Poker at Berkeley
July 2022 - May 2023 | Berkeley, CA
https://poker.berkeley.edu/My Role: Founder and President
I co-founded and was co-president UC Berkeley’s premier poker organization for 2 semesters. I was able to orchestrate and ground a couple major initiatives:
Game Nights
Poker at Berkeley holds biweekly game nights, with regular attendance of around ~60 students, ranging from complete beginners to experienced poker players. Every game night has 2-3 tables for beginners, with experienced club members leading these tables as dealers while providing advice to newcomers.
Tournaments
Every semester, Poker at Berkeley holds 1-2 tournaments in conjunction with our sponsors. To the best of my knowledge, these have been the first Berkeley-wide poker tournaments ever held, and will hopefully continue to occur after my tenure. So far we’ve held two tournaments, one with Citadel, and one with SIG. These tournaments are held over 2 consecutive days, with the first day being an open-to-all qualifying round and the second day being an invite-only final round.
The qualifying rounds are open to all Berkeley students and are held over Poker Now to accommodate for scale, but we also have an in-person venue with lunch/dinner provided for those who want to come and play in-person, albeit using their laptops. Our sponsors typically also give an info session at these qualifying rounds. In the past, we’ve had about 200 attendees at the qualifiers. Play continues until the top 50 winners are determined.
The final round is the next day, where we invite the top 50 players for an in-person poker tournament that lasts most of the day. Lunch and dinner are provided, and typically representatives from our sponsors are made dealers. Poker at Berkeley board members heavily supervise and conduct the tournaments to ensure top-tier player experience. Again, our sponsors usually run a game, challenge, or info session during the final round. The final round has substantial prizes, provided by both Poker at Berkeley and the tournament sponsor.
Stat 198: Introduction to Poker
Poker at Berkeley runs the Intro to Poker class at UC Berkeley. The class is a beginner-friendly survey of poker theory, with mock, cashless games happening at the end of every session. We use the Poker Now HUD to track student progress and EV loss throughout the semester. The class is the biggest student-run course at Berkeley, with around 240 students every semester.
Sponsorships
In conjunction with our sponsors, Poker at Berkeley holds info sessions and other events (mini-tournaments, invite-only game nights, etc.) to promote applications of Poker to industry.