Thousands of italians play or have played the game of Poker, most of them privately, at home. Some of them do it with friends, trying not to gamble too much in order to keep everything safe, others have the unique goal to gain as much money as possible.
But almost everybody is sure to play "The" Poker and not just "A" Poker, or better a variation of Draw Poker (the game you mostly see in the western movies) that is almost not even mentioned in the majority of the international books. Honestly the little home made poker with 32 cards as the italians are used to play is a lot less interesting than most of the variations that are played internationally: since one doesn't even know one of the opponents cards, there are really a few calculations that can be made.
Some italian players (really a few) started to partecipate to the international competitions and the games organized abroad, and they begun to appreciate the different styles usually played internationally, starting from the Texas Hold’em variation but also the Omaha, the Seven-card stud, the Lowball poker, the High-Low poker and obviously the Draw Poker.
(Italiano)
Printed in 2002; reprinted in 2005 and 2011
