writing about the gambling life in South Florida casinos for the Sun-Sentinel...which means sitting around watching poker on TV now counts as research.
