Graduate Studies Blog

NANYANG MBA

MBA Poker Night

Article contributed by Bharath Ganapathy, Class of 2019.

After a month-long battle against assignment submissions, class presentations and mid-term exam, everyone was itching to let loose. And the sports club decided to light the spark.

Poker Night was announced on Monday, confirmed on Thursday and hosted on Friday Night. The response – phenomenal. Thanks to the Liquor Appreciation Club for lending their talents, and their club members, to make it a special event.

14 members decided that they wanted to play poker. No stakes, no money, no gambling. Just fun. At 8.30 pm, the players assembled, the chips were distributed, and the games began.

2 tables, 7 members per table and a fresh deck of cards. We were ready. I started dealing the cards, and soon enough we were hearing aah’s and ooh’s at every flop, every bet. There were onlookers marvelling at the skill of my dealing (not really!!) and the unique styles of betting at the table. People threw their arms up in frustration as the River gave their entire loot to another body at the table. And the winner was grinning like a cat.

From meagre winnings to pre-flop all-in bets, we saw it all on both tables. We reached a stage where we had 3 winners from each table and then the final showdown began. This was no joke. The guys were serious. They had a reputation to build. The winner would be the poker king, at least until the next night of frivolous (no money) gambling.

The stacks of chips dwindled and vanished for a few, while others didn’t find space to hold their treasure. One by one, guys walked off in dejection when they lost their last bet, but happy that they had given it their best shot. A smile and a word of thanks to the dealer (for organizing the event) and a handshake to the guy who cleaned him out.

Finally it came down to 2 guys (Omar and Harry (proxy for Vincent – whole other story)) and after a few tense moments at 1 am, we finally had a winner. Omar rejoiced at his Flush, Harry threw his cards down (Three of a kind) and we crowned our first King, um.. well Sheik, whatever.

Hope there are many more to come!!

For more info about the Nanyang MBA programme, please visit our website.