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Pasco poker group is about fun, not dollars

By Mike Camunas, Times Staff Writer
In print: Tuesday, April 29, 2008

Deni Smith plays Wednesday at Jilly’s Bar and Grill in New Port Richey.
	[MIKE CAMUNAS I Times]

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NEW PORT RICHEY

Brian Drobish says playing poker in his league is like the card game war. And chess.

Perhaps a little of both.

"It's like chess with different moves and it's like war because at the end, only one man can be standing," Drobish said. "You're going to see the intensity and half these guys have attitude. When you get in and play cards, you want those chips and you're going to go get them."

That's how Drobish describes Pasco Poker Players, a group he started a year and a half ago. Players can meet to play and practice poker for free. The players don't use real money in hands.

Drobish said there were already other groups in other bars, but those kept shutting down. It started when Drobish and his friend Billy Sage, also a frequent player, got a group going at Shipwreck Lounge in Holiday. It was all uphill from there.

"From being a player and being in all these leagues that had already folded, I knew all these people from those and playing," Drobish said. "You'd be surprised how many people play. Here, they can improve their game. They can try new things and see how they work out for them.

"It just kind of took off and started off slow, but now, I'm a year and a half in and I'm running nine meetings, with an affiliate as well."

The club plays for certificates. Players participate in quarters lasting about three or four months each, with a points board that corresponds with about 50 or 60 players. However, only players who make the final table are awarded points. The person to win out gets 1,000 points, while second place wins 900 and so forth.

Most poker nights start about 8 p.m. with about 40 or 50 players on average, and each night it lasts till about 11:30 or midnight.

One night lasted till about 1 a.m. That's why they have 15-minute blinds, where the buy-in to each hand increases periodically. If that didn't happen, the games could just keep going with no end.

"We're poker enthusiasts; we like the game," longtime member Robby Poff said. "I think everyone that comes and plays — it's just a hobby. There are several people that follow around and go every night.

"I don't gamble; I play for fun. It's a sport to me and anyone who plays here. Some people will say, 'It's not the same when you play for free or don't gamble.' Well, yeah, it is. We play for bragging rights."

Pamela Walters, an older member who has been playing stud poker since her days of living in New York, says the group is a good way to socialize.

"It gets me out to meet people and I enjoy playing a lot," said Walters, who was third on the points list as of April 23. "This is better than driving over and playing at Hard Rock. (The players are) a lot of fun here, and a lot of them are different. We're having a good time, but we take it serious here."

Serious can be anything from trying new in-game techniques, brushing up for a hold'em event that uses real money, to even learning the game better.

"What I've heard from a lot (of people) is they're going to switch up their game, be more aggressive or bluff more," Poff said. "And you see that, because you can learn the game here. Most people who come in know what poker is about, so here, when you don't have to wager anything, people learn poker etiquette. The unspoken rules for the game — the whole ins and outs of the game.

"You go buy in at a cash game at the Hard Rock for $100, they're going to take your money and they're going to laugh at you if you don't know what you're doing."

Drobish, however, won't laugh you from the table. This league is for anyone and that's the whole point.

"We've all played in other leagues and I have elite players and all kinds of players," Drobish said. "We're even accessible to handicapped people in wheelchairs. We don't discriminate here at this league. We accommodate to everybody and we always want to see a bigger crowd."

Community Sports Editor Mike Camunas can be reached at mcamunas@sptimes.com or (352) 544-9480.