Are poker players the coolest people in the world?

Pighead is a magnificent indoor bowls player. Probably top hundred in north Co.Louth. He's won more trophies than you could shake a stick at and he's been called everything from a genius to a legend by his indoor bowling friends, peers and mother.

So what's his problem? Problem is, bowls isn't cool. It's a boring sport played by boring, stinking, old people in boring, stinking, community halls. Pighead is the youngest player by a good fifty years on most nights. Being number one in your chosen sport is generally a golden pass to a life of fame, riches and supermodels. But not bowls. Best Pighead can hope for is for old seventy five year old Agnes McNamara offering to clean and shine his prize winning balls for him. God has cursed this poster with a brilliant talent in a rubbish sport.

Why couldn't he have blessed him with some poker skills. What a game that seems to be. Go into the poker forum and you cannot but help be amazed by the coolness dripping from every thread. They have their own language as well. A language that makes even the losers sound cool.

If somebody loses all his money on the poker tables, he doesn't cry or stamp his feet. Instead he'll casually swagger into the BBV thread and say something like "Bad beat's tonight compradres, ended up busto" How cool does that sentence sound? It would make you almost want to lose all your money, just for the chance of being able to say busto. They have loads of other cool words like tilt, variance and flop but Pighead's not sure what these ones mean yet.

Three of the coolest things in the world are shades, Las Vegas and money. Poker has associations with all three. Coincidence? Doubtful.

Pighead thinks he's made a pretty strong case here for poker players being cool and he will be surprised if the poll doesn't reflect what he's saying. So are poker players cooler than you?