Card games help keep people connected

To someone who does not play Texas Hold'em, those who do play may as well be speaking Greek.

With terms such as "little blind," "the flop," "burn one" and "the river," the poker game has its own language.

Then check out the Junior Board of the Cancer Support Center's fifth annual Texas Hold'em tournament Saturday at the new Balagio Ristorante, 17501 Dixie Highway, Homewood.

Doors will open at 4:30 p.m., and play will begin at 5:30 p.m. The entry fee is $175 for players or $50 for spectators. Space is limited to the first 100 players, and early registration is suggested.

The event will include open bar and appetizers from 5 to 8 p.m., and a cash bar will be available after 8 p.m.

Fifty percent of the net revenue will be paid out in cash and prizes to the final eight competitors. There also will be raffle prizes, side games and more.

Since 1994, the Cancer Support Center has provided free educational workshops, support groups, and exercise and relaxation programs for people with cancer and their family members.

All programs at the Cancer Support Center are free and open to Southland and northwest Indiana community members. More than 300 free services are provided each week at locations in Homewood and Mokena.

Those who run the Cancer Support Center are always seeking volunteers, donations and items for its wish list.

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But to those who love the game, these seemingly silly words can mean the difference between winning and losing.

If one is looking for Jeff Dempsey, Vincent Vallone or Traci and Nick Tarchala on a Friday night, they are probably at Dempsey's Tinley Park home, sitting around the poker table.

Chances are, that is where they will be on Saturdays and Sundays, too.

They are among a group of 20-somethings who have discovered poker and other card games as an exciting way to spend time with friends, and maybe win a little cash.

"They say poker is hours of boredom filled with minutes of excitement," Nick Tarchala, of Tinley Park, said.

He started playing at approximately age 8 with his parents at family parties. Those games were usually dealer's call, when people play five-card draw or seven-card stud.

Texas Hold'em involves the same concepts, but the game play is much different.

Each player holds two cards and works off five community cards that are faceup on the table.

Poker.com calls Texas Hold'em "indisputably" the most frequently played poker game.

"I think Hold'em is popular because of all the ways you can bet," Dempsey said.

Nick Tarchala agreed, saying many people, especially his age, do not have much money with which to play.

"With Hold'em, if you're going to lose, you only lose $20," he said.

In tournament play, which is how this group of friends usually plays, each person "buys in" at a certain amount and gets poker chips.

If one loses the tournament, he or she loses the buy-in, and that is it. This is different from most poker games, in which players bet money several times per hand.

They enjoy a beer or two while they play, and watch the Chicago Bears, White Sox, Cubs or Ultimate Fighting Championship bouts.

Players who get knocked out start a side game or play Wii.

"I think as you grow older, you don't talk to your old friends as much," Traci Tarchala, of Tinley Park, said. "Maybe it's poker; maybe that's the reason you guys have stayed friends."

The guys agreed.

As people get girlfriends, get married and get responsibilities, it's harder to stay connected, Vallone, of Worth, said.

The love of the game helps.

"There was a period when I didn't play poker and I didn't see these guys," Vallone said. "I knew how to play, I just didn't see the benefit in it, except for getting to see these guys."

Now he is hooked.

For many, a small interest in the game turns into an obsession. Players read about strategy and refine their play.

"The first time I ever saw Nick read a book was when poker got popular," Traci Tarchala said.

And the more the friends play together, the more they learn about one another's betting style and "tells," when a player's body language reveals the quality of his or her hand.

Nick Tarchala always wears sunglasses, and his wife's nickname is "the Crusher" because she will come out of nowhere to beat players.

Dempsey might smile as he loses, but he is fuming inside.

And, if Vallone raises big, one should just fold because he or she will know that Vallone has a hot hand.

Though Texas Hold'em is a friendly game, these compadres are competitive. Chips and cards have been thrown, though people usually keep their cool.

Traci Tarchala said, when one friend loses, "he gets up, puts on his flannel and just walks out. He doesn't say goodbye to anyone."

But much of poker rides on luck, something else that adds to the fun. As soon as players know the rules of the game, they can start winning.

"So the worst player at the table can beat the best player at the table," Dempsey said.

Although they all love the game, it is clear these friends enjoy the camaraderie from sitting at a round table, laughing and trash-talking one another.

"It's a social thing," Vallone said. "You don't want to give your money away, but it's fun to get together."

Carole Sharwarko can be reached at csharwarko@southtownstar.com