“I wanted to give good reason to play poker at school.”

This is junior and Club President Miles Quinn’s motivation for co-founding Poker Club with junior and Vice President Daniel Thompson on March 21.

However, students have been playing the game unofficially at lunch for even longer.

“We used to play poker in here kind of underground, but we wanted to make it official,” said Thompson.

Thompson aims to make the club all-inclusive: “We anticipate having six players per table and two or three tables going on at once.” Even on their first meeting, members brought cards, tables to play on, and boxes full of poker chips.

The vibe of the meeting was casual, with members bringing their lunches to eat while they play, and Cyriakos Nichols, their staff advisor, blasting music that matched the students’ enthusiasm.

Their creation of the club has drawn students who didn’t know playing poker at school was even an option, and many already have experience with the game.

“This is my first day here,” said junior Shim Pei, who is an experienced player. “I have been playing for four or five years now. I really enjoy the tactical thinking, and it’s definitely a challenge you don’t usually get.”

Even so, Pei said, “I think we’re all pretty amateur, but I’m sure over time we’ll all get a little bit better.”

That’s the main goal of Poker Club, according to Thompson. “We figure we can help kids learn how to play properly so that in the future when they’re playing poker they’ll know what they’re doing.”

Thompson himself has been playing since elementary school. He said he enjoys poker because “it’s a fun game.”

Quinn said, “Poker is a lot of fun in my opinion. I started playing back in seventh grade.” Regarding his skill level at poker, he said, “On some days I’m lucky, but I don’t think I’m really good at it.”

Quinn and Thompson have already created an environment students wish to return to. Pei said, “I’ll come back next year if the club is still going on.”