十几年前，我有一个美好的想法，在夜晚可以和几个哥们围着厨房的餐桌上玩扑克，直到清晨时分。晚上玩扑克是一种有趣的社交活动。当某一个哥们结婚以后，他只能与妻子坐在客厅，哀叹对扑克游戏的痴迷，自己还能暗自高兴，还有时间参加扑克社交活动。慢慢地，我们的扑克组越来越小，扑克哥们逐渐变成全职爸爸，直到我们不得不设法找到一个晚上，适合每个人每月参加一次哥们之间的扑克派对。

　　然而，我的妻子提出了一个想法，改变了我们扑克团队的操作。她向我们提出了玩互联网在线扑克的想法。

　　我们的小团体在一个顶级的在线扑克网站签署了相关协议，并为我们的私人扑克派对指定了一个日期。我们扑克哥们在扑克室“会见”，然后享受三个小时的游戏，不受任何干扰。诚然，尽管扑克组的哥们都成了全职爸爸，我们依然能够享受未婚之前的美好的扑克游戏之夜。现在，我们这些家伙通过网上在线扑克享受几个小时德州扑克，甚至女士们加入我们的游戏。

　　在线扑克网站的想法是，让玩家坐在他或她自己的客厅或办公室，要求自己的朋友或家人一起玩扑克牌，而不需要到某一个人家里集合。越来越多的在线扑克室为他们的玩家提供这项服务，有的在线扑克网站甚至还提供顶级的奖金。

　　译文：

　　A decade or so ago, my ultimate idea of a great night was getting together with a couple of buddies and playing poker around a kitchen table until the early hours of the morning.  When the first of us got married, and then the second, the poker evenings turned into social events, with the wives sitting out in the living room, bemoaning our obsession with the game but secretly pleased that they had time to catch up and chat.  The picture changed again when the first kids were born. Suddenly, poker buddies turned into full time dads and poker took a back seat in their new family set ups.  Slowly, our poker group grew smaller and smaller until we couldn’t manage to find an evening once a month that suited everyone.

　　And then my brilliant other half came up with an idea that changed the way our poker team operated. She introduced us to the idea of virtual poker nights via internet.  Our little group signed up with a top online poker site and arranged a private poker session on a specified date.  The five of us ‘met’ in the poker room and managed to enjoy a three hour session, without any interference.  Granted, one of the guys got up to burp a baby, but returned a while later to complete his hand.  Now, once a month, without fail, we guys meet online to enjoy a couple of hours of Texas Hold ‘em, and even the ladies join in or have their private games.

　　Online poker sites have recognized the need for players who know each other but are physically far from each other to play in virtual poker rooms.  The idea is for the player to sit in his or her own living room or office and play poker against friends or family members, without the need to make their way to someone else’s home.  More and more online poker rooms are offering their members this service and are even offering top bonuses to players who invite their friends and play poker games with them.

　　I know that this method has worked for me and my buddies, and it’s definitely worth a try!