Even as a little child we admire our father and try to emulate every single move he makes. I learned at a young age how to play the game of poker along with a variety of other card games my father and grandfathers loved to play when spending afternoons at the Jersey Shore. Card games are a family past-time for my family, whether they are poker or solitaire or war, it doesn’t matter.

Since it is Father’s Day I figured it would be best to write something about learning the game of poker and other card games from my father. It seems fitting doesn’t it? I thought so. My fascination with poker, war, solitaire and go fish began when I was just a young pup. In  fact, my first encounter with card games came on a family camping trip to Sebago Lake State Park in the state of Maine.

Every night, since we obviously didn’t have a television, we would build a fire and then play cards well into the wee hours of the morning (to borrow a song title from the great Frank Sinatra). The games we would play included Uno, war, solitaire, go fish and poker. That’s right; my dad made sure that my brother and I knew how to play poker well back when we were young.

Probably my most favorite card game when I was young was double solitaire. My dad and I would play this card game for hours on end when camping or spending lazy afternoons at the Jersey Shore. It was just a fun game to play and a great way to bond with my father.