Cappelletti in China

"You're going where?" replied my wife when I mentioned that I would be going to Beijing for a few days on bridge business. "I've always wanted to go to China."

So, she found some very reasonable airfares on the Internet, and the four of us (our kids are 14 and 12) flew off to China.

I had had some misconceptions that China would be very different and perhaps even hostile toward us after many years of Communist rule. Instead, Beijing turned out to be friendly, modern, and progressive – very much like our big cities. There were many tall, modern buildings, wide streets, and lots of traffic (especially Volkswagens that were made in China).

While walking through Beijing (population of about 11 million), wherever we looked up there were a dozen construction cranes in the sky. Big, modern skyscrapers are being constructed everywhere. And we saw many people talking on cell phones.

Most importantly, however, the people are now free! Our young college-age tour guide made some comments that were critical of the previous repressive governments, and noted that he would not have dared speak his mind in public 15 years ago.

China has rapidly evolved into a modern-era society. Beijing will host the Olympic Games in 2008. English is the most popular second language, and the Chinese seem to like Americans and our movies and music. And my wife thought the shopping was wonderful. Even their infamous "knock offs" (unauthorized clone products – for example, "Gucci" suitcases for about $5) were of good quality.

Bridge is very popular with the intellectual classes. The late Chairman Mao sometimes played bridge with visiting Americans. The Chinese international bridge Olympiad team is a frequent contender in the Asian League. Although China does not have casino poker, "American poker" is a frequent form of entertainment, especially at the universities.

After a cold day of touring the Ming Tombs and the Great Wall, our group returned to our hotel, the Best Western Beijing, where we feasted on a variety of foods that we cooked in fondue-like pots filled with boiling oiled water. Several of the men were discussing poker, as recently televised on the World Poker Tour and ESPN. And someone (not me) suggested that we try playing a one-table poker tournament.

So, 11 of us – including in part two Chinese, two Australians, two high-school teachers from Alabama, and two women – crammed in around two restaurant tables pushed together and played no-limit hold'em using Chinese change for chips. My 14-year-old son thought I was a big favorite, but I was getting very few good cards.

Finally, I picked up A-Q suited and raised before the flop. But one of the schoolteachers, who had been folding everything except pocket kings, went all in with a big stack. As I reluctantly folded, he flashed an A-K at me and made some comment about the fact that Mike Sexton had recommended going all in with big slick.

Several hands later I had to make another laydown. I was in the big blind with the 10 8 in four-way unraised action, and the flop came 10 6 4. I bet half the pot on my top pair to see what would happen, and got two callers.

The Q came on the turn. I noticed that the player on my left seemed to like the queen, so I checked. Sure enough, he pushed in half of his stack. To my surprise, the tight player on my right called with most of his stack. I thought it prudent to fold.

I was immediately sorry that I had folded when an 8 came on the river (which would have given me two pair). The player on my left checked, but the next player bet his remaining stack. He held the 7 5 (a flush draw and open-end straight draw on the flop) and won the hand with an 8-high straight. The losing player held the Q J. It was good that I had folded in time to avoid a disaster.

Later, while sitting around drinking Chinese beer and discussing some of the hands, I pointed out that the above hand, in which I had bet my top pair, was one of the most dangerous situations in no-limit hold'em. It's fine to try to grab a small pot, but when you get callers, it is not so clear that you should bet after the turn card. If you still have top pair, it is usually right to make another small bet, but be prepared to face a big raise. And if you call it, you will often face an all-in bet on the river.

I won only two hands – one small blind defense in which I bet my flush draw and everyone folded, and a big pot in which my pocket queens held up. Nevertheless, I managed to finish a respectable third after three players suddenly busted out in one wild hand. An aggressive lady from Seattle beat me out for second place, and an experienced Chinese player won.

Throughout the world, poker is proliferating like never before. With TV shows such as the World Poker Tour and movies glamorizing poker, and around-the-clock Internet live action and tournaments, suddenly everyone is playing poker. Poker's day has dawned, and the smart money wants to jump on the bandwagon.

Should poker become an international Olympic game? Perhaps now is the time for us to approach the International Olympic Committee.