Maple Corner Hold'em

Are there two places in the US more distinct from each other than Las Vegas and Maple Corner, VT? Vegas is showy, glitzy, new and a little sleazy. Maple Corner is not.

Maple Corner is a tiny anachronistic community about 15 minutes northwest of Montpelier. To get there, you basically head north on County Rd. for a while until it becomes a dirt road. When you see a general store on your left, you're in Maple Corner.

Last night, a friend and I made the trek through some crappy weather (to quote Dylan, "The wind it was howlin' and the snow was outrageous.") to play in a Texas Hold'em Poker Tournament at the Maple Corner Community Center. The MCCC is a century-old building that is more used to hosting pot-luck dinners and community meetings than nights of drinking and gambling. However, the unusual atmosphere (nor the weather) didn't stop about two dozen folks from showing up to toss some cards around.

Technically, to keep it legal, the event was a charity event. However, if anyone besides the organizers could name the charity, I'd be surprised. Folks were there to play cards.

My favorite aspect of the night was the contrast between this tournament and the ones you see on TV from Vegas. Rather than guys with sunglasses and cowboy hats, this tournament was filled with guys sporting a lot of mid-winter facial hair and funky smells. Rather than sitting at a table of uber-serious players, I had a lady breastfeeding her child at the table (and never missing a deal). Rather than being surrounded by the faux-luxurious trappings of guady carpeting, excessively large chandeliers and security cameras, we had wide colonial pine planks running under our feet, exposed beams traversing the ceiling and a few sconces on the walls for lighting.

My least favorite aspect of the night was the crappy cards I kept getting. If I was responsible for the blind, I was pulling 2's and 6's. Otherwise, the poker gods would tempt me with a face card and 3 which would keep me in the deal long enough to piss away a bunch of chips and to never see a matching face card appear on the table. Eventually, I think I was the 4th or 5th person to go out.

However, the night wasn't a total loss...I had the pleasure of actually meeting a guy who builds treehouses for a living...only in friggin' Vermont.

By the way, I spoke to a friend today that also played in the tournament. He said everyone enjoyed it so much, that they are thinking of making it a regular event; perhaps once a month. So, if you are interested in playing some Maple Corner Hold'em, let me know.

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