I’m a poker player, not a professional by any means, but I’m not a bad player either. Last month a new poker room opened in Portland, Oregon, which caught my interest. I had seen many poker tournaments in bars in Portland, but they did not appeal to me for various reasons…
1. They were in a bar, which meant a smoky environment and I don’t like cigarette smoke.
2. Game nights varied, a lot of times it was like every Tuesday night but not every night, if I wanted to vary my game nights I had to go to different places.
3. There was no guarantee that I could play, if I made the trip to the bar and the seats at the tables were already assigned it was SOL, I made the trip for no reason, or had to wait 2 hours for the next game to start, which I could already all be assigned.
4. There was an expectation to use the establishment, and I agree with this, if they host a poker game, they should expect participants to purchase food, drink, and anything else. But extra bar food isn’t always in my budget.
5. Because the game was free to play, it used to be crowded and the seats occupied by regulars who would not normally use the establishment, even had the audacity to bring food or drink from elsewhere into the establishment where the game was being played.
So, needless to say, I didn’t play much in bar tournaments. In steps, this new poker room, National Poker Challenge, opens a new location here in Portland, in the Cedar Hills area. Had to check it out and was pleasantly surprised. They had addressed all the issues I had with bar tournaments.
1. The room was non-smoking, a smoking area had been set up outside for players who had to have their addiction to get their fix.
2. There are games every day, several times a day. They open at 3:00 p.m. and close around 10:00 p.m. with their first game at 3:15 p.m. and their last game currently around 8:30 p.m.
3. They have online registration available or you can call the room to get a seat, if the game is full they can tell you how likely you are to get a seat as an alternative and if they don’t have enough players for a game. They will call you and tell you. They exercise a be in your seat policy, at the time the game is supposed to start if you are not in your seat or at least call and tell them you are on your way, your seat is given to an alternate.
4. & 5. Because the location is dedicated to gaming and not a bar or restaurant per se, you are not expected to purchase anything from the establishment because poker is their business.
Their business model is similar to bar tournaments in that you don’t play for cash but for points and statistical analysis of your game. Instead of charging bar owners for hosting tournaments, they charge players directly and track player play statistically. Players are charged a monthly subscription that pays for installs, dealers, and stat tracking. They offer invitational tournaments for top players that have cash and prizes. There is no charge for the invitational tournament. So is this gambling?
According to the Oregon Department of Justice, it is because players pay a fee to play and there are prizes at the end. But what makes this one different from other events? Is it poker chips? Are poker players discriminated against because they use a piece of clay to keep track of their points during a game? Think about it, you can have a chess tournament with an entry fee, there are prizes at the end for the best players, but does the Department of Justice call that gambling?
You can have a marathon where the runners pay an entry fee and there are prizes at the end, and most of the runners don’t even get a chance to finish first, but is this called gambling? But because poker players play a game that uses chips, it’s called gambling when the games they’re paying for don’t even have prizes. So again, is it the game? IMHO, no, it’s not gambling. You are playing a game of skill and you are tracking your skill. My hope is that the Oregon Department of Justice is unsuccessful in its discrimination of this location and drops its investigation.
I invite you to join us in the poker room and test your skill at the table, see how you track your stats, and see how you can improve your game. After all, their motto is “You know who’s the best poker player? We do!”