Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

What Happened to Poker?

Why doesn't anyone play the old poker games we grew up with?

It used to be so much fun. You'd gather around with your friends. One guy would always play Baseball (3's and 9's wild, and a 4 got you another card).

Someone else would call "7 Card No Peakie" and someone that wasn't paying attention lifted up their cards, and we had to re-deal. Then another guy would complain, because he had a great hand, and didn't want to re-deal.

Another person would pick a game where Kings are wild, and the lowest card in your hand. So, you think you're sitting pretty with a full house, only to find that 3 other guys at the table all have 4 of a kind.

Now, everyone watches the tournaments on TV. And all they want to do is have tournaments in their living room, with Texas Hold 'Em. Which, to me, isn't even that much fun. You're basically betting on your first two cards. And so many people have weird ways of betting, it takes the fun out of it.

One guy will stay in all the time (until he runs out of chips). Another one folds all the time, and wonders why he never wins.

The original poker games...5 Card Draw, 7 Card Stud, Low Ball...you actually had some strategy. And you could bluff.

I just played poker tonight with a bunch of friends, after all the football games. Luckily, it was old school, with all those games we love.

And, it made me not even mind that I lost a few bucks.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all

Previous article

At 4pm, this Farmer's Table restaurant in Chula Vista becomes Acqua e Farina

Brunch restaurant by day, Roman style trattoria by night

It used to be so much fun. You'd gather around with your friends. One guy would always play Baseball (3's and 9's wild, and a 4 got you another card).

Someone else would call "7 Card No Peakie" and someone that wasn't paying attention lifted up their cards, and we had to re-deal. Then another guy would complain, because he had a great hand, and didn't want to re-deal.

Another person would pick a game where Kings are wild, and the lowest card in your hand. So, you think you're sitting pretty with a full house, only to find that 3 other guys at the table all have 4 of a kind.

Now, everyone watches the tournaments on TV. And all they want to do is have tournaments in their living room, with Texas Hold 'Em. Which, to me, isn't even that much fun. You're basically betting on your first two cards. And so many people have weird ways of betting, it takes the fun out of it.

One guy will stay in all the time (until he runs out of chips). Another one folds all the time, and wonders why he never wins.

The original poker games...5 Card Draw, 7 Card Stud, Low Ball...you actually had some strategy. And you could bluff.

I just played poker tonight with a bunch of friends, after all the football games. Luckily, it was old school, with all those games we love.

And, it made me not even mind that I lost a few bucks.

Sponsored
Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Texas Hold 'Em the San Diego way

"You have to know when to stop playing"
Next Article

Poker 101

Gambling parties in P.B. and Chula Vista
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

This Week’s Reader This Week’s Reader