By Cathy Bayer/ Staff Writer
thedailyeasternnews.com

The Second Annual College Poker Championship is taking place, with the online final on May 22 at 4 p.m.

Scholarship money will be awarded to the overall champion, with the grand prize being a $41,000 scholarship, a $1,000 donation to the organization of the winner's choice and the right to the title of 2005 College Poker Champion.

Eastern students are eligible to participate in a free online poker tournament. Not only Eastern students, but all registered college and university students worldwide can participate in the competition to find the world's best college No Limit Texas Hold'em poker player.

The championship will be hosted by professional poker player Lou Krieger. As host, Krieger goes around the 100 online tables and chats with as many players as possible.

"I talk to people, see how they like (the tournament) and look for (means of) improvement," he said.

One of the biggest parts of Krieger's job is to see how things can be better for the next year's tournament, he said.

Last year, about 10,000 people participated in the tournament.

"(I had) no idea as to how popular it would be; (we were) just shooting in the dark," he said.

This year Krieger expects at least 30,000 people to participate.

He got into poker at the age of eight at his father's poker game in Brooklyn, N.Y. He wanted to hang out with "the guys," and was tired of being a little kid.

"My mom finally relented, and I loved every minute of it," he said.

The players that Krieger's father played with would show Krieger their cards and explained what each hand meant, allowing him to learn a lot about the game at a young age.

Krieger is the author of seven books about poker and over 400 magazine articles. He tries to include all his secrets in his books.

"I try to convey as much information (as possible)," he said.

The best way to use a poker book is to read it, come back in six months and read it again, learning and growing in experience, Krieger said.