A long, long time ago, @GuiltyParties talked me into signing up to play poker at Hive's very own free poker site called @Lucksacks. I explained to Guilty that I had no idea how to play poker. I explained to him also that I did not care to learn how to play. GuiltyParties then sweet-talked me into signing up for the first Veterans poker tournament on Lucksacks. Using the excuse that I wasn't a Veterans didn't help. I set my alarm and wrote the date on my calendar. That day started some of the best times I have had over the last few years. ---  ---  ---  --- The group of regulars that play at Lucksacks was very friendly to a new person just learning the game of poker. People tried to help me learn how to play. The problem with this was I just wanted to have fun. I didn't care if I won or not. It was more fun interacting with the great group of people at Lucksacks. To this day, on my primary monitor, I have the **'what beats what'** table someone sent me when I first started. When playing poker, I always have that photo open to remember that a **full house** beats a **flush**. I have lost games many times, not remembering that. Really! I am also extremely lucky. ---  ---  ---  --- On February 16, 2022, at 2 PM EST, Lucksacks hosted a 100 Hive No-Limit Holdem Freeroll. @Opidia was the one to bring it to my attention. I signed up a few days early and set my phone alarm. My world has been very stressful, so I wasn't sure I would remember or be around to play. Wednesday the sixteenth came. I had a horrible morning. My pregame alarm went off, and I opened my browser not to forget when the game started. I figured it would be a great distraction not to think about life. I needed that distraction badly. People's names filled the login window to the Lucksacks poker site for the first time in ages. It made me smile. ---  ---  ---  --- The game started, and those at my table were playing very conservatively. I was okay with this because I needed the distraction. I saw the names of people I didn't know, which was nice. I also saw the names of old friends. All in all, I was ready for a good game of poker. Halfway through the game, I popped over to the other full table to say hello to everyone there. I did notice that the other table was playing very cutthroat poker. The people there had stacks of chips in the 10K to 25K range. I looked at my 6K in chips, which was suitable for my table, and realized that would not get me very far when the tables merged. With all this in mind, a hand came along where there was a chance I could win. The person I was playing against kept raising. I thought, well, it's now or never to get ahead on my chip count. The cards fell my way to my surprise! Now I just had to hold out for the final table and not do anything Snookish. ---  ---  ---  --- The last three players were @Tadas, @Yazp, and me. Tadas and Yazp have taken more of my chips over the years than I care to admit. They are great poker players. Long story a bit shorter, I won! Let's say the cards were in my favor that day!!! ---  ---  ---  --- I want to thank @Bethalea, @Tuck-fheman, and @GuiltyParties for a GREAT afternoon!! If you ever are looking to play poker for **free** and earn some **Hive** by playing poker, check out the post [Is Playing Online Poker for HIVE at Lucksacks.com Illegal?](https://hive.blog/poker/@lucksacks.com/is-playing-online-poker-for-hive-at-lucksackscom-illegal). The post will give you information on how to sign up to [Lucksacks.com](https://lucksacks.com/). It is a wonderful place to meet cool people and play or learn how to play poker. Plus, it is free! # It doesn't get any better than **free**. ---