When I played Puzzle Pirates, it included Texas Hold’em Poker as one of the games for landlubbers. Many pirates found that they could amass large fortunes quickly at the tables, rather than slowly on the high seas. Many forum posters also explained how Poker Had Ruined the Game for sure.

Eventually, the high-stakes players graduated to “AoF” games by invite. You could go all-in on your hand, or fold it. That’s it; that’s the game.

Once in the mid-1990s I interviewed for a junior sysadmin job for a workstation VAR. I was rather reluctant to take the offer for many reasons. As soon as I came on-board, one of my coworkers explained that there was some kind of office betting pool and that it was not really optional, if I expected to maintain good relations. I declined anyway. Worst job ever.