Poker is also a social lubricant that brings together people from all walks of life. College kids. WWII vets. Staunch Republicans. Pinko liberals. Men. Women. Other. Red Sox fans. Yankees fans. Sanitation workers. Politicians. Chefs. Stockbrokers. Immigrants. Jocks. Norwegian teenagers. Former Star Trek actors. Military doctors. Lesbian nurses. Hippies. Grandmas. Taxi drivers. Even bacon loving fat kids from Hilljack, Indiana are playing poker with vegans from Orange County. Humans making connections with other humans. We live in such a disjointed society that poker is a rare instance when people are coming together. - Pauly 07/04/16
There are a few poker blogs that I read, one being the Tao of Poker and another is Party Poker Blog, and the quote above was re-posted by the latter, and I simply thought that it was way too good of a quote not to spread around.
I do not play enough live poker to say that I have noticed this at the table, but since the huge blow-up of poker being on TV and how everyone and their dog can now play online in their underwear, the exposure is huge. Now one of the questions you ask someone new you meet whether at a party or where ever, right after you ask if they are on Facebook but that is for another day, is that I ask if they play poker. If they do it opens up a topic of conversation, and even if they don’t they will ask you about it. This is a great way of starting a conversation instead of the two of you just standing there. This is especially useful if you are introduced by a mutual friend who then decides that they need to go to the can or gets into a conversation with someone else. Something that has happened to me more than once recently.
So next time you are at that house party, try bringing it up. You never know, maybe a game will start spontaneously and you will have found a new bunch of buddies.
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