I recently got back from one of the most enriching poker playing trips that I’d been on in a long while. No, this isn’t going to be an article about how much money I won playing overseas. It was a rewarding trip in a different sort of way. But before I tell you how it was uniquely rewarding, I’d like you to think a little bit about poker playing and money.

Think about this. In the year 2001, The New York Times estimated that 45 million Americans played poker on a regular basis. That was largely before Internet poker and the televised World Poker Tour. What do you think the number is today? 55 million? 70 million? 100 million?

Let’s be conservative and estimate that 50 million Americans play poker regularly. What does regularly mean? Every day? Every week? Every month? Let’s say they it means only an average of ten sessions a year. I know this number is probably extremely low, but stay with me.

How much money, on average, do you think people intend to play poker with per session? By this I mean money they bring to a game – not how much they lose. Again, let’s err on the side of caution and estimate that poker players, on a regular basis, take an average of twenty dollars to a game.

Given these deliberately underestimated numbers, the amount that Americans play poker with each year in the United States is absolutely staggering. It’s 10 billion dollars a year. Think about it. $10,000,000,000.00. That’s a whole mess of money.

Now think about something else. Think about the image of poker and poker players in the mind of the general public. Very positive? Negative? Kind of negative? I’d go with the last image for most people. True, it’s changing. But most people still would rank a poker player somewhere beneath a bowler but above a politician – not at the very bottom of respectability but down below the median.

We serious poker players, for the most part I’d suggest, would like to change that image for the better – if for no other reason than to attract sponsors for tournaments and to bring more favorable publicity to the game we love. True, some of us kind of like the old fashioned, somewhat seedy image of being a rounder. But when we think about what’s really good for the game, a bit more respectability and positive exposure would be a good thing, no?

Finally, think about this. One tenth of one percent. .001. It’s practically nothing. It’s a tithe of a tithe of a tithe. 1/10th of a penny. Practically nothing, right?

If the poker playing community gave to charity one tenth of one percent of all the money we wager at poker we would be donating no less than $10 million dollars a year. Now that’s a lot of money for charity – enough money to get noticed – enough to earn some respect from even the most critical anti-gambling zealots.

It’s more than just a thought. Many people have already begun to organize these poker fundraising endeavors. And you know what else. These tournaments are a blast.

OK. Back to my initial story – my enriching poker playing trip. I played in terrific charity tournament. I didn’t make a penny, although I finished eighth out of nearly one hundred entrants. In fact it cost me $100. But it was still very, very rewarding. I played in a charity tournament in Port Chester, New York, held to benefit Multiple Sclerosis. Jason Daloia ran it. His mother-in-law who suffers from MS inspired him. He did a great job. He brought together nearly 100 people who ponied up a total of over $20,000 to play No Limit Hold Em for some very nice prizes (though no cash) and a very worthy cause.

We contestants played for real – for about 7 hours – and had a double reward. The game was exciting, well organized, and dramatic – and the product was not just the prize at the end but the satisfactory feeling of knowing that we made a difference in the world, raising thousands of dollars to help conquer a debilitating disease.

Many of us who participated were inspired by people we knew with MS or by our own concerns about this mysterious crippler of middle-aged adults. But any charity is a potential beneficiary. All that it takes, really, is someone with a lot of energy and some organizing skill, a really good cause, and some willing poker players.

Jason ran his tournament with nearly 100% of the $100 buy-in and $100 rebuys and add-ons going to the charity. There were no cash prizes so the only amount that didn’t go right to the charity went for the purchase of a couple of the larger prizes, the hall rental, and the purchase of some of the food for the event. The dealers donated their time. The manufacturers donated the chips and cards. Card Player Magazine generously donated a copy of their latest issue to every entrant. The master of ceremonies (me) donated his services and his auctioneering skills for a charity auction that raised additional money for the charity.

This MS Charity Tournament looks like it will last for a while. Stay tuned. Maybe we’ll see it as a featured event on the World Poker Tour some day. I hope so. It would help a terrific charity and boost poker’s image at the same time. This MS Charity Tournament, however, is surely not the only charity game in town. Far from it. In the last two weeks, five different groups looking for help organizing their charity tournaments have approached me.

There are many different ways these charities raise their money from the event. Some just take 25% to 50% of the buy-ins right off the top and donate it to a charity, then play the tournament just as they would in a casino, with the prize pool being distributed to the winning players. Some have the players pledge, before the tournament starts, a certain percentage of their potential winnings to a designated good cause. Still others are planning to have pledge sheets like they do for the many walk-a-thons that raise money for charity. Poker players participating in this type of event get a starting chip stack that reflects how much money they were able to raise in pledges for the event. Talk about an incentive to hit up your friends and family for a good cause!

There surely will be, in the coming year, many opportunities for we poker players to participate in tournaments such as these. If you haven’t yet done so, I can assure you that playing in these charity events is fun and rewarding – well worth the cost of admission. I believe that the publicity and good will that they create for poker and poker players is very good for the game. And, of course, it’s surely good for the world!

Ashley Adams has been playing poker since 1961 when he learned it literally at his grandfather's knee. He started playing seriously in 1993 when Foxwoods Resort Casino in Ledyard, Connecticut opened their poker room. He can usually be found there at the $20/40 stud or the $2/5 no limit hold 'em table.

Ashley also runs charity poker tournaments, teaches poker privately and at the Boston Center for Adult Education, is a frequent guest on radio and television programs (having appeared on WBZ-AM, WHDH Channel 7 TV, WGBH-TV, NECN-TV), and has a regular radio show that can be heard 24/7 on www.houseofcardsradio.com.