Fenton — A full house of queens and aces. I wish I could say this was my hand but sadly, it belonged to the young lady across the table from me. With a smile and a quick giggle, she swooped up all of my chips and I was out of the Colonel Fenton’s Founder’s Day Poker Tournament a mere 45 minutes after the first hand was dealt.

 So goes the game of poker. Your chip stack can be an empire that dwarfs everyone else’s and one hand later, you’re left with ruins. That’s what I love about poker, it’s a game where anything can happen. Skill, luck, egos and the draw of the cards are all factors when it comes to winning. I’ve seen seasoned card players get blown out by first-time players, unassuming little old ladies run tables and drunks, who couldn’t hold their cards straight, clean out sober players.

 I consider myself a decent, if not competent player. But in the three years I’ve played in the tournament, I haven’t been able to make it past the first table. The game requires a different mindset since rounds are timed to an hour-and-a-half each. A time restriction eliminates the luxury of waiting out a string of bad hands and urged me to bet more frequently. Playing poker can be a humbling experience as I didn’t expect the woman sitting across from me to knock me out (and coincidently, one of those little old ladies beat everyone at our table).

 Despite all this, I always have fun playing in the tournament. I have found that the tournament, like all good things in life, is more about the people involved rather than the actual game. The Fenton Hotel quickly fills up after the first round, the losers sharing war stories of hands they should have won with and the people who made it to the next round.

 The game is all for a good cause, which lessens the sting when you lose. The proceeds from the tournament benefit the Fenton schools for education, athletics and the arts. That’s more rewarding than the $1,000, getting a street named after you and getting to brag you’re the best poker player in town. Right? Well, that’s my story until I win the tournament next year.

Jay Greenwald won the tournament, according to Tom Bertschy, vice president of Commercial Banking for The State Bank and board member of the Fenton Area Public Schools Education Foundation. He added that Greenwald made a great humanitarian gesture by allowing the runner-up to name the street after her niece (Isabella Ward) who is battling for her life with cancer.

Bertschy will have more details about proceeds by early next week.