Charles R. Swindoll once said, “I cannot even imagine where I would be today were it not for that handful of friends who have given me a heart full of joy. Let’s face it, friends make life a lot more fun.”
Lately, I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about how lucky I am to have so many incredible friends. I realized that poker is the common denominator in almost all of my friendships.
I just spent four wonderful days with 14 friends from Canada who were in town to celebrate the tenth anniversary of MIF. “What is MIF,” you might wonder. MIF stands for “Make it fo (four),” which was a quirky expression muttered by an infamous poker player during a $2-$4 Limit Hold’em game at the Palace Station many years ago. My friends from Canada were fascinated by this man, dressed in overalls, who would fold hand after hand until he picked up aces or kings. When that happened, he would lean forward and casually toss four $1 chips into the pot while saying, “Make it fo!” Thus, the term MIF was born and became the official name of this group.
From its humble beginnings, MIF has become an annual pilgrimage to Las Vegas for an unlikely cast of Canadians who are linked together through business and friendship. Each year, we spend quality time together over dinners in the finest restaurants and go to the best shows. This year, we saw Carrot Top at the Luxor and Viva Elvis at Aria… both fabulous!
The highlight of MIF is a No Limit poker tournament that pits the United States against Canada. The bragging rights are more important than the cash. So far, the Americans have won four out of seven years despite being outnumbered by at least 2-1 each year. I forgot to mention how much fun these guys are. They even wear the goofy MIF uniform, which is a vest made out of playing card material. Over dinner this year, each of us spoke about our favorite MIF moment. Everyone agreed that the friendships we’ve generated are the primary reason to attend and poker is secondary.
The female version of the MIF consists of approximately 25 women from Tulsa, Oklahoma, who call themselves the Hold’em Hotties. They take their poker very seriously and have their own poker league. I originally got involved with them when they asked me to present a private poker seminar. After spending some time with them, I realized how much fun they were. Over the past few years, we have become great friends and have taken road trips to places like Branson, Biloxi, and Oceans 11. I even flew to Tulsa last December to attend their Christmas party.
I’ve also made a lot of friends through various ladies’ poker groups and online poker forums. Specifically, there are two women’s forums that I belong to: LadyPokerSharks.com and PokerChix.com. In addition to talking poker online, we get together a few times a year for some major poker events like the World Series of Poker, California State Ladies Poker Championship, Card Player Cruises trips, Ladies International Poker Series(LIPS), High Heels Poker Tour, Pink Ladies Poker Tour, and the Women in Poker Hall of Fame induction.
When I am home in Las Vegas on a Monday or Wednesday, I enjoy attending the local poker discussion groups. On Monday night, we meet at the Stake Out and on Wednesdays, we meet at Marie Callendar’s. The people in this group are more than just a common interest group. We are friends who love poker and enjoy hanging out together. I’ve met some of my closest friends through this group.
My company, Card Player Cruises, has been another source for developing close friends. The staff and repeat passengers have become very dear to me. Not only do we get to travel the world together, but we also get to have fun working together. The Card Player Cruises poker room is probably the friendliest poker room in the world; for sure, it generates the most laughter. We do a tremendous repeat business due to making everyone feel at home.
One of my most rewarding activities these days is teaching WPT Boot Camp. The team of instructors I get to work with really like and respect each other. The staff that coordinates and administers the Boot Camp is professional, yet really fun to hang out with. We really are one happy family.
Most people will never know how wonderful the majority of poker players are. I consider myself extremely lucky to have made a plethora of longtime friends through my associations with organizations including Card Player, the World Poker Tour, the Tournament Directors Association, and the Poker Players Alliance. I count my blessings every day and realize how lucky I am to be able to share my passion for poker with so many wonderful friends. Poker makes my life a much happier place. I hope you can say the same.