Swing in for a game of Poker
Everyone will probably agree that Chris “Jesus” Ferguson is one of the most well known faces on the poker scene. I mean, who can not immediately conjure up images of his long, wavy hair that earned him his nick name, with his black Cowboy hat, and dark sunglasses? But an interesting fact about this rough and tough “Poker Cowboy” that many people might not know though- is that he is an extremely educated and refined gentleman. And apart from playing poker, his other pet hobby- is to dance!
Chris has been dancing for almost a decade, during which he also managed the U.C.L.A. dance club for three years. Yes, believe or not, this very versatile man, has an exceptional aptitude for all the ballroom dance types, ranging from the more basic to the more complicated ones. He can waltz, do the foxtrot, tango or mambo. But his very favorite is the Swing, particularly the West Coast Swing.
For those of you that don’t know, the West Coast Swing is a partner type of dance- that is said to be derived from the Lindy hop. According to Arthur Murray, it is simply another variation of the jitterbug type of dance. The Swing involves that you walk a sequence of various patterns in synch with your partner. This leads us to believe that it is in that very aspect that the attraction lies for Ferguson- who seems to have an analytical and mathematical approach to more areas of his life, than the game of poker…
Another well known name in the poker fraternity that dances and even taught Country Western Dances, is the video poker teacher- Bob “Dancer”, whose real surname nobody remembers anymore. He particularly dances the Texas two-step and like Ferguson, he favors the West Coast Swing. Mike Sexton, the international poker champion & world poker tour announcer will probably agree with Bob, that being a professional dancer is a fine occupation. Before playing poker for a living, he was a ballroom dance teacher himself.
The list of poker players that dance, either professionally or for recreational purposes, goes on and on. Which makes us wonder- do dancing and poker have some elements in common? How many of you poker junkies out there dance as well, and if you do, what about it attracts you? Is it the challenge of a competition, the social aspect of it, or do you do it to compensate for the lack of exercise that one gets when playing poker….??
