PHILADELPHIA -- In a few weeks, Geoff Jenkins will begin preparing for his first season with the Phillies, taking batting practice with his teammates.

Before that, he has time for some poker.

Jenkins, an avid card player, will push chips across the felt with about 60 players as he hosts a Texas Hold 'em poker tournament. It's the first of what he hopes will be a yearly event.

"It's going to be a fun little deal," Jenkins said of tonight's event, scheduled to be held at the Jack Rabbit Supper Club and Lounge in Scottsdale, Ariz. "We always wanted to put something together for charity, so we thought a poker tournament would be a good deal."

Jenkins sent invites to friends and former teammates who live in the Scottsdale/Phoenix area, and generated interest. He said he hopes to raise between $50,000 and $60,000, with proceeds going to the Boys and Girls Club of Phoenix. No prize money will be awarded to the players, only donated prizes such as televisions, trips and other goodies.

Baseball players including Jermaine Dye, Chris Young, Conor Jackson, Doug Davis, Eric Chavez, Jacque Jones, Justin Morneau, Paul Konerko, Bill Hall, J.J. Hardy, Grady Sizemore, and NFL stars Javon Walker and Larry Fitzgerald are some of the athletes scheduled to play.

While Jenkins claims to be an adept player and excellent at detecting bluffs, he refused to handicap his chances of winning.

"I've played poker; I'm no Phil Helmuth Jr. or anything like that, but I know what I'm doing," Jenkins said. "On a scale of one to 10, I'm about a seven. Still, it's going to be a fun time to get money together for charity."

Since winning requires more than a little luck, Jenkins would be content to bust out Chavez or Dye, since they are his offseason neighbors.

"[Beating] either one of them would be great for bragging rights," Jenkins said. "Taking out Jermaine would be the best."

Jenkins also said that helping to organize and now play in the tournament helped distract him from the pain of seeing his Packers upset by the Giants in the NFC Championship game. Playing in Milwaukee for 10 seasons, Jenkins adopted Green Bay as his team, and hated to see Brett Favre go down in defeat.

"I was hurting for Brett," said Jenkins. "That stunk to see him throw that pick there at the end. I thought it was destiny for him to be [in the Super Bowl]. I'm not sure they would've won, but I would've liked to see him get there. The Giants deserved it, but still ..."