Poker Night

A few weeks ago I had the idea to have a poker night at my apartment. Because I have so much space and a really nice dining room table, I feel it would be a shame not to entertain. But let's be honest, I am not going to be hosting any cocktail parties or banquet dinners. So I thought that I'd bring poker night to Changzhou, a good guys only tradition. We have had three poker nights so far and I think they have gone very well, and it seems like everyone has enjoyed them. Chen Gang, from basketball tournament fame has come to two so far, and picked up Texas hold 'em pretty well, although so far he's just been giving money to us Americans. Dave and Danthemanstan have played each time and Danthemanstan is playing well enough to consider quitting his classes. Last week Jeff, a middle aged 'dude' from Reno joined in too. He teaches at another school in Changzhou, but some students from our school are teaching assistants at his school, so he was on campus for English and was a fun addition to the game. But by far the most entertaining attendee has been Steve. As you may remember, Steve is the English teacher who has made a significant effort to get to know all the foreign teachers and who has now had me (among others) to his house for dinner with his wife and son. Steve is a pretty funny and demonstrative guy to begin with, but poker really brings out his personality. He sees poker night as a chance to stick it to the 'foreign devils'. He loves the irony of being the one who most wants to win the money despite being raised in great Communist China. He finally hit success last night when he won a good amount of the money, and was proud to go home and show his wife his winnings.