Poker is a tough game!

Those of you who frequent my blog (or those of you who scroll down a little bit) know I took part in the Second Annual Marist College Poker Tournament this past Wednesday night.


Unlike the way ESPN televises the World Series of Poker's main event over the summer and goes months before televising it in November and revealing the winner, I'm not going to make you wait: I didn't win!

To make a long story (which will run in Saturday's Journal) short, I didn't have the best luck at Wednesday night's event.

I didn't expect to make the final table. I'm no "Kid Poker" (that's Daniel Negraneau) or "Jesus" (that's Chris Ferguson) or "Poker Brat" (that's Phil Hellmuth). Still, I thought I'd be able to hold my own.

But just a half-hour into the event, I went all-in with Ace-9, only flop nothing and get beat by a guy who paired the board and won with two 8s.

Still, I had a great time and I've gotta say, the event was run amazingly well and all the money raised went to a great cause, the Hope For A Cure foundation, which supports Parkinson's Disease research. Marist junior Matt DePace formed Hope For A Cure in 2001 at the age of 15 and has done an amazing job. Click on the foundation's Web site to learn more.