Pearls of Wisdom Easy to Find Among Gamblers

There is an inherent wisdom in the words of the world’s most successful gamblers and poker players.

Gamblers have brains that are programmed differently than the regular Joe, relying on their life experiences, wit and unconventionality to get them through the day and succeed in such harsh waters.

Here are six of my favorite pearls of wisdom, along with the possible logic behind these select famous (at least in gambling circles anyway) words.

“There is more to poker than life.” — Tom McEvoy, 1983 World Series of Poker champion

Probable interpretation: A play on words off the popular “There is more to life than (insert topic here.)” Poker is a constant game without an end. Its limits are human, which means the game is unfortunately over when things such as sleep, a cousin’s wedding day and that troublesome day job get in the way from time on the felt.

“I guess if there were no luck involved, I’d win every one.” — Phil Hellmuth, poker Hall of Famer

Probable interpretation: The 11-time World Series of Poker champion believes he is the best no-limit Hold ’Em player on the planet, especially when it comes to tournament play. Even though poker is a skill game, luck has an unavoidable presence.

“What good is money if you can’t bet with it?” — Jack Strauss or Johnny Moss, poker Hall of Famers

Probable interpretation: It’s unclear which of these two late poker legends said it first, but both played the game according to this commandment. Elite poker players are able to distance themselves from the value of the dollar. If they didn’t, they would never have the killer instinct needed to bet a sum that could purchase a new home or card on a single hand of play. Keep in mind that Moss and Strauss also experienced tremendous swings from millionaires to glorified beggers.

“In limit poker, you are shooting at a target. In no-limit, the target comes alive and shoots back at you.” — Crandell Addington, poker Hall of Famer

Probable interpretation: Provided you know the basics of the game, limit poker is a relatively safe proposition. All it takes to call down an opponent or chase a draw is a single bet. This isn’t the case in no-limit, where an opponent can take everything in a single hand.

“The guy that invented gambling was bright. The man that invented chips was a genius.” — Julius “Big Julie” Weintraub, legendary Las Vegas junket organizer

Probable interpretation: Historically, gamblers tend to pucker up when the bets are made with real money. Replace the cash with a few innocent clay chips, and the games get looser. Chips also allow casinos to watch the money more carefully, since the cash is banked and the chips have zero value outside the walls of the establishment. Chips also make tournaments like the World Series of Poker possible. The weight of $10 million in cash is enough to buckle a table and take up every square inch of the felt.

“Gambling money has no home.” — Dan at the bar ... met him last week

Probable interpretation: Gambling winnings are destined to stay within that particular economy. If you win a sports bet or have a big poker night, that money only will be used to make a bigger bet the next time. It’s rarely used elsewhere.

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W

Walking Sticks - A pair of sevens.

Wild Card - A card that can be played as any value.

Worst Hand - A losing hand.

WSOP - World Series of Poker.

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Casinos Help Out Gambling Addicts

That last word is not usually mentioned in gambling circles, to be honest. It is one of those tags that society in general uses to label some people and to be frank, sometimes it is overused, giving card games such as poker a bad name. Yet the reality remains. There are people who get hooked too much and cannot control themselves, leading to the erosion of his relationships and life in general.

Not all is lost, though. In fact, at the Viejas Indian Reservation, there is good news for all involved. A group of addiction counselors were trained on the dangers of compulsive gambling. This was part of a movement that casino operators are starting – to help those who are addicted to gambling. Interesting, no?

According to Mark Sauer of SignonSanDiego:

"We don't deny there is a problem," said Bobby Barrett, incoming tribal chairman of Viejas, chairman of the California Tribal Business Alliance and a certified gambling counselor.

"We are concerned with the health and safety of the people in our casinos, and with the risk to people within our own tribal communities."

Self-help, 12-step programs have mushroomed. There were 10 Gamblers Anonymous meetings a week in San Diego County five years ago; today there are 35.

The number of certified counselors who offer the therapy they say is needed to straighten out a pathological gambler is shockingly low.

"I'm the only one I know of actually doing treatment in the county," said therapist Suzanne Graupner Pike, who has treated troubled gamblers in Vista since 2003. "There's no money in it."

The reason for that, Pike said, is the "impulse-control disorder associated with problem gambling is not considered a disease, like alcohol or drug abuse, and hardly any insurance companies cover it."

And the patients, Pike added wryly, have no money left.

Most gamblers with serious or severe problems, who make up about 4 percent of California adults, according to the state study, have related psychological problems, such as depression, which are covered by insurance, Pike said.

"Society needs to realize we have a medical crisis (with problem gambling), and there should be federal, state and local funds available for education and treatment, just as with other addictions," she said.

Barrett said the state's fledgling Office of Problem and Pathological Gambling has a $3 million annual budget. He said that is not nearly enough, noting, "All of that funding comes from California gaming tribes."

Lefkowitz said there are two basic types of problem gamblers: those who thrive on action, who tend to be men; and those who gamble to escape, generally women.

Now I am not saying I am biased, but it never occurred to me that women would be a great part of this gambling addiction problem! I guess it is a good thing, what they are doing in California. It is just wishful thinking on my part, I guess, that this sort of thing should never have happened in the beginning. Of course, there are some things we cannot control. Still, activities like this one brings hope to those who need it.

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Atlantic City To Debate Casino Smoking Ban Again

ATLANTIC CITY - Smoke swirled around Barbara DePierro’s head as she used one hand to puff on a cigarette and the other to play a slot machine at Trump Taj Mahal Casino Resort.

DePierro, a New Yorker, settles into her cigarettes-and-slots routine whenever she comes to Atlantic City and dreads the thought that her gambling pleasures may someday be interrupted by a casino smoking ban.

“I like it the way it is now. If they banned smoking in Atlantic City, I would go to the Indian reservation casinos in Connecticut just to smoke,” DePierro vowed as her husband, James, nodded his head in agreement.

A year after Atlantic City delayed a total smoking ban at the request of the powerful gaming industry, city officials are again debating whether the casinos should go smoke-free. City Council backed away from a ban last year amid warnings that smokers would take their business elsewhere, further depressing casino earnings in the soft economy.

But council members also promised then to revisit the issue in a year. Just as it was on Oct. 8, 2008 - when it voted 5-4 to scrap the smoking ban - council remains divided.

The timing of a new vote is unclear. On Friday, the City Clerk’s Office released the agenda for the next council meeting on Wednesday and it did not include the smoking ban.

Councilman Dennis Mason argued it would be foolish to prohibit smoking in Atlantic City at a time when cigarette-puffing, cigar-chomping gamblers crowd casinos in other states.

“I’ll be happy to support a 100 percent smoking ban if and when casinos in other states enact the same thing,” he said. “All we want to be on is equal footing.”

Mason supports the current law, which limits smoking to 25 percent of the casino floor. But Councilman Bruce Ward, an anti-smoking advocate, believes a total ban is the best way to protect casino workers and customers from the dangers of secondhand smoke.

“I’d like to see no smoke impacting the health of workers, or customers for that matter,” he said.

Ward wants smoking restricted to the airport-style smoking lounges that casinos built off the gaming floor when the smoking ban temporarily went into effect for two weeks last year, before it was repealed.

Casinos complained that business declined dramatically during the two weeks of no smoking. Mark Juliano, chief executive officer of the three Trump Entertainment Resorts Inc. casinos, predicted that a smoking ban now would be catastrophic. He said the current law for casino smoking is a good compromise.

“We know we have plenty of statistics to show that a complete smoking ban would be a disaster,” Juliano said. “As far as the status quo is concerned, we seem to think it is working for both customers and employees. It has become quite manageable for us.”

The Casino Association of New Jersey, the trade group representing the gaming industry, said that thousands of jobs and millions in tax revenue could be lost if customers flee Atlantic City for smoke-friendly casinos in surrounding states.

“Since the economy has continued to deteriorate and our regional competitors continue to permit smoking in their casinos, the ability to continue to allow smoking on a portion of our casino floors is essential to avoid a further deterioration of our local economy,” Joseph A. Corbo Jr., the association’s president, said in a statement.

Stressing the health dangers of smoking, the American Heart Association and the American Cancer Society are urging City Council to approve a total ban. They noted that New Jersey’s 2006 Smoke Free Air Act protects the state’s entire work force, with the exception of Atlantic City’s casino employees.

“The American Heart Association believes it is time to offer casino employees the same protection that all other New Jersey workers enjoy,” Corinne Wisniewski, director of advocacy for the heart association, said in a statement to council members.

Local 54 of UNITE-HERE, Atlantic City’s largest casino union, argued that a smoking ban should be delayed for at least another year, while the economy recovers from the recession, to preserve jobs that might otherwise be lost if business sinks further.

“My membership clearly, without any ambiguity at all, is petrified of a 100 percent smoking ban,” said Bob McDevitt, union president. “It could close the doors of casinos operating right now. ... To do something like that at this point in time, with all of the other challenges Atlantic City has, would be suicide.”

Hardly surprising, casino customers are split on the issue. Smokers claim they have every right to light up, while nonsmokers say they don’t want to be bothered by secondhand smoke.

“I can sit in the nonsmoking section and gamble or I can go in the smoking area and have a cigarette. I want that option,” Marie Balandis, a 71-year-old smoker from Utica, N.Y., said while playing a slot machine in a nonsmoking section of Trump Taj Mahal.

A few yards away from Balandis, 22-year-old Lissette Jones, a respiratory care major at Long Island University, was also playing a slot machine in the nonsmoking section.

“I don’t like smoking,” Jones said. “When you walk through a smoking area and smell it, it’s very irritating. I would like to see a smoking ban.”

Then there are the DePierros, the New Yorkers who threaten never to come back to Atlantic City if a smoking ban is approved. Holding a pair of cigars, James DePierro gazed over his wife’s shoulder while she smoked and played the slot machine.

“Smoking, drinking and gambling go together,” he said. “If we can’t do it here, then we’ll go do it at the casinos in Connecticut.”

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Is Poker Gambling?

I know this sounds like an easy “Yes” answer, but poker is definitely a different kind of gambling than roulette, craps, or playing the lottery. Poker takes skill unlike casino-type games. Should online poker be illegal just like those other online gambling games, or should poker be an exemption since it is a game of skill.

Also, there are professional poker players making millions of dollars. You don’ t see professional roulette players or professional lottery players. This is some peoples jobs where they collect all their income from. Taking away online poker could put people out of jobs.

Just a thought.

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Gamblers Protest Man's Entrance to Ladies' Poker Contest

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. — In the glitzy, high-stakes world of tournament poker, there are some unwritten rules among gamblers.

One of them is: Don't enter tournaments where you may not be an appropriate player.

So when Nicole Rowe, physically exhausted and emotionally battered from a recent struggle with breast cancer, drove here last weekend to enter a ladies' no-limit Texas Hold 'Em tournament, she was surprised to see Abraham Korotki in the field.

For Rowe, 40, of West Windsor, N.Y., the prize money was just one reason to make the trip to the Borgata. She also looked forward to bonding with other women and telling them about the importance of early detection of the disease.

Rowe, who is scheduled to undergo a double mastectomy at the end of the month, urges women to get a sonogram in addition to an annual mammogram.

Two years ago, before being diagnosed with breast cancer, Rowe, a veteran gambler who plays poker about three times a week, came in second in the Borgata tournament. This time, she was determined to win it.

But Korotki, a 63-year-old semiretired real estate developer from Ventnor, N.J., took home the top prize of nearly $21,000 last Saturday, and a trophy. In a field of 260 players, each of whom had put up $300, Rowe came in second, winning just under $12,000 after taxes.

Korotki said he thought he saw other men signing up for the women's-only tournament and, besides, he wanted more practice time to get ready for when the World Poker Tour (WPT) rolled into town this week. That event attracts hundreds of top gamblers from around the globe, who come to participate in more than 40 WPT-sanctioned tournaments in Atlantic City casinos through Thursday.

"I didn't do this for the money," Korotki said. "I'm preparing to go into a main event this week, and I needed some practice time. I hadn't played in tournaments in a while."

Korotki, who doesn't describe himself as a professional poker player, has pocketed more than $650,000 in poker-tournament winnings in his lifetime, including a gold ring in a World Series of Poker event here.

Rowe said she took Korotki's presence in the tournament in stride, and even struck up a kind of friendship with him. But other women who had been seated with him as the competition became narrower and narrower over a 14-hour period left the casino angry, feeling a man had muscled his way into a place he did not belong.

Rowe uses the gambling term "side pot" to describe Korotki as a blessing in disguise. The flap brought by the incident — from mainstream media down to poker Web sites and blogs — has garnered more attention for Rowe's breast-cancer awareness crusade.

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Casino Doing Better Than Expected

Despite the struggling economy, Sands Casino Resort Bethlehem is getting the attention of not just the local community, but the entire state of Pennsylvania.

As of August, Sands is the fourth busiest casino in Pennsylvania.

The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board disclosed on Sept. 2 that out of the nine casinos in Pennsylvania, Sands Casino Resort Bethlehem grossed the fifth highest terminal revenue, which is the gross revenue left in the machines after winners are paid.

The terminal revenue of the Sands Casino for Aug. 2009 was $20,235,659. This revenue surpassed that of another newly built casino in Pennsylvania, The Rivers Casino in Pittsburgh, which was expected to do much better than Sands.

However, both casinos contributed to a 19.8 percent increase in gross revenue, according to the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board. The total revenue of all the slot machines at the nine casinos in Pennsylvania was $186,936,232.

This translates into Sands paying winners back 93 percent of all money waged-thus, the casino retained 7 percent of what was played, according to an article in The Morning Call on Aug. 24.

So, what else keeps the casino so popular? Three thousand slot machines, including electronic table games; four upscale restaurants, including Emeril's Chop House; two bars, Coil and Molten; a parking garage that can hold 3,400 cars; and an open bar while gaming, which is what many individuals appreciate most.

These features are just a few of what Sands has to offer, according to Robert DeSalvio, President of Sands Casino Resort Bethlehem.

On Aug. 24, the casino expanded its smoking area from 25 percent to 50 percent of the floor due to high customer demand. All of the restaurants and 50 percent of the casino floor are now non-smoking.

"We welcome all guests, over the age of 21, to come and enjoy the live, free entertainment as well as the unique dining and gaming experience," DeSalvio said via e-mail.

Rob Shannon, '10, said he has visited the casino twice so far this year and left with more money than he bet on games like virtual three-card poker and blackjack.

"The casino is a great place to have fun and mix things up from the normal Lehigh activities and nightlife," said Shannon.

"Even though there are no table games, the virtual blackjack, poker and roulette games are just as good," said Shannon.

"Regardless of how into gambling someone is, the free drinks the casino provides you with while you play is definitely worth the visit."

Due to the economic downturn, the completion of the hotel, retail space and convention space associated with the casino was put on hold. But plans are still in the works to fill up the vacant space in the future, according to DeSalvio.

"We are reviewing retail options for the mall portion of a project that's current still on hold, and we will have a large 46,000 square foot multi-purpose event room, which can be used for meetings, trade shows, concerts, and banquets," DeSalvio said.

It is not yet known when construction on the rest of the resort will begin again, but DeSalvio hopes it happens soon.

"Once the rest of the resort is done, I think it will be a great place to rent out for school functions like date parties, or community service functions," said Brooke Blythe, '10.

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I

Inside Straight - Four cards which require another between the top and the bottom card to complete a straight. Players who catch this card make an Inside Straight.

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U

Up Card - A card that is dealt face-up.

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Denmark Seizes Online Poker Player’s Funds

As reported in the Copenhagen Post, The Supreme Court in Denmark has just seized the entire year's winnings of a man they say made his living playing online poker. The 35-year-old man was forced to fork over the 194,000 kroner (about $28,000) he earned playing online poker to the state.

The decision was made when it was found that the unemployed man has no other means of income and it is illegal for citizens in Denmark to earn one's entire living from online poker or any other form of gambling. However, the court was "nice" enough to eliminate a 5000 kroner fine from the Eastern High Court where he was originally convicted in November as there was disagreement over online poker being covered by the law.

This is the second recent case to return a similar verdict since June when a man was convicted of organizing poker tournaments for a living. However this verdict was overturned, even though the Supreme Court maintains there are laws against poker tournaments.

Prosecutors are insistent that the decision does not mean that online poker is illegal. Which really sounds like they don't know what they are talking about to me. "We will decide on a case by case basis whether someone is playing professionally," said Crown Prosecutor Svend Larsen.

This whole situation begs the question, "Why is it illegal to win money from an online casino, but legal to take money from a guy who got his money from an online casino? Isn't that sort of like money laundering?

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How Phil Ivey Became A Professional Poker Player

It’s been a wild couple of weeks of tournament poker for me. I was in London playing in the 3rd annual World Series of Poker Europe and now I’m in the Caribbean, soaking up the sun and surf and competing in the Aruba Classic sponsored by UltimateBet.

This week’s column is a departure from the norm in that I’m featuring an excerpt from my just-released book, Deal Me In, a collection of twenty inspiring biographies from the world’s top poker players who share their stories about how they turned pro.

Here’s an excerpt from Phil Ivey’s story, one of the game’s best players and a finalist in this year’s World Series of Poker Main Event:

My grandfather first introduced me to poker; I was eight years old at the time. He pulled out a deck of cards and patiently taught me to play Five-Card Stud. He never wanted me to be involved with poker for anything more than fun. My mother didn’t want me to play poker for a living either. In fact, I’m not sure she likes it, or that she supports my decision to be a pro even now.

Even in middle school, when friends, family, or even teachers asked me what I planned to be, I told them, “ I’m going to be a professional poker player,’an answer that was met with mixed reactions.

Although I was good around my home games, I certainly didn’t win in Atlantic City right away. At first, I lost more than I won. When I’d lose, I’d go back to my telemarketing job to earn enough of a bankroll to go back to Atlantic City. Eventually, I didn’t have to go back to work at all!

Even though I’d lose at times, there was never a point where I was not certain I was better than everyone I faced. What these players had on me was experience and discipline. I watched the better players carefully and learned through trial and error.

One of the things I learned early on was the value of managing my money. I was never afraid or too proud to move down in stakes if the situation called for it. If I had $30,000 to my name, I’d take $15,000 and go play $75-$150. If I’d lose, I’d move down and play $30-$60 with $10,000 until I’d built the bankroll back up. If I lost that and had to move to even lower stakes, I’d do that too.

Some of the younger players today don’t understand this, and I think it may hurt them in the long run. They make a name for themselves and then get staked. If they go broke, they beg for money from friends rather than go get a job and build up their bankroll the hard way.

I never did that. I never borrowed money. Even if I wanted to, I didn’t know anyone well enough to do it. When I needed money, I just went back to work.

Years later (after I’d won several WSOP championship titles), I decided to make another move. I met Larry Flynt, and I knew that he had his own high-stakes poker game in Los Angeles, a $1,500-$3,000 limit Seven-Card Stud game. I decided to move west and give it a shot. I never played in a game with stakes like that. I brought nearly $600,000 to the table — my entire bankroll — and lost almost all of it in the first weekend!

People ask me whether I’d approve of my kids playing poker professionally. I’d rather they do not.

Poker is a great hobby, but being a professional is a very different story. But how can I stop them if that’s what they want to do?

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Commerce Casino Event Draws Nearly 4,000

Say what you will about the economy, but poker tournaments are still booming in California.

A total of 3,967 bought into the $220 No-Limit Hold'em event at Commerce Casino this week, the first tournament of its Hold'em series. It was enough to create the largest land-based poker tournament in history outside of the WSOP.

Los Angeles-based player Moshe Mashiah outlasted everyone to take down a $164,627 first-place prize. But according to tournament director Matt Savage, the last 10 players actually chopped for $45,000 each.

The Commerce Casino Hold'em Series is currently in full swing with the $2,580 main event scheduled to take place this coming Friday.

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L

Ladies - Two Queens.

Late Position - Position on a round of betting where the player must act after most of the other players have acted (usually considered to be the two positions next to the button).

Lay Down Your Hand - When a player folds.

Lead - The first player to bet into a pot.

Limit Poker - A game that has fixed minimum and maximum betting intervals along with a prescribed number of raises.

Limper - The first player who calls a bet.

Limp In - To enter the pot by calling rather than raising. (The usual concept of "Limp In" is when the first person to speak just calls the Big Blind)

Live Blind - An instance where the player puts in a dark bet and is allowed to raise, even if no other player raises. Itʼs also known as an "option".

Live Card(s) - In Stud Games, cards that have not yet been seen and are presumed to still be in play.

Live Hand - A hand that could still win the pot.

Live One - A not so knowledgeable player who plays a lot of hands.

Look - When a player calls the final bet before the showdown.

Loose - Is a player who plays a lot hands.

Lowball - Is a form of draw poker in which the lowest hand wins the pot.

M

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Ten Rules for Recreational Gamblers to Follow

1. Adhere to the principles of sound money management

Don't allow your money to lose its value the minute you set foot in the casino. If you gamble with any degree of regularity this is a must.

Bring with you the cash you have budgeted for the outing, and stick to it. Using credit cards and taking cash advances are paving stones on the road to ruin.

2. Don't chase jackpots

It's important to keep a realistic perspective as to your expectations. Coming out ahead is tough enough, making the big score even tougher.

Be satisfied with modest gains. Over the long haul, preserving winning sessions as opposed to allowing them to deteriorate into losing ones is the optimum game plan.

3. If you win a substantial amount, always set aside a major portion and make sure you go home with it

Casinos thrive on gamblers who contract the "bet it all back" syndrome.

If it happens to be a slot jackpot, ask for your winnings in the form of a check.

It's paramount to always have something to show for extreme good fortune because it never comes easy.

4. Don't chase comps

Let them come to you, based on your desired and comfortable level of play.

Don't fall prey to casino marketing machines. Always use your players club card and accept whatever perks come your way based upon your own terms.

5. Play at a leisurely pace

The faster you bet your money and the longer you gamble, the greater your vulnerability to the relentless and unbeatable house edge.

Place a time limit on your gambling sessions. Slot machines are fertile ground for fostering a tendency to play too fast. Don't fall into the trap.

6. Learn to play all casino games, concentrating on the ones - such as blackjack, craps and baccarat - with the least destructive house advantages

By becoming as diverse and versatile a recreational gambler as you can be, you'll be able to give your bankroll a rest from the slots.

You needn't be intimidated by table games. They're not rocket science.

7. Become an informed and knowledgeable slot player

Casino officials are all too happy to keep the devices shrouded in mystery and superstition.

Pick up a good book on the topic and learn all you can about how slots work and the sophisticated computer programs you're up against when you play them.

8. Play blackjack according to the principles of basic strategy

Memorizing a few simple rules will keep the house edge to a bare minimum and make the game an affordable wagering opportunity structured for long-term play.

9. Take advantage of video poker

When you learn how to recognize the best pay tables, you're competing against true mathematical probability, oftentimes close to 100 percent payback. You know a video poker machine's payback percentage, but that's not so with slot machines.

10. Become familiar with craps

The best bets at this game carry some of the lowest house advantages in the casino. One, the odds bet, has no house edge at all.

Un

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O

Odds - The probability of making a hand vs. the probability of not making a hand.

Offsuit - Cards of a different suit.

Omaha - A game in which each player is dealt four down cards with five community cards. To make your hand, you must play two cards from your hand and three from the board.

Open - To make the first bet.

Open-ended Straight - Four consecutive cards whereby one additional (consecutive) card is needed at either end to make a straight.

Open Card - A card that is dealt face-up.

Open Pair - A pair that has been dealt face-up.

Option - An option is a Live Blind made in the dark before the cards are dealt. If no one raises, the "option" player may raise the pot.

Out Button - A disc placed in front of a player who wishes to sit out a hand(s) but remain in the game.

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M

Main Pot - The center pot. Any other bets are placed in a side pot(s) and are contested among the remaining players. This occurs when a player(s) goes all-in.

Make - To make the deck is to shuffle the deck.

Maniac - A very aggressive player who plays a lot of hands.

Middle Pair - In flop games, when a player makes a pair with one of his/her down cards and the middle card on the flop.

Middle Position - Somewhere between the early and late positions on a round of betting (the fifth, sixth and seventh seats to the left of the button).

Muck - To discard or throw away your hand. It's also a pile of cards that are no longer in play.

Minimum Buy-In - The least amount you can start a game with.

Monster - A very big hand. In a tournament, a player who begins to accumulate chips after having a small stack is considered to be a monster.

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Q

Quads - Four of a kind.

Qualifier - In High-Low games, it is a requirement the Low hand must meet to win the pot.

G

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Proper Poker Bluffing Tips

No matter which or what casino games online you are playing like all online poker variations, it will be a game of luck and strategy. You may be holding a cock and bull hand, but what if the other player has the same hand, or better?

Your bluffing skills may turn around a non winning hand if you can make the other players think that your hand is better than it actually is. Then, you may bluff your way to a winning situation.

In poker, bluffing is one of the most important skills and stiffs that any poker player worth his salt has to study and learn to master.

So how do you bluff in online poker?

Bluffing too much!

One thing you should avoid is to bluff too much. If you're bluffing too often you run the risk of getting caught and this will make your opponents more aware of you and your bluffs. Wait for the right time and handle your bluffs with care.

Bluffing to weak players

Under-strenght players or what we call, the "calling stations" will frequently call bets despite the fact of the strength of their hand. This is because they are new to the game and they are happy to call down bets with an ordinary hands just to graze their curiosity and see whether or not they had the best hand. Therefore you should refrain from trying to make bluffs against these feeble players because they are unlikely to show your bets and bluffs too much respect.

Number of your opponents

It is not a good idea to bluff against 3 or more other players, specifically when playing a limit poker. A bluff will be more likely to work when used against a single player. The reason is not the fact that there is only one other play but because the pot is significantly smaller, making it less desirable to take chances.

Consider the situation of the hand before you bluff

You are much less likely to come off when there are more than 2 players in the hand with you. It is simply much more likely that at least one of them holds a hold an excellent of calling you. If you're going to bluff, do it heads-up or against 2 other players maximum.

Your Position

Being In a late position provides you with a lot more information about other player's hands. This makes late positions much better for bluffing than early positions. You may be in a late position and it is checked to you. If the board looks favorable and there are only a few players in the pot, consider a good bluff.

Unpredictable Play

You should always keep an eye on your reactions and actions so that your opponents can't tell whether you have a bad or a good hand. This way, they're never going to be able to tell when you are bluffing or when you truly have good cards.

On the other hand, bluffing in poker is about taking chances, so find your own balance between when to bluff and when not to bluff.

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Atlantic City Loses Summer Gamble

The 11 casinos were down 16.3 percent in revenue. That beats their June decline of 14 percent, and July decrease of 13 percent. By far, making it the worst summer performance for Atlantic City in its 31-year gambling history.

The casinos reported $391.7 million in revenue, down from $468.3 million in August 2008, according to figures released today by the New Jersey Casino Control Commission.

Every gambling house in town reported revenue declines, helping to make what usually Atlantic City's most lucrative season of the year a bust.

Even the revenue-leading Borgata reported a double-digit decline of 11.2 percent to $77.2 million. But eight other casinos had bigger percentage decreases. The Trump Plaza had the most severe monthly drop at 29.6 percent.

Only Resorts, which dropped 7.8 percent, and the Tropicana's 6.9 percent decrease, were lower than the Borgata's.

Meanwhile, a new $780 million casino in Pittsburgh helped spur a nearly 20 percent increase in slots revenue for Pennsylvania in the same month. The Rivers Casino, which opened on Pittsburgh's North Shore Aug. 9, took in $16.2 million for the month.

But cannibalization is clearly setting in. Of the seven Pennsylvania slots houses that have been open at least a year, five showed revenue declines last month.

PhiladelphiaPark Casino and Racetrack in Bensalem - the state's leading casino in terms of revenue and which will roll out a bigger facility in mid-December with 30 percent more slot machines - was down 4 percent from August 2008.

Sands Casino Resort in Bethlehem, which debuted May 22 and generated $20.2 million in gross slots revenue last month, has taken a chunk of business from at least two nearby Pennsylvania competitors. Mount Airy Resort and Casino, located 40 miles from the Sands, was down the most among the state's nine gambling halls with a 19.2 percent drop, while Mohegan Sun at Pocono Downs was down nearly 5 percent.

Pennsylvania, which now has just over 24,300 slot machines statewide and has no dealer-staffed table games, taxes gross slots revenue 55 percent. Most of the money goes toward property tax relief, local governments, and aiding the state's horse racing industry.

New Jersey has a 9.25 percent tax on slot machine and table game revenue that is applied toward a variety of government programs, including a prescription program for seniors, as well as projects approved by the Casino Reinvestment Development Authority.

But as monthly gambling revenues continue to slide in Atlantic City, so does that amount going to the state.

For the first eight months of the year, the Atlantic City casinos generated $2.7 billion in revenue, down 15.1 percent from the same period in 2008.

Justin Anderson, 35, from Manhattan, recently visited the Trump Taj Mahal on the Boardwalk and exemplified what the casinos there were up against.

The construction manager used to frequent Atlantic City once a week, when work was flush. Now he comes only occasionally. That afternoon Anderson got up from a $25 limit blackjack table to roam for a lower limit one.

"Maybe a $20 or $15 table, if I can find one," he said.

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