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Organizers Hope Poker Lessons Push Players All-In

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By VALERIE KALFRIN

The Tampa Tribune

Published: July 13, 2008

TAMPA - Carol Trelease sat at a poker table Saturday morning with $500 worth of chips in front of her.

She didn't have a winning hand, but she wasn't about to let it show. She placed a bet, flinging chips worth $100 on the table as if playing with someone else's money.

She was. Trelease was one of about 100 people who attended a free poker workshop at the Tampa Marriott Westshore on Saturday morning. Instructors, such as gamer Chris Torina of Orlando, promised to spot the others' flaws.

"Firing out chips is a real sign of weakness," said Torina, 31, one of the founders of DeepStacks, the company that sponsored the workshop. It shows that you're trying to come off as tough, he said, stacking Trelease's chips in a neat tower. Being less showy makes bluffs stronger.

"He was pretty sharp," Trelease said later. "He really called me on the dime, didn't he?"

The DeepStacks crew of six instructors offered three free workshops Saturday to entice people to sign up for a more expensive and intense poker-training weekend at the same hotel this month.

Three more free workshops are scheduled for today.

DeepStacks is a little more than a year old and found its niche in traveling the country to train players instead of requiring players to travel, said Scott Prewitt, the company's chief executive officer.

Poker has become so popular in recent years because anyone can learn to play, said Torina, who won $3,524 in June at a preliminary event for the World Series of Poker in Las Vegas.

"It gives people hope they can do this," he said. "To play in the NFL National Football League is tough. To play in the World Series of Poker is tough but attainable."

The workshops interspersed a sales pitch with two sets of about 20 minutes of play. Instructors let each player use $500 in chips - they didn't get to keep the winnings - and many attendees had fun.

"I just thought that if I could learn a little information to help me, it was worth it," said Amy Lewis, 52, of Odessa. She and her husband, Jeff, 55, use poker as their date night about once a month, playing at Tampa Bay Downs or the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino.

"We always set limits for ourselves, usually $100. When it's done, it's done," Jeff Lewis said.
Trelease and her husband, John, 57, are devout poker players. They host a card game at their house in Valrico about three times a week with about a dozen regulars.

"I've always liked cards," said Carol Trelease, 59, who is visiting Las Vegas next month.

She likes the fact that many players underestimate women, Trelease said.

"People think, 'Oh, she'll cave.' I don't cave," she said.

Saturday's audience nodded and laughed when instructors talked about sharks and fish - the skilled players compared to the novices.

Play the other players, not your cards, was the mantra of the morning. If you have a good hand, place or raise a bet to knock out those who don't, the instructors said.

"Very rarely will I play the first 10 or 15 hands, unless the cards force me to, because I'm watching you guys," Prewitt told the players at his table, which included the Lewises.

He often focuses on how people react to "the flop" - the dealing of the first three face-up cards after the opening bets. Prewitt pointed out a woman who stared too hard at the table during the flop. That shows players you're not confident in your cards, he said - a "tell" in poker lingo.

The woman said she actually was trying not to stare at Jeff Lewis, who was "kinda cute."

The others laughed, and Amy Lewis afterward linked her arm with her husband's.

"That's it - you're coming with me," Amy Lewis said.

A handful of people signed up for the paid training afterward. Carol Trelease thought the instructors "had a good product" but was hesitant about spending the money.

Her husband said, "We're normally skeptics, and we don't reach into our pocket very easily."

The Lewises said the demonstration was enough for them. "That's a lot of money to spend on a lark, an enjoyable hobby," Jeff Lewis said. "I think some people fantasize about making these millions of dollars. I would rather win, but I don't get upset if I lose."

Reporter Valerie Kalfrin can be reached at (813) 259-7800.

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