
Barack Obama

President Barack Obama is a keen poker player
Barack Obama is the 44th President of the United States and, by all accounts, a pretty decent poker player.
Obama, who was elected to the White House in November 2008, regularly played low stakes poker games on Capitol Hill when he was a senator for Illnois.
To break up the tedium of long legislative sessions, senators from both parties and their advisors would routinely play low-stakes Texas Hold'em, stud and draw poker - usually accompanied by pizza and beer.
"It was a fun way for people to relax and share stories and give each other a hard time over friendly competition," Obama once wrote. "It was a way to get to know other senators including Republicans."
Obama was a tight, aggressive player preferring to enter pots only occasionally when he had a strong hand - which made his rare bluffs even more believable.
He gained a reputation for being a good player who studied the odds carefully.
"When Barack stayed in, you pretty much figured he's got a good hand," says Larry Walsh, a former senator.
Obama, who is also a West Ham fan, describes poker as a 'hidden talent' and rates himself a 'pretty good' player.
If he had a weakness, it was being a bad loser.
Sen. Terry Link, a Democrat from the Chicago suburbs, recalls: "He didn't throw his cards or take a swing at anybody, but he wasn't a happy person.
"He's got that competitive spirit, no doubt about it."
Celebrity Details
Name: Barack Obama
Age: 56
Born: Honolulu, Hawaii
Lives: Washington DC, United States
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