Poker and Charity
Monday, 4 November 2013
Paul Jackson on doing your bit.
I think it is nice when someone who wins something at poker gives a little to charity. There are lots of examples, too, such as at the WSOP where many players give a very small percentage (usually 1%) of winnings to charity. Some well known benefactors give all of their winnings to various charities which is extremely commendable, and very nice to be in a financial position to be so generous.
I have for several years donated the money I get from writing articles in poker magazines to animal charities (because, in general, I think animals are nicer than humans). More recently and significantly, the cash game rake in “ActionJack’s Card Room” in Star City included a deduction, subject to pot size, which required a contribution to our charity pot, resulting in thousands of pounds going to Sunnyside Dogs Home in Wolverhampton.
The players who played in those games were always very generous and happy to contribute towards a worthy cause. I think it’s interesting how so many poker players, me included, will call for hundreds of pounds, hoping the last card turned over is, say, a diamond, but then simply won’t have it if a shop tries to charge them 50p more than they should for something. In the overall scheme of things, the occasional contribution of a few quid to charity shouldn’t be a big issue. It will make you feel better and should be a lot less expensive than when that diamond doesn’t hit on the river!
I am a joint trustee of the animal charity The Ark Animal Welfare Trust, which deals with the rescue, rehabilitation and rehoming of abandoned, neglected or unwanted animals, in particular those that are sick or elderly, and raises funds to cover their long term care.
In addition to monetary donations, there are numerous other ways you can help the charity: donations of unwanted pet-related items, fundraising, fostering animals in your home, or carrying out home checks on individuals interested in adopting one of our furry guests. Please visit www.thearktrust.co.uk for further details, or to get in touch.
One hundred per cent of all contributions go towards helping the animals, no one within this charity earns or receives expenses or salaries or anything akin to or equivalent to any payment for anything from the charitable funds. It is 100% volunteer-run and operated.
We are having an online charity poker game on Coral Poker on Sunday, November 10th at 8pm. The tournament name is The Ark Animal Welfare Trust and the tournament is just a $10 rebuy with all proceeds going to the charity.
Coral Poker have very kindly put up prizes as follows: first, $525 MTT token; second, $215 MTT token; third, $215 MTT token; and fourth to tenth, $33 MTT tokens. That means you can win entry to the iPoker $525 High Roller Tournament ($40,000 guaranteed) for as little as $10, so you might win $10,000-odd for supporting a worthwhile cause for $11. Now that’s what I call karma!
Anyone who wants to play can use their existing Coral Poker account or Poker Encore account and if you don’t have one just open a Coral account at www.coral.co.uk/poker. Any issues, message me on Facebook, please.
I’d like to thank Bluff Magazine for allowing me to put this article in and also Coral Poker for their support and hope lots of you players will join me in playing the game.
We will also be having a live charity game (hopefully at Star City in ActionJack’s Room) early in the New Year and will have more details of that on the Facebook page “Charity poker events for The Ark Animal Welfare Trust”, among other places, nearer to the date.