Poker is a family of card games involving betting and individual play, whereby the winner is determined by the ranks and combinations of their cards, some of which remain hidden until the end of the game (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poker)
We were first gathered to one of their suites to give us a brief introduction about Poker and what is World Poker Tour will be about.
3 Legendary Poker enthusiasts spoke in front of us to share their history with the game; how they got involved and hooked into it.
First speaker was Ron Regis, a professional poker coach. He was then working in a TV company when he saw interest in Poker. He said that the game's fundamental is about "gathering all the info" and he also compared poker with basketball just like how Shane Battier studied Kobe Bryant’s moves in a patterned way.
Next was Marco Aventajado, who is mostly called the "Father of Poker Tournament" as he started the First Poker Bar Tournament way back 2007 which has gathered more interested players.
And lastly, Vic De Guzman, a pro player who first won his tournament under the Poker Bar Tour arranged by Marco. He shared one if his techniques which he fondly calls "bullying". No, he doesn't personally bully his co-players but his non-stop talking during the play which gets to some players leaving them agitated.
After their introduction, we then headed to the Solaire Poker Room and went down to the real business, Poker time. A group of bloggers were gathered who has no idea or may have a little idea on how the game works. Poker is really not new to me, especially Texas Holdem' as I have already played it in Facebook (and I got addicted to it too), so it was like a refresher to me. After a few minutes of "how-to" lessons and tip-giving techniques, and started the tournament.
It was a team tournament and we were divided into three teams consisting of 5-6 persons. The goal is for the team to earn as much chips than the others. Being on a real game, wherein there is already a real dealer, chips and cards, was a nerve-cracking experience. Seeing your opponents and analyzing they're body language and every move they perform makes it very exciting and as well nervous giving you the sense that they have the most powerful hand of all. This was really the time I have appreciated the essence of "Poker face" lol.
In the end, we didn't win. But hey, we made it (and I made it too!) til' the final round. It was really an interesting sport and an enjoyable game too( as long as there is no real money involved as I tend to get carried away sometimes hehe).
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