While most of the 120 participants played alone at the poker table, UC Davis sophomore Chris Tran brought his girlfriend Sangeetha Ramalingan as a good-luck charm. Trying to help Tran survive the isolation at the table, Ramalingan cheered along to raise his spirit throughout the 10-and-a-half-hour tournament.


"She definitely helped me," Tran said, who won this year's third annual Poker Palooza held at the ARC Ballroom last Friday. "She gave me support. She kept me going."


At a little after 6 p.m., the first cards were dealt and the Reno-style poker chips began flying across the tables. Setting a frenzied pattern for the rest of the night, the players yelled "all in" whenever someone bet all their money and a crowd formed around the spectacle.


In his second year running the tournament, former UC Davis graduate Ben Dao traversed the tables. With the impending stress of finals, Dao saw Poker Palooza as a great outlet for the participants.


"Poker Palooza is not stressful, because it involves no money," Dao said. "No pressure, just fun. It's a place to socialize and people to talk and get to know others. Typically people don't socialize at the poker table, but we keep it friendly."


The tournament was full of chatter. Highlighting the light-hearted aura of the ballroom was the costume of UC Davis sophomore technocultural studies major Daniel Tieu, who sported a paper Safeway bag on his head.


"I'm recycling," Tieu said. "The costume is from Halloween. I didn't use it then but I'm using it now. It's a good cover, very helpful because [my opponents] can't read anything."


Poker night was short for UC Davis senior Justin Wong, the first person eliminated from the tournament. Wong went into his final hand with a diamond-suited jack and nine, losing to a dominating diamond-suited king and queen.


At the featured table, past champion Josh Levinson sported his trademark Golden State Warriors jersey, while defending champ Marina Ann Barcelona donned her giant cataract glasses and pink bathrobe.

Both players were looking to become the first two-time winner of Poker Palooza. Levinson described his opponent as "friendly."


"I like to observe," Levinson said. "Poker goes in spurts. Sometimes you [need to] just relax, play according to the mood. If something is working, continue."


"Poker Palooza is a friendly game," Barcelona said. "I'm not in it to win it. I'm going for consistency and being patient. In the beginning I used to want to play everything, but now I let the cards come to me. It's a lot [of] luck. [You] just have to have your own style."


Still, the title as former champions did not help either Barcelona or Levinson as both players walked away without making it to the final table.


Tran, who won this year's Palooza, went heads-up with UC Davis sophomore political science major Eric Chang. Momentum surged in Tran's favor in the second hand of the heads-up when he tripled his pair of nines.


At 4:33 a.m., with only a weak hand of a four and a six, the groggy-eyed Tran forced Chang all in. Tran made a pair of fours, giving him the winning hand and title as this year's champion.


"Poker's fun," Tran said after hugging his girlfriend. "I rarely play tournaments. It is mentally challenging, but I was going for it."