Much has been said about the emergence of poker into the glaring spotlight of mainstream life. Almost too quickly it has emerged out of smoke-filled bars and casinos and into smoke-filled bars and casinos — but now it’s on TV.

The poker world as a whole has drawn down its sunglasses, lucky hats, lucky pictures, lucky fruit, lucky whatever in an attempt to shield itself from the glare. Now Oak Harbor players have a place in which to go all in.

Starting last month, downtown Oak Harbor pub P.W. Murphy’s began offering twice-weekly tournaments in which the grand prize is a free-pass to the World Series of Poker.

Derek Thomas was supposed to be at physical training, but he instead spent a couple of hours being the bounty. If a player caused Thomas to go out, that person received a bonus.

“I’ve learned a lot off of these people here,” Thomas said after being taken out. “I take the tips from the players here and try to get better.”

Playing at P.W. Murphy’s gives people who are new to the sport a chance to learn. It is free to play, and the lucky ones (and some good ones too) can earn a chance to play for prizes at larger, regional tournaments.

Coupeville resident Kristina Harrison won one of the smaller tournaments the week after she was dealt in for the first time ever.

“If this was all about money, we probably wouldn’t play as much,” she said. “This definitely is a way for people to get into the game.”

On Sunday, two games are offered, one at 3 p.m., and another at 6 p.m. Tuesdays also see a 6 p.m. tournament, followed by a 9 p.m. round. Tables of six are set up, but usually find themselves with seven people crammed in. Each tournament averages about 40 people, tournament host Victoria Kuschel said.

“We try to keep it as a learning process for the players,” she said. “We’re just trying to keep it fun.”

A growing stack

No Limit Texas Hold ‘Em is the game of choice at P.W. Murphy’s, and seemingly the nation as well. It is difficult to turn the television on and not catch somebody pushing all in.

In this form of poker, each player is dealt two cards, face down. The players to the left of the dealer have each placed a small, forced bet called the “blinds.”

After a round of betting, a card is burned from the deck and three community cards are placed in the middle of the table face up. This is called the flop. After another round of betting, another card is discarded and the next card is turned face up. This is fourth street, or the turn.

Another round of betting, and the process is repeated for fifth card. After fifth street, also known as the river, a final round of betting occurs. The person with the best five card hand wins.

Much of poker’s growth began in the late 1990s. The movie “Rounders” was released in 1998. Television coverage of the World Series of Poker quickly followed.

The growth of poker can be seen in the number of people who participate in the World Series of Poker. In 2000, there were 4,780 entrants in the various events, but in 2005, the number rose to over 23,000 players. In the main event alone, participants grew from 839 in 2003, to 2,576 in 2004, to 5,619 in 2005.

Derek Thomas, who missed physical training to play Tuesday night, said that some friends invited him to play in a home game.

“I didn’t have much to do and a friend of mine said he was going to go play,” Thomas said. “It was only $10. I ended up winning and that made it fun.”

For the beginner, the Oak Harbor games are a good place to pick up hints, tricks and to learn what it feels like to lose a hand with ace, ten.

“Everybody’s pretty fun here,” said Harrison, who has only been playing live games for a month. “You get people who are a little uptight, but then they realize it’s all in fun.”

Kuschel, the night’s host, said that keeping it light-hearted and enjoyable for everybody is part of the structure of the games. The amount of the forced bets go up every 15 minutes and players start to go out really fast.

“This is a learning process here,” Kuschel said. “We’re just trying to make it fair.”