Playing cards common campus pastime

Kiley Mackie and Sara Mettlen
Staff Writers
April 29, 2004, Page 1

College is supposed to prepare students for the game of life.
In history classes, students learn about kings and queens. In math classes, they learn about numbers and probability.
In philosophy classes, students learn about ethics and rules of engagement.
Most importantly, however, college teaches students how to use the hand they’ve been dealt to accomplish their goals.
These lessons have been taught in classrooms for decades, but, on campuses nationwide, students have been applying them in another venue.
Playing cards is one of the most prevalent activities among college students and incorporates many life lessons into a social and entertaining atmosphere.
Students can be found playing games of poker, pitch and a variety of drinking games such as Presidents and Assholes, 7’s and Kings somewhere on campus at any given time.
“Not too many dorm rooms don’t have a deck of cards,” freshman Bobby Thompson said.
Thompson said he plays Texas Hold ‘em, a form of poker, at least once a week and also plays online every day.
Many students also said they play cards often, with games starting up in dorm rooms, suites, quads and homes.
“It seems like there are always cards around somewhere,” junior Blake Sissel said. “Games usually start up in the quad when a bunch of people are there.”
Socializing with friends is a chief attraction to playing cards. Additionally, cards are an inexpensive and convenient form of entertainment.
“It (playing cards) is a great way to kill a couple hours and spend time with my friends for relatively little money,” Thompson said.
However, not all card games are strictly social or considerably cheap. Some students choose to play competitively and hold high monetary stakes.Others play non-traditional card games they make up themselves.
Sophomores Nate Paisley and Adam Thompson and freshman Amy Sherwood invented a game they call Flog Ball where a ball is thrown toward a round tin surrounded by cards lying either face-up or face-down. Any card hit by the ball has different consequences.
“We were throwing cards around and we just kept adding different rules and it turned into a drinking game,” Paisley said. “See how cards can turn a boring night into a great one.”
Non-traditional games also include new ways to play old favorites. Online gambling, Solitaire and Freecell are constantly played by students who are trying to escape their studies.
Card games have also provided an escape for students who merely enjoy watching the games.
Thompson said there are usually five to eight spectators at their poker games in Frees Hall lounge and that he actually became interested in poker after watching the World Series of Poker on television.
This initial spark of interest is usually all that is needed to prompt students to start a game or purchase a new deck.
Kim Denker, a clerk at Dollar General in Crete, said decks of cards are one of their bigger selling items.
“We have to order a new case (24 packs) of cards every week,” Denker said. “They are mostly bought on impulse.”
Packs can be bought at the Dollar General for little more than a dollar, giving true testament to the economic value of such a versatile item.
Consequently, cards provide students with a good option while allocating their scant finances.
Beyond teaching students how to be financially resourceful, playing cards allows students to be resourceful strategically and socially.
Exercising these resources opens up an opportunity for students to learn about the game of life outside the classroom and entertain themselves at the same time.
The competitive nature of the games teaches students how to win and lose graciously, to see how each hand fits into the whole game and how to play the game through to the end.