Yep. All true. There are naked poker tournaments (you start out naked and put on clothes as you lose). Poker has been played underwater in the Caribbean with the players in diving helmets. And a poker tournament was recently held in a Finnish "ice castle.” What's next?

Let's start out with the naked poker. Strip Poker has probably been around about as long as poker has been played. Was it the Chinese who first thought of it? Or was it the French who brought the game to our shores by way of New Orleans and moved it up the Mississippi, then east and west?

The Naturist Society of Estonia put on a naked poker tournament, where 104 players bared all. Remember, they started naked and the losers donned clothing. The winner managed to grab first prize wearing only a sock.

Not to be outdone, the Irish have gotten into the naked poker business. Paddy Power Poker (most recently in hot water for having put up a promotional billboard showing poker being played at the Last Supper) has decided to try to beat the Estonian record for the most players starting out naked. Should you be a poker buff, so to speak, check in with bmurray@paddypower.com for the August, 2006 event.

Should you wish to play poker in at least a bathing suit, check out the underwater poker tournament - "The Extreme Poker Challenge” - that was played in late 2005. They picked the beautiful blue waters just off St. Kitts to host the event. 30 feet under the Caribbean, the players had to deal with water seeping into their masks

as well as a stingray that didn't know much about holdin' and foldin' but who wanted to check out the action anyway.

Finland's Juha Helppi won it all as World Poker champions Kathy Liebert, Todd Whiteles, and Jennifer Tilly (yes, that Jennifer Tilly, actress and poker champ) observed the action from above via snorkeling.

Winner Helppi got to pick the next venue for second "Extreme Poker Challenge.” Who says the Finns don't have a sense of humor?

He chose his homeland of Finland. The venue? An ice palace, built especially for this purpose. Keeping the temperature at about five degrees (Fahrenheit), former World Series of Poker champ Robert Varkonyi raced around the table between hands to stay warm. He staved off the elements to best Helppi and take the title. Bluelipped but happy, Varkonyi gets to choose the next venue: let's see, how about at the 50-yard line in the middle of next year's Super Bowl?

(c) 2006 Murphy James

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