The rise and rise of poker, today one fo the fastest growing sports... Quick -- who are Phil Hellmuth, Phil Ivey and Daniel Negreanu?
The answer? They are all professional poker players. Many teens would have responded with a lightning-fast -- and correct -- answer.
Since poker entered prime time with shows like ESPN's ``World Series of Poker'' and Bravo's ``Celebrity Poker Showdown,'' people have been catching on to the fast-paced action of Texas hold 'em poker -- and teens are no exception.
``It's a true thinking man's game,'' says Devon Luongo, a junior at Crystal Springs Uplands School in Hillsborough.
Ross McIntire, a senior at Menlo-Atherton High School in Menlo Park, agrees: ``It's the combination of risk and the psychological aspect of the game that makes it so appealing. You have to read your opponents correctly to win.''
Hold 'em has become so popular -- 2.2 million hits on Google -- that many teens have been organizing poker nights, turning living rooms and garages alike into small-scale poker rooms.
Elan Maier, a sophomore at Palo Alto High School, plays with eight friends, who sometimes call themselves ``the gang.''
``The club was founded to be a social event,'' Maier says. But ``the more we played, the better we got and the more competitive it got.''
In hold 'em, players are dealt two cards face down. They try to build their best five-card hands from ``community'' cards, which are turned over in a series of three, one and one. Each group of cards is followed by a round of betting. It's the fastest-paced style of poker and, according to Luongo, ``the most enjoyable.''
Concerns have arisen about teens playing for money at casual poker tournaments, at which each player puts in upward of $40 -- called a ``buy-in'' -- to play.
Myriad laws forbid underage gambling at a casino, but none at the state or federal level outlaws ``social gambling'' for minors, according to I. Nelson Rose, a professor at Whittier Law School in Costa Mesa and an expert on gambling law. ``Social gambling'' means the playing is not for profit and at a private residence.
But potential gamblers should be aware that county or city ordinances can restrict playing for minors, he says.
Even when the games don't involve money, poker's close ties to gambling can make some parents uncomfortable. Teen players like McIntire say they build trust and count on maturity to get their parents' OK if they do play for money.
``I feel that I have a control over a game like this and wouldn't develop a money problem,'' he says.
Still, poker's biggest appeal is that it's a great way to pass the time and hang out with friends -- more than it is about strategy or even money, McIntire says.
``It's fun to be with all the guys around a poker table,'' he says.
And it crosses gender lines. Evelyn Chau, a junior at Crystal Springs and the only girl who plays with Luongo's eight-person poker entourage, says she's not interested in gambling.
``I play just for the people,'' she says. ``It's the one time I can hang out with those guys without their girlfriends attacking me.''
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