Put yourself in the shoes of someone who is deaf. For many of us who have all of our senses, you can immediately see the difficulties of everyday life. That hasn’t stopped the Deaf Poker Tour from doing what they love which is playing poker.
Deaf Poker Tour comes to Philadelphia
The Deaf Poker Tour has made 51 stops since its inception in 2006. It has been to Las Vegas, Baltimore and Atlantic City. On May 12, the group made its first stop at Live! Casino Philadelphia. The tournament consisted of seven events over the three days.
Live! Casino Philadelphia’s Director of Poker Anne Tran commented:
“We’re thrilled to host The Deaf Poker Tour for their first tournament in Philadelphia,” Tran said in a statement. “It is truly inspiring to see so many people with an affinity for the game communicate in a different way than we’re used to in the Poker Room. The tournament provides us with the opportunity to bridge the gap between the hearing world and the deaf community and we’re very proud of it.”
What is the Deaf Poker Tour?
The Deaf Poker Tour started with six friends in 2006 who wanted to bring other deaf players together to play poker. Since then, deaf poker players from around the country have joined the tour to compete and play the game they love.
The tour had between 60-100 poker players at last week’s event. To find out more about upcoming Deaf Poker Tour events, you can follow them on social media on Facebook and Twitter.
Style of communication
All communication is done through gestures and sign language during competition.
It’s interesting to watch because there’s no talking going on at the table. Even the dealers, most of whom don’t know sign language, use a series of gestures to communicate with deaf players. Since the pandemic, dealers gesturing with masks on have made it more difficult for deaf players to understand some of the cues.
Just because there’s no talking at the table, it doesn’t mean it’s always quiet.
“[It can be] loud. Very loud. And, when the competition becomes heated? Oh yeah, it becomes loud,” head of the tour Jay Levine said to Fox29 through an interpreter.
Results of Deaf Poker Tournament at Live! Casino Philadelphia
Event #1 Omaha: 28 Entrants
1. Thomas Pirozzi 820
2. Mike Procopio 491
3. Jessica Fields 309
4. Carlos David 200
Event #2 Satty: 45 Entrants (9 players placed)
1. Marvin Lessiter
2. Andrea Willbur
3. Damertrais Jones
4. Donald Gordon
5. Anthony LoBue
6. Stephen DiGiovanna
7. Corey Koski
8. Harold Herbert
9. Chris Beard
Event #3 Early Bird: 71 Entrants
1. Andrea Wilbur 1269
2. Jessica Fields 1268
3. Steven Coira 565
4. Stephen DiGiovanna 404
5. Michael Veley 312
6. John Jacobellis 242
7. Roberto Davila 208
8. Andrew Mochi 185
9. Marvin Lassiter 162
Event #4 Ladies: 24 Entrants
1. Jennifer Perlis 780
2. Debbie 468
3. Lana Dantone 312
Event #5 Deep Stack Madness: 121 Entrants
1. Chris Beard
2. Mike Procopio
3. Larry McNulty, Jr.
Event #6 DPT Main Event: 66 Entries
1. Corey Koski 2500
2. Daniel Ferrer 2029
3. Kelby Brick 1563
4. James Hanson 1286
5. Chris Beard 813
6. Sokha Pann 520
7. Jessica Fields 446
8. Chris Shannon 396
9. Joey Bingham 347
Lead image by Corey Sharp
