Poker Web Watch / Matthew Pitt / 09 October 2009 / Leave a comment

When I think of a priest, I imagine a middle-aged balding man riding a bicycle through his parish. That image may have to be altered to a paintball-gun totting, poker playing twenty-something now that I have discovered Father Andrew Trapp.

St Michael Catholic Church in Garden City, South Carolina is the home of 28-year old priest, Father Andrew Trapp. The Father was ordained in 2007 and already has the nickname of "Father Rambo" amongst his parishioners as he loves to go paintballing in his spare time.

However, that nickname may need to be changed to "Father Cardshark" as it has been revealed he is an avid poker player too. "Poker is one of my hobbies. I play it with family and friends. It's a way for people to come together, have fun and enjoy each other's company." the young priest informed reporters, before quickly adding, "There is no moral issue."

The reason a poker playing priest is in the news is because he is taking part in a televised poker tournament on October 11 where he aims to win $1,000,000. He will take on a number of celebrities and well-known poker faces such as Barry Greenstein and Chris Moneymaker in a series of heads-up poker matches.

Should he win he plans on donating 100% of his winnings to the church as it is currently undergoing some major rebuilding work and he and his parish are currently $1,500,000 short. To help him on his quest he has been receiveing some coaching from 2009 WSOPE Main Event runner-up Daniel Negreanu though he will have to defeat the Canadian if he wants to get his hand on the vast sum of money on offer.

After receiving the blessings of the Pastor and Bishop, Father Trapp flew out to Los Angeles to prepare for the biggest poker tournament of his life. Even if he does not win any money his trip will not be in vein as he thinks this is, "an opportunity for people across the country to see there are still young men choosing to be priests."

Religion plays a big part in many poker player's lives. Doyle Brunson is a devout Christian after first overcoming cancer in his earlier years and then the death of one of his daughters. Jerry Yang, the 2007 World Series of Poker Main Event Champion was also highly religious and has since used a significant amount of his winnings to help less fortunate people and Irishman Andy Black lived as a semi-monastic Buddhist environment for five years. By Tuesday morning we could be adding another religious player to our ranks.

**UPDATE**

See how Father Trapp got on in his TV appearance