As friends trickle in, Myer offers snacks, leading them to the basement of her home. When 16 of them arrive, two groups form to play poker. Around one table, a mixed group of girls and boys play a casual round, while in the next room five boys engage in more serious
competition.
"It's fun," was all Myer could say of her poker hostess role before rushing off to call a friend to bring more poker chips.
Myer and her friends meet at a different home each week to play poker. They've become part of a phenomenon that has grown among high school and college students during the last three years. The popularity of poker has skyrocketed, getting a major boost from increased television coverage of tournaments like the World Series of Poker on ESPN.
Many teens said poker is elating socially and competitively, and they play it as often as possible.
"I like the strategy of it - the feeling you get when you bluff someone and you really don't have anything good in your hand," said Dylan Holt, 17, a senior at Sand Creek High School who plays at least once a week.
Although many parents, school officials and problem gambling experts regard the trend as harmless, there is some concern over the legality and potential dangers of playing with cash. According to recent studies by Youth Gambling International, a research, treatment and public policy group based in Montreal, youth involvement in both legal and illegal gambling is on the rise. Eighty percent of high school students surveyed in the United States, Canada, New Zealand, Europe and Australia said they had gambled for money during the last year.
Playing for cash
Virginia Pieroni, program director of the Michigan Association on Problem Gambling, said most young poker players are considered social gamblers - those who gamble for recreational purposes only - but that some are at risk to become problem gamblers. The line between social and problem gambling is crossed when gambling begins to affect other aspects of a person's life like finances, relationships, school studies or employment, she said.
"Some kids are going to cross the boundary," Pieroni said. "It's just like with any other type of gambling - when we talk about compulsive gambling there's a progression to it. Parents and teens need to be very aware of the activity and how it could progress. We talk to teens and those of legal age about drinking - the consequences, what to look out for, how to be responsible. We need to do the same thing with gambling and the poker craze."
Some Lenawee County teens said they play poker without placing bets. However, most teen poker players inverviewed said they routinely play for cash, $5 being the standard buy-in.
Jim Myer, Kristen's father, said he is glad to host poker parties for his daughter and friends, but added he does not allow them to use money.
"It's gambling, and it's wrong," he said. "They can wait until they're old enough to do that."
Knowing the laws
Many students who play poker for money said they aren't aware of Michigan's gambling laws. The legal gambling age in Michigan is 18, but only those 21 and older can gamble in Detroit casinos. Michigan law also prohibits gambling for cash outside licensed establishments, a misdemeanor punishable by up to one year in prison and a $1,000 fine.
However, Sergeant John Keating, a detective with the Michigan State Police Department's gaming enforcement unit in Detroit, said it is rare that poker parties attract police attention.
"Even the nickel-dime poker game that's been going on for years is technically illegal," Keating said. "But it's a rarity for poker parties to be busted. Nine times out of 10, we as a law enforcement agency don't even know they're going on, unless losers come to us complaining."
Keating said poker rooms in Detroit casinos are usually packed, with around-the-clock waiting lists. He also credits growing popularity to glamorous television coverage of the game.
Lenawee County Sheriff Larry Richardson said there have been no illegal gambling parties busted in the area, and also said he doesn't think teen gambling has become a serious problem in the county.
"If we get enough complaints and think there is a problem, you bet we're going to crack down on it, but as far as I know there isn't a problem," he said.
Elaine Shankle, the mother of Adrian High School junior Rob Shankle, 17, said times have changed since she was a teen. In those days, it was common for parents to prohibit cards and dice in their homes, she said. Now, gambling appears to be more socially acceptable than it was then, she said. Elaine said her son often holds poker parties in the basement, but playing for cash is not allowed.
"I don't have a problem with it as long as they are not using money," she said. "I know where they are, I know what they are doing. At the homes where my child is going, there is always a parent home. They are not out at parties drinking or driving around."
Rob said he can't remember what he and his friends did for fun before poker.
"I guess it takes the place of going out and being destructive," he said.
Like Rob, most teens said they play poker for recreation - many times instead of watching movies, eating out or spending money on other forms of entertainment.
"We just hang out with friends," Jenny Skaggs, 16, of Adrian said. "Poker is a side thing."
"We play for fun, for something to do - sometimes to win money, but usually not," Andrew Greenwell, 17, of Adrian said. "It's like going to the movies, but you actually get to do something instead of just sitting around."
In good fun?
Poker parties are most prevalent among high school juniors and seniors, although some underclassmen, like Madison freshman Jesse De La Garza, 14, do form their own poker groups.
Like many other teen poker players, De La Garza said he became hooked on poker by watching it on television. De La Garza, who said he sometimes plays for cash, has won up to $15, but never lost more than $5 in one sitting.
"I like the guessing and taking risks," he said. "And if I win the money, that's nice."
Some teens, like Clinton High School junior Brian Emery, 16, said they play poker for its challenges, rather than money. Emery enjoys reading his opponents' faces and gestures, trying to guess what cards they're holding. He said he and his friends play poker no more than once a month and prefer playing euchre.
Most teens said they don't take the game seriously and regularly set limits on the amount of money they are willing to lose on a given night - usually no more than $5 or $10. Recreation, not money, is the name of the game.
"As soon as I win, I say, 'that's it,' " said Riley Cunningham, 16, of Adrian, whose biggest win was $53. "I give myself a limit on how much I can lose."
Most teens said their winnings range from $20 to $50. Prize money is often used to buy gasoline or other necessities, or is saved for future rounds of poker. Losses are typically no more than $20 per party, and teens said they play poker with money from a variety of sources - jobs, allowances, spare change and extra lunch money.
"Usually one win can make up for a string of losses," Greenwell said. "Plus, everyone's pretty good sports about giving people their money back if they really need it."
For some students, however, poker really is about the money.
Tom Matejcek, 17, and Robert Gifford, 18, of Sand Creek said they play to win cash. Every weekend, they hold poker parties with a winner's pot of up to $150. Depending on the number of participants, buy-in fees can be as high as $20 per person.
Gifford and Metejcek said their poker parties started after they were inspired by the victory of underdog Chris Moneymaker in the 2003 World Series of Poker on ESPN. The two have even composed a mantra they use to describe their love of the game to friends: "It's a psychological, mind-thrillin' blow that goes straight to your dome like you don't even know."
Gifford said his poker parties are held "in good fun," and a $10 limit is set on how much each player can lose, but the competition can get serious.
"It gets heated," he said. "There have been a few arguments, and one time there was almost a fight."
Officials from Madison, Clinton and Sand Creek high schools said they allow cards but not gambling in the schools. Students can play cards before or after school, or during lunch, but gambling is prohibited. Administrators said there have been no problems with students attempting to gamble during school hours.
Clinton Principal Tim Wilson said euchre, not poker, is the popular card game at his school, and he has been pleased that his students seem to be playing poker responsibly.
"Poker is just like any other game - you can abuse anything or you can use it properly," Wilson said.
Yet some administrators did express concerns about student gambling behaviors outside school.
"The whole gambling concept at their age is something to be concerned about," Sand Creek Principal Steve Laundra said. "Many students don't understand the value of money yet, or the evils of the game - the fact that many people do get addicted to gambling and that it can ruin lives. It takes an adult mind to understand those things better."
TV poker
Many students who regularly play poker said television played a large role in developing their knowledge and love for the game. Many learned to play while watching ESPN's World Series of Poker or from Internet poker sites. Most students interviewed, like Kyle Betz, 18, of Madison, said televised poker inspired them to start organizing poker parties.
"I know a lot of people who have gotten into it since watching it on TV," Betz said.
Bill Estes and Fred Smith, both 15, of Sand Creek said they watch poker on television to get better at it. Estes, who learned to play poker from his dad, said watching professionals helps him perfect his own game.
These teens are among the millions of Americans who have become hooked on watching poker. ESPN began airing poker in 1994, but in 2003 received unprecedented ratings for its coverage of the annual World Series of Poker tournament. More than 1 million U.S. households watched that competition.
The tournament, which began in 1970, has exploded ever since. The 2002 tournament had nearly 7,600 entries and cash prizes amounting to $19.6 million.
Like fans of any other professional sport, teens now watch their favorite poker stars on television and try to emulate them. All this popularity has turned poker into a multi-million dollar industry and a booming recreation - or problem - for teens, depending on who you talk to.
Austin Wagley, 16, of Adrian, who has bought his own poker chips, tables and cards, said poker is a fun and harmless game that he and his friends can spend hours playing.
"It's a social game," he said. "You can hang out with your friends and you can win money."
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