It’s widely known the kind of influence former OPRF coach Jack Kaiser had on the many athletes under his tutelage during the 47 years he coached at the school. Many of Kaiser’s players have gone on to become coaches themselves, including Chris Ledbetter, who in 2000 took over head baseball coaching duties from Kaiser after the legendary coach died of lymphoma at the age of 73. The same can be said for Jason Lambert, a former OPRF football and baseball player who graduated from the high school the year Kaiser passed away.
Lambert, 28, has been a physical education teacher at Chicago International Charter School-Prairie on the South Side for three years now. Not only does Kaiser’s attention to detail come into play in Lambert’s teaching and coaching methods today, but it has also aided him in developing a game of an entirely different nature.
Lambert, who still resides in Oak Park, has created Black Texas Poker, a game now available as an iTunes application for iPhones, iPads and iPod Touches.
“The aspect of Kaiser’s coaching style I really identified with was practice,” said Lambert, who played in the final game Kaiser coached. “He had his practices organized down to the minute. I tried to do the same thing with poker. I wanted to practice the most important skill in poker, which is identifying the cards that will make your hand or beat your hand.”
The creation of Black Texas Poker — aptly named because its premise essentially combines Black Jack and the ever so popular Texas Hold’em — came to be when Lambert needed something to do in college while waiting for his buddies to arrive for a weekly poker game.
“I just wanted to practice before everyone got there,” he said. “Then, one day I’m practicing and my brother says I should get a patent on the game.”
Fast forward a few years, patent obtained, application developer hired, Lambert, who received help from his brother Matthew (OPRF class of 1995) and friend Tim Steffen (2000), is selling a poker application on iTunes for $2.99.
Since the launch earlier this month, sales are trickling in and the app has already received a five-star rating. Lambert put a lot of time and money into the development of the game, but he’s hopeful he’ll have a return on his investment.
“I initially created it to improve my own poker skills, and now that it can help others become better at playing, that’s rewarding in and of itself,” he said.
Lambert’s next goal is to try to get the game into casinos, and have it become a brand name. He’d also like to return to OPRF.
“It would be a dream job to come back to OPRF some day and coach,” he said, “but, you know, I wouldn’t mind being a big time booster for the high school either.”
Contact: bspencer@wjinc.com