UCF students put on poker face

From the screen to the streets, the game of poker has invaded the UCF.

From Tuesday through Sunday, the Shamrock Poker Tour of Oviedo holds tournaments for area poker players.

Dave Richard the owner of the Shamrock Poker Tour says that his motivation for creating the league was to create an atmosphere where poker is a social event.

"We're trying to create an atmosphere like cheers," said Richard. "It's more than poker, it's a social network."

The league has been in business since last August and plays Mondays and Wednesday at Flanagan's Sports Pub in Oviedo and Tuesdays and Sundays at Frogger's Grill and Bar, also in Oviedo.

Richard has been playing poker for seven years and started the league after being dissatisfied with the rules of a league he was in. He and group of other players designed the league around what they thought their former league was lacking.

The tournaments usually go on until around 11:30 p.m. and the points for each participating player.

According to Richard, the league averages 60-65 players a night and attracts many UCF students.

"We have a lot of UCF students, students from Valencia. Poker is one of those games where anybody can play" said Richard.

Mike Rasmussen is one of the UCF students who frequents the league.

Rasmussen, a junior psychology major, has been playing poker for four and joined the Shamrock Poker Tour 6 months ago.

Rasmussen says he plays for the chance to win prizes but also just like to play.

In the last few years, the increased popularity of poker both online and on television has subsequently piqued the interested of college-aged kids.

To Rasmussen, the chance to win money coupled with the fact that the last two WSOP winners were 22-years-old and 21-years-old, sparked an interested as well.

Although the tournaments are free, prizes are usually given to the night's winner. In the past video cameras and gift cards have been given away.

This year, year however the league will be offering its biggest prize yet: a chance to play in the annual World Series of Poker next April. The winner of the league's Hall of Fame tournament will receive an all-expences paid trip to Las Vegas, where the league will pay for the winner ‘s buy-in spot.

Stephen Haight, a 4th year mechanical engineering major, says that even though he isn't playing for a seat at the World Series, poker is something that he will always like to do.

"I love to gamble. I was playing online poker at 16-years-old." He said. "Plus it's free. You can never go wrong with free."

Haight has only been a part of the Shamrock Poker Tour since the beginning of the summer, but has been playing for five years.

"The most I've won is $1650 at a tournament in Daytona" said Haight.

While all three agree that the game is easy to learn, it takes years to learn how to play poker well.