Sunday, December 6, 2009

The Spirit of Giving

No, this post has nothing to do with Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa -- or even Festivus. It's about an attitude which may seem strange to take to a poker tournament.

The object of the game in poker is to take everyone else's chips. Show up in a mood to give your chips away, and you may have plenty of fun at a free tournament (nothing wrong with that at all) -- but your success record won't be very high.

The other night a poker regular came up to us, short on real-life money. He asked us to buy a soda for him. We're assuming it's a one-time-only deal, so we did it -- and he let us keep the 1,000-chip bonus for buying a drink.

Giving shouldn't be merely a December thing. Big-time poker names and celebrities have joined for several years in the Ante Up for Africa charity tournament, helping needy people in the Darfur region of Sudan.

You might be able to find a worthy cause or group in your city which could benefit from a special poker fund-raiser. Or perhaps at least you can be on the lookout for a fellow player with needs, whether great or small.

"A gift opens the way for the giver, and ushers him into the presence of the great," says Proverbs 18:16. Who knows what your act of generosity might do?

1 comment:

Chipzzz said...

Nice blog, Richard & it was nice to meet you @ NLOP. I hope to see you there again some time (maybe at the final table in the geezer tourney ;-) .

Have a nice day,

Chip_Magnet (Jeff)