Hi Ho, Hi Ho, It's Off to Camp We Go

  Traditionally, going to camp means cooking hot dogs by an open flame, panty raids on the girls' cabin, and sticking the hand of unpopular campers in warm water while they sleep. Those who are not familiar with the last item on that list should know that soaking the hand of somebody you don't like in warm water while they are dozing will help them to relive their bed wetting days. Sports camps were a whole different animal. In the case of football camp, things happened there that would have made the purveyors of the Spanish Inquisition a little uncomfy, but at least we learned how to facemask an opponent without the ref seeing. So do poker camps fall into the category of mindless fun or a more serious sort of camp where you learn a craft?  Today you can't swing a dead ferret without hitting a poker camp. Everyone from players like Daniel Negreanu to Playboy has set up poker camps in order to educate people on the finer points of the game. The price tags on these events can go from reasonable to crippling depending upon where you want to do your camping. Usually these gatherings include celebrities from the poker world, some one on one instruction with professionals, some tournament play, and more than a few drinks.  To date we don't think a poker camp has produced a player who has taken home a World Series of Poker bracelet or World Poker Tour championship. While you can learn from these camps, it is not much different from what you will learn from a score of books. You could spend a fraction of the amount at Barnes and Noble and learn just as much.  These camps are nothing but a good time with some poker thrown in. We are not discouraging anyone from going, they are an absolute blast, just don't expect a camp to make you a champion.