::A Geek in Korea::

We went to the poker night as planned. We arrived early and chatted with the host while the other couple were set to arrive. We had a nice conversation about the day to day things only people that have been in Korea a long time have to deal with on a regular basis.

It’s really nice to know a few people that have gone through the same things you have and are still around to tell the tale. I’ve been here a long time, but I’m still surprised when people stick around. I’ve gotten so used to seeing new faces all the time that it’s not often I make the effort to meet people. They are usually gone so fast that keeping up is harder work. I guess that makes me lazy.

We introduced the other players to the game of “GOPS” as a warm up to the poker game. This is the same game I taught my parents, some students, as well as my wife. In all cases, everyone that’s played it has loved it. It’s simple to set up. The rules are brilliant and easy. There is no luck involved, and you need to think about cards and the other players. It’s simple enough that anyone can play it, and the dynamic changes from round to round. It’s pretty much the perfect simple card game.

The rules to poker seem clunky and cumbersome in comparison. Learning the rules, and sorting out all the variations of the rules seems like a huge hassle. We played with two cards in your hand, five on the table, big and small blinds. There was checking. Raising. Bluffing. Folding. Lying. Dealing. I can certainly understand why it is a fun game, with an element of chance and some greed getting the better of people, but it’s not for me.

My wife didn’t understand the rules and didn’t want to put up the money to play. She watched, completely baffled as to what was going on. I was pretty mesmerized too, but got cleaned out pretty quickly. The other players admitted to playing a lot of poker in the past, so that’s no surprise.

Next weekend I’ll be playing a card game of another kind: Magic the Gathering. Some people have brought over cards from the States to share. There is a pool of cards, and you make decks and play casually. No one “owns” the cards, and I’ll give back the deck I make after the game’s over. I haven’t played Magic since freshman year of college. I’ve actively avoided it, as it’s a huge money sink. It’s the same reason I refuse to play MMORPGs. To be competitive, you have to spend the most time and money. It very rarely depends on skill. That’s the opposite of fun.

However, the “casual” pool of cards, and the relaxed nature of previous games leads me to believe this will not turn into a situation where I am pressured to spend money to have fun. At least I hope so. Even though poker is a popular gambling game, I’m much more likely to lose cash playing Magic.