On Line Texas Holdem Poker

Poker at Virginia Tech University

The school's focus on science and engineering makes its students naturals to master the mathematics behind poker. "A lot of those engineering and math kids know all the stats there are about the game," said Craig, a 19-year-old marketing major from the northern Virginia suburban area just outside Washington, D.C.

But the luck of the draw evens the odds out for the liberal arts majors. As Craig said, "You can know all the stats you want, but you really have to know a little about gambling and how to play the game. Statistics will get you only so far. It really is a game of luck."

Even beyond the number-crunchers, students at this top public university have taken to poker. "A good 85 percent" of the campus plays regularly, Craig said. Poker has taken hold of Tech, turning into a craze at this Virginia institution of higher learning that has spread like cotton plantations across the Ole South. When Craig first arrived on campus two years ago, he said, only two of the five guys he shared a suite with knew how to play poker. The other two knew a few basic rules but had never really played. "Now," he said, "if I walked into a random guys' suite, I'd bet you 10 bucks every single guy in there would know how to play poker." And even among the ladies, Craig said, at least two out of six (that's one-third, or 33 percent, for any Tech-types out there) would know the game. There is even a Yahoo group for Hokies hankering for some poker action.

The university's sprawling campus in Blacksburg, a town of about 40,000 nestled deep in southwestern Virginia, is peppered with poker games. On a recent Tuesday evening, Craig and a dozen or so of his frat brothers and one brave female freshman were sitting on a motley collection of couches in the main TV room of the frat house playing their weekly Texas hold'em tournament. A few were drinking beers, though most remained content with sodas. Earlier there had been pizzas. A coffee table in the middle of the room had been drafted into action as the poker table and outfitted with a poker tabletop, complete with chip and drink holders. The game had started around 8 p.m., when players bought in for the usual $5. Two hours later, the game was still going strong as stacks of chips made their way around the table. By the end of the game, an hour or two later, the freshman, Samantha, had won $5 on top of her buy-in. Since coming to Tech from Baltimore, Samantha has been a regular, and a regular winner, at the games.

The low-stakes scene at Craig's frat house is typical for Virginia Tech. Most of the school's 30 or so frats, Craig said, have casual weekly games among the brothers. There are "games all over campus," he said. "Everyone you know, or talk to, has some kind of game going." Buy-ins tend to be low, and pots don't usually get over $100. At his frat's game, the winner usually takes home $60 to $75. "It's really just spending money," Craig said. And while certainly not a fortune, in Blacksburg the pot is enough to keep college student from digging into his own pocket for about a week.