If You Can't Win the Tournament, Start Your Own

Kansas State University, Manhattan, Kansas: These days, it seems that poker and entrepreneurship go hand in hand on college campuses. Many of the students who play poker seriously and find success at the tables are able to transfer their skills over to the business world. Comparing the two activities, poker and starting a business, side by side shows amazing similarities.

First, both activities put a high value on experience. In poker, most people end up going bust a few times before they get a feel for the game and start turning a profit. In business, most entrepreneurs go bankrupt with a few business ventures before striking it rich.

Second, knowing your opponents and being one step ahead of them is necessary for both. With poker, you have to read your opponents and adjust your style of play to their style. In the business world, you have to always be one step ahead of your competition.

Finally, both poker and entrepreneurship require an element of risk. At the tables, you have to put up your own bankroll and not be afraid of being the underdog once in a while. In the business world, you have to put up your own money to start up and you're always the underdog, since nine out of 10 businesses fail in their first year. With those odds, maybe more college graduates should be working the tables in Vegas than entering the business world.

Yet, even being a 9-to-1 underdog isn't enough to scare some college students from starting their own businesses. Kansas State students Matt Harn and Nick Senator have jumped into the poker industry with their company Cards and Bars. With bars all over the country launching poker night promotions and hosting poker tournaments with up to 200 participants, Matt and Nick saw the potential to cash in. Instead of putting all of their money on the table, the two students decided to set up their own tables and make a profit by letting other students play poker.

Cards and Bars hosts tournaments in Aggieville (part of Manhattan) bars several times a week. By offering games at different bars and on different days of the week, Harn and Senator are able to attract a large group of participants. Working with eight players per table, Cards and Bars tournaments can fill up to 20 tables on busy nights. Harn admits that his advertising primarily targets college students, but he welcomes everyone to join the fun.

With so many players in the tournaments, Harn and Senator make sure the prizes are well worth everyone's time. Winners of their tournaments can't take home cash so Harn and Senator always offer a variety of electronics. Past winners of the tournaments have taken home DVD players, televisions, and Palm Pilots. In addition, Cards and Bars plans to hold larger tournaments every few months at which they will offer a free trip to Las Vegas to the lucky winner.

While their business operation started off as a local endeavor focused around the Kansas State community, Harn and Senator are expanding Cards and Bars to more locations. The next stop on the road to success is Kansas City. The business duo plan to expand their tournament operations throughout all of the Midwestern college campuses. Keep your eyes peeled because they might be hitting your college community in the very near future.