Why pub poker is more than a game of chance for some

Poker players in a country pub have revealed a different side to gambling, other than the amount lost by punters.

Reports have revealed Australians are the biggest gamblers in the world per capita. There are regular articles detailing the amount lost by Australians each year to back up the authors’ claims it ruins lives.

But five poker players from central Victoria have revealed there is much more to the game than trying to win cash. It’s a form of entertainment not unlike paying to see a movie or paying to play video games – in fact, it can be even more social than these activities.

Retired 58-year-old ex-Telstra worker, Ken Skinner, told the ABC that poker provides social interaction – something he would otherwise avoid.

“If I wasn’t here I’d just be sitting at home watching telly,” he said.

“There’s a whole heap of people I wouldn’t know if it wasn’t for poker.

“It’s really good for social interaction.”

He added that the game allows you to learn about people.

“If you can’t spot the sucker in the first half-hour, you’re the sucker,” Skinner laughed.

He has been playing the game for around 11 years and revealed he was good at picking up people’s betting patterns.

“People have patterns and when it comes to poker you just pick up on those patterns and you work it out fairly quickly,” he said.

Playing costs around $10 per night, with winnings of around $150 on offer depending on how many show.

Incredibly, the game has even helped with gambling addiction.

A 23-year-old chef, known as Mavrick Watson, used to play the pokies and bingo obsessively. But when he took up poker, things started to change.

“It’s definitely helped me settle down and not spend as much money as I used to,” he said.

Watson was introduced to the game by his housemate, and now regularly shows up at his local pub on Monday nights to play. He also credits the social side of the game to gaining the confidence he used to lack.

“I was a bit shy at the start but it kinda grew after playing each game,” he said.

He also managed to develop a poker face.

“At the start, I was all smiley but now it’s pretty much steel face — no emotions,” Watson laughed.

Another poker player, Sarah Wingrave, joined in at 18 as her father runs the local nights at a local Bendigo pub. She said the game allows her to be social.

“It’s just meeting new people and it’s fun and doesn’t matter if you win or lose; it’s connecting with all the people,” Wingrave said.

She is not one to shy away from the pokies but said she prefers pub poker as it challenges her and has even improved her communication skills.

“You’re around people so you have to talk,” Wingrave said.

“You have to get out there and be social.”

The game has even helped one player appreciate her hearing impairment. Mikhala Dower said it gave her an advantage over the other poker players.

“I can pick up body language a lot better,” she said.

“Sometimes it’s easier to tell when someone’s bluffing like if they do a big bet they’re going to be doing something like fidgeting around, they’re not going to be sitting still.”

While she does enjoy this aspect, Dower, who is a 21-year-old disability support worker, said she is drawn to the social side of the game since she doesn’t mingle much.

“It’s kind of like a little family I have made,” Dower said.

“Just being able to talk to strangers down the street you walk past and you’re like, ‘Oh, hi how you going?’

“I never used to be able to do that.”