I'd Ride a Camel for a Smile.......

I have learned to "walk like an Egyptian" while continuing my amazing worldwide travels about which most people can only dream. Do I have a blessed life? You know it, and so do I, and I often thank my lucky stars for my good fortune. Recently, Card Player Cruises returned from another poker cruise. On this cruise, we traveled from Venice to Athens in 12 days aboard Holland America's msRotterdam and enjoyed eight ports of call. Linda Johnson already wrote a complete account of that trip in the last issue, but next time I'd better get to write one!

Briefly, let me just tell you that the highlight for me was visiting Cairo and the Sphinx and the Great Pyramids. They were totally awesome, something that I've always wanted to see. I have been to the Wailing Wall in Israel, the Great Wall of China, the Arctic, Japan, and on and on, but one huge void in the travel stamps on my passport was a trip to Egypt. And what could coincide with a trip to the pyramids better than a camel ride? My good friend, Dr. Chuck Regin and I thoroughly enjoyed that experience.

Another thing I will tell you about this trip is that due to overwhelming passenger requests, we held a no-limit hold'em tournament on the cruise. The only reason we hadn't planned on holding a tournament in the first place was that we didn't have any tournament chips (we had only real-money casino chips), and our player base was small. For international cruises, we aren't able to bring all of the poker room supplies that we usually bring on a U.S. port sailing. This leads to some challenges in regard to tables, chips, cashier supplies, and so on. So, how were we able to hold a poker tournament without tournament chips? We used real-money chips, the event ran perfectly, and every chip was returned.

They say that poker players will always find a way to play, and we did. Since we had only $1, $5, and $25 chips, we chose a structure that enabled us to start with only $200 in chips. We elected to start with blinds of $5-$5. While this would seem to be rather small to most, if you think about it, it is relatively the same as starting with $1,000 in chips with and blinds of $25-$25! It was a huge success given the small size (compared to our domestic cruises) of our intimate group. We had 25 entrants and paid four spots, and Joe Brodsky emerged victorious, winning $2,250 in prize money.

As I write this column a few hours before it is due, I am bleary-eyed from last night's World Poker Tour filming at Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino in Las Vegas. A good friend and fellow World Poker Tour Boot Camp instructor, Alex Outhred, made the final table with the chip lead. Four of the players were very even in chips and there were two short stacks. After a fine battle, Alex had to settle for fourth place. I am proud of him and the way he played. Also, he donned a fine-looking suit for the event, and it will be a great TV show when it airs. I just wanted to extend him a public "Atta boy, Alex."

My next adventure has nothing to do with poker and might even be better than the pyramids. By the time you read this, I will have returned, but right this moment I am preparing to leave for another "trip of a lifetime," a safari to Kenya. I have heard that there are lions and tigers there, but luckily, no bears! Class dismissed.

As always, please e-mail me at [email protected] with your poker-related questions and comments. Also, please visit http://www.cardplayercruises.com/ for poker cruise information. I am also available for seminars and to host functions.