Presidential Notes: Obama's Poker Face

In his book The Audacity of Hope Barack Obama mentions that he used to play poker with his fellow legislators when he served in the Illinois state senate. In a brief note entitled “Dept of Odds: Aces” by James McManus in the February 4, 2008 New Yorker, we find out more about these games. Here is an excerpt:

Obama’s analytical mind helped him excel at draw, stud, and hold’em, and also at the sillier, more luck-based variants of the game that other players chose, such as baseball. Yet, even with the beer drinking and cigarette smoking, there were unspoken rules of conduct. When a married lobbyist arrived at a Springfield game with a person described as “an inebriated woman companion who did not acquit herself in a particularly wholesome fashion,” Obama made a face indicating that he wasn’t pleased. [another Illinois state senator Terry] Link says that the lobbyist and his date were “quickly whisked out of the place.”

Obama never played for high stakes. Only on a very bad night could a player drop two hundred dollars in these games, typical wins and losses being closer to twenty-five bucks. Link describes Obama as “calculating” card-player, avoided long-shot draws and patiently waiting for strong starting hands. “When Barack stayed in, you pretty much figured he’s got a good hand,” former Senator Larry Walsh once told a reporter, neglecting to note that maintaining that sort of rock-solid image made it easier for Obama to bluff.