Everyone loves the holiday season. With all the family, food, and decorations all around, it’s difficult to not be full of hope for the promise of a new year.

With all the talk about backroom deals in Congress, iGaming revenues falling below expectations, and server crashes on US-facing poker sites recently, I want to use Chanukah — the eight day Jewish festival of lights — to put out into the community the 8 things that I love the most about the beautiful game of poker.

#1: Poker is a Fundamentally Fair Game

There is something truly beautiful about the simplicity of a poker hand. Victoria Coren put it best recently when she mentioned the “inherently fair nature” of the game of poker. You put your money down, and engage in a battle of wits with others for cold, hard, cash. Anyone can sit down and get chips in front of them. There are no office politics, no subjective interpretations of your work, no one to explain yourself to. Just you, the cards, and an opponent; the idea has always resonated strongly with me.