Post your Poker stories
Is Poker like life? Or is life like poker?Have you ever won, only to lose? – Or lost all, only to come up trumps?
Welcome to the ‘poker stories’ blog.
What’s it all about?
Whilst creating a performance at Northern Stage in which a man tells a tale about poker, people started to tell us their own stories, anecdotes and experiences of the game of poker.
Four Men and a Poker Game looks at what happens when you think you can keep winning; regardless of the consequences. You could see it as a story about capitalism – especially at the moment!
We are collecting stories, true tales, tall tales, anecdotes and accounts about big wins and great losses in the world of poker – or the game of life.
So, will you take risks in today’s economic climate?
Are we living our lives like a game of chance?
Have you ever bluffed your way through a situation, with a poker face?
Do you use the following phrases in conversation?
Winner takes all / Coming up trumps / Bluffing / Going all in… Or are there other poker phrases you use in everyday life?
You don’t have to be a poker player to contribute – but just someone with a story to tell!
We are giving away some pairs of free tickets to the Friday and Saturday performances at 9.45 pm – if you send your contact details to info@metisarts.co.uk when you send your story, we will enter you in the draw. The winners will be informed by the 10th November.
Everyone who submits a story will be invited to a launch for the exhibition at Northern Stage, which will combine stories with the history of poker.
You can email us your story – info@metisarts.co.uk – and we will post it in the blog – or just paste your story into the comments section below (don’t forget to email us your contact details if you want to win a free ticket)
Labels: Four Men, Poker Stories
posted by Northern Stage at
09:56
19 Comments:
Even Amy Winehouse sings about it…
Why do I wish I’d never played
Oh, what a mess we made
And now in the final frame
Love is a losing game
…
Self-professed, profound
Till the chips were down
Know you’re a gambling man
Love is a losing hand
…
Over futile odds
And laughed at by the gods
And now the final frame
Love is a losing game
I worked in a late night restaurant in Dublin many years ago. Every Tuesday evening was "poker night". The restaurant would open later than usual to allow all the staff to play except for me who was left to set up the floor area and kitchen, and to occasionally watch the game, fascinated. Suffice to say; when we did eventually open later on those Tuesday nights, the same pattern would occur. Most of the waiting staff turned into “super waiter” as they worked, in desperation, to earn through tips the vast amount they'd lost. One member of staff would have walked out of their job in euphoria as they'd won enough to ignore their job for a few weeks; and finally one poor soul would be crying in the corner contemplating the loss of their wages, their tips, their home, all their possessions and the prospect of having to eat hand outs and sleep in the restaurant kitchen until their luck changed the following Tuesday…..
Happy times indeed.
As a Member of Aspers I am in several times a week........and the poker game is very popular with both Men and Women.....my story is that ....last Month the poker tournament was won by me.....and gave me great satisfaction.....
but to me its not really the winning...its the thrill of the game ....and with life also.....its the thrill of the unknown ...and the taking part...the almost winning
....the win itself ...can be a big anticlimax...and let down.....
so its onwards and upwards with hope eternal in the human heart......
By HH, Newcastle (sent in by email)
Working at the bookies I have many stories to tell some about big wins and some about big looses but the one that stands out in my head is a young man who was bearly 30 and I remember the way every time he put a bet on he won so his bets became bigger and bigger, then came the last bet and he thought he was going to win again as he was on a winning streak and going to come up trumps so he decided to go all in and lost every penny that he put in. he must have been gutted.
At 18, my grandma was in the middle of her education at college. The college was a convent, which meant she lived on the college grounds. On a Friday night, meals were served, and the special of ‘Scrambled eggs’ was the highlight. The following day, an epidemic hit the school, and violent vomiting and high fever meant the school was put in quarantine for typhus. The duck eggs used in the scrambled eggs were found to be contaminated, and the school effectively shut down. My Grandmother was kept in quarantine for a month, and with all lectures on hold and most teachers refused entry to the college, my grandmother and her friends got by playing poker nearly every night. There was very little to play for, but it helped keep up morale and apparently brought ‘many happy memories’.
Lord Gyllene was the first of my three consecutive Grand National wins. And what a race! 1997 and my husband had said, oh, don’t bet. He’d said that all day, but I bet every year on the National and 1997 was to be no different, especially when I read in the paper that Lord Gyllene jumped like a bunny and kept up with the rest. Sounds good I thought the National is a steeplechase after all.. So, 10 minutes before the off, I sneaked out of the house and ran down the street to the local bookies to place an each-way bet on Lord Gyllene. I barely made it back in time for the start of the race. I arrived, gasping, and shouting for the TV to be turned on. However, this was to be the year of the false start. So, after nearly expiring on the lounge carpet from my last-minute sprint, I had to wait until Monday for the re-run.
So, on Monday, I left work early to watch the race at home. Lord Gyllene pulled away from the field from the off he was leagues ahead of the other horses. I feared the worse; I’d never seen another horse start so far ahead in this marathon and stay the course. I tried to cover eyes, to hide behind the sofa, but still he led what a horse! His lead was vast, and he stayed the course with ease romping home in first place! Turns out, my husband had watched the race with his colleagues at work, but he’d forgotten about my bet, until I showed him the hundreds of pounds I’d won.
The second game of poker I ever played was with a friend, and some other people we didn't know very well. Only my friend really knew how to play, the rest of us were beginners. He won everything off the others, and soon it was just him and me left - him with a massive pile of chips and me with not much more than I started with. Soon it was after midnight - and we carried on playing for another three hours, with me very slowly - but I felt, surely - winning some of his stash of chips, and him determined to wipe me out as he had done the others.
Eventually I stopped the game because I realised that otherwise we might keep playing all through the night, with the same pattern of me just about holding my own, and winning a little bit off him. Not only would we not get any sleep, but I had the feeling that by morning, if we did keep going, that we might well no longer be friends, because we had both become so determined not to be the loser and resentful of the other one - and you can never have two winners in poker - someone always has to lose.
We weren't even playing for money.
The Retirement Plan - excerpt
Once they all had coffee, Bruce began.
“Before we start, I need to make it clear that anything that’s discussed here today must remain completely confidential – only the four of us can know. O.K?”
“Sure Bruce,” said Mike. “Right,” said Mark. John shuffled and looked at his black polished lace-ups.
“Well, you’re probably wondering why I’ve invited you here today. Let’s just say it’s to discuss an early retirement plan – ours.”
Read story at www.pokerstories.org.uk/extras/
I love the dogs! I win lots at the track – I prefer to bet on animals than people
My boyfriend won’t let me play poker with him and his mates because I always win more than him
I used to play poker in a shed with 3 other men
The quickest way to learn to play poker is with MONEY!
Gute taten sturzen sie hinab!!
Don’t hate the players
Hate the game!
Last time I played poker I won £7.25
One minute to learn, a lifetime to master
Bankers are the real gamblers
I’d rather be lucky than good
I can’t do a poker face!! I go bright red instead. They know I’m fibbing
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