Do you kayak? Would you kayak? Would you like to have bragging rights for winning one?
Then brush up on your paddling skills before Labor Day.
Charles Mill Lake is hosting a Poker Paddle on Sept. 3 and the winner of this fun event will take home a new single kayak.
Paddlers will be scouting the shoreline of the lake collecting poker chips to compete for the best poker hand at the end of the day.
Competitors will be given a map to help them navigate to at least five stops where chips can be found. Everyone will then return for the “Show of Hands” at 4 p.m.
Prizes will be awarded for the best and worst poker hands, but the owner of the best poker hand gets the bragging rights and a new kayak.
A poker run can typically have five or six checkpoints the paddlers have to navigate. You make your way to the first checkpoint, where you are handed a card or chip. Pop that somewhere safe on your person, and off you go again to test your paddling skills.
Once you have reached the final checkpoint, you should have cards from which to make a poker hand or chips to via for a poker hand at the checkpoint. While you are paddling about the beautiful lake, your main goal is to create a poker hand and one that will be a better hand than that of the other competitors.
Sounds like an easy task?
Well, once you understand which poker hands are better, the fun part starts.
The royal flush sits atop the poker-hand rankings as the best hand possible. The worst is a high card hand where the winner simply has the highest ranking card.
Here is the complete list of poker hands based on five cards:
A royal flush is an ace high straight flush. For example, A-K-Q-J-10 cards, all of the same suit (example all cards are diamonds).
A straight flush is a five-card straight, all in the same suit. For example, 7-6-5-4-3 cards, all of the same suit.
Four of a kind, or quads, are four cards of equal value. For example, four jacks.
A full house contains a set (3) of cards of one value and a pair of another value. For example, Q-Q-Q-2-2.
A flush is any 5 cards, all of the same suit. For example, K-Q-9-6-3, all of diamonds.
Five cards of sequential value. Every possible straight will contain either a 5 or a 10. For example, 7-6-5-4-3 with different suits.
Three of a kind is a hand with cards of the same value. For example, three aces.
Two pairs consist of a card of one value and another two cards of another value. For example, two jacks and two 8s.
Pair is simply one pair (two cards) of the same rank. For example, two queens.
Poker Paddle events are generally an easy to moderate water activity. They also have a limited number of participant spots and those spots can fill up fast. One can register ahead of time online (Ticketleap.com or charlesmillpark.mwcd.org) or choose to register the day of the event.
There will be a registration fee and participants can choose to paddle, lone wolf style or with a partner.
You can also bring your own equipment or borrow from the Charles Mill Marina. Kayaks, canoes, and paddle boards are welcome for the event. If using the marina’s equipment, children ages 12 and under must be with an adult or experienced paddler if in a tandem kayak.
Keep in mind that the maximum weight capacity is 375 pounds for a solo kayak and 500 pounds for a tandem kayak.
According to the Charles Mill Lake website, everyone is to meet at the swim beach for launching and to pick up their map of the lake which will have poker stop spots noted.
With roughly a month to practice and various waterways in the area to practice on, everyone vying for the kayak should find it easy to step up their game. Get out and visit area lakes and rivers to pump up your paddling action.
If you are truly gung-ho about taking home the prize, then check into participating in the Pleasant Hill Lake Park Poker Paddle on Aug. 6.
Kayaking is one of the most popular water sports as of recent years. Not only does it improve your overall health, it can take you to places you can’t reach on land.
The first kayaks were rudimentary designs built approximately 5,000 years ago by the Inuit and Aleut people to travel swiftly across the water. Located in the Arctic North America, these tribes would construct the kayaks out of whatever types of material they could find, including animal skins, bones and wood.
In the mid-1800s, kayaks were introduced in Europe as a soft-sided vessel for skimming across the cold waters. The Germans and French were the first to use the boats for recreation, while tribes in the North and South Poles still used the boats for exploring.
In 1936, kayak racing was added as an event to the Berlin games.
Much like the kayaks today, ancient designs were made in varying lengths. For example, large open skin boats, called umiaks, measured 60 feet or more. These long vessels could carry entire families along with their possessions. Hunters would use small kayaks for sneaking up on animals in the water. These boats were agile, lightweight and easy-to-control.
Same is true of today, most kayaks are made from heavy-duty polyethylene plastics that can last as long as 10 to 15 years if properly cared for. Tandem kayaks are ideal for sharing with a friend, they are also harder to flip and easier to manage.
Most recently I have seen ads for folding kayaks, making it even easier to go paddling anywhere.
