Poker.

I love games. Fighting games, puzzle games, anything which manages to catch my eye. Facebook games..not so much. Still, every now and then I get the urge to join random Facebook games just to best my friends (or even the odd random). Why? I don't know. To prove superior skill? Just for the challenge? Because I'm being a jerk? Either way, I usually get bored after a few days and swiftly move back to the world of retail games.

Not this month.

It started with a lovely little game, Poker Night at the Inventory. I'd not really been interested in poker beforehand but the outstanding price (£3.25),  the wonderfully selected opponents and the promise of unlocks for Team Fortress 2 had me rather excited. There was only one problem... I knew nothing about poker.



£3.95 for this? Chump change I say, chump change!


Needless to say I was slaughtered for the first few games. I persisted, if only to equip my TF2 heavy with shiny equipment. After a few days, my persistence paid off. Not only had I managed to unlock a plethora of new trinkets but I appeared to be playing rather well.

This is where Facebook comes back into play (no pun intended). I had all but exhausted Poker Night for the time being and the itch to compete with my friends had returned. Deciding to put my new poker knowledge to good use, I joined one of the many poker games Facebook has to offer. Some friends appeared to have played for a rather long time so I quickly got to work. Tournament after tournament was played, again performing at a level of competence high enough to keep me happy and keep things tense at the same time.

Days were lost, flatmates came to watch eagerly (and eventually lost interest) and I'd even all but neglected a rather complex 3000 word essay with a draft due the day after realisation. I had to win, I had to get better and then win some more. With my psychology degree coming to a close, poker is most definitely not needed. I must kick this habit as soon as possible.

One more game can't hurt though...