As I entered the Hustler Casino the other evening, a player who recognized me from my column in Poker Player stopped me to bemoan his fate. Tom told me that he was playing no-limit hold'em and had made the nut flush on the turn only to lose to a full house on the river. "I was rivered," Tom complained. I commiserated with him. Acting paternally, I put my hand on his shoulder. I looked into his eyes and said, "I understand. Next time you will have better luck." I gave him a good-luck pat on the back, and we went our own ways.

The low buy in no limit hold'em cash games of Southern California and elsewhere have become a happy hunting ground for aggressive players who have noticed and noted a certain flaw in their foes. I'm talking about the tendency to play too loose before the flop and too tight afterwards. If you fall victim to this tendency, you're giving your money away. If you know how to spot it and exploit it, you can absolutely crush these games.

[Read part 1 and part 2]

Poker cruises are split into this and next issue's article, as we cover daily poker cruises, this time around. In two weeks are poker cruises that have limited runs, such as Classic Gaming Cruises.

Gambling and cruise ships are almost inextricably linked. At one time, cruises were the place to go for gambling outside of Vegas or Atlantic City. Once a ship reaches international waters, gambling becomes legal onboard. Until the rise of riverboat and Indian reservation gambling, this was often a gamer's only legal option.

"Don't you love being up here, Joe. It's like sitting on top of the world."

"The view is magnificent, Hobby, but I can't say I'm at ease." We were in Hobby's Beechcraft Bonanza on our way to Las Vegas. Hobby is a good pilot, but I'm not comfortable in small planes. "You sure we're going in the right direction?"

"Are you kidding, Joe. This baby has the best navigation system money can buy. Look at the display, you can see our route and follow it like a map all the way to Vegas."

It was, by all accounts, a miserable game. The players were miserable, the game was deadly boring, the rake was too high, the stakes were too low, and I was exhausted. I really shouldn't have been playing in this $1-5 game, but two friends without much in the way of poker-playing money wanted to play. And I had taken them down to the casino. So I felt obliged. The two of us sat down in this game. Obligation is a drag sometimes.

Last month was a bit of a cold streak for me. I seemed to build a big stack early then somehow manage to bubble in several tournaments, being one off the money each time. It was easy to attribute these losses to being unlucky, getting outdrawn, taking a bad beat, etc. When it happened the fourth time, I did my best to take an honest inventory of my play.

Since I was struggling, I thought it would be a good time to review the key concepts I have covered in this series.

1. Practice selective aggression. Generally, this means:

I've got an idea. Let's imagine a hold 'em game. Sometimes playing hold 'em can be frustrating, right? Well, here's good news, I want you to imagine you just got dealt a pair of aces. It's a loose game and this feels like your lucky day. Think happy.

Today we will accomplish two objectives. I will answer a reader's question, as best I can, from the information presented. I will also outline what information we should assimilate into our decision process in order to evaluate the decision thoroughly. It will become evident why writers frequently state: "It depends".

Before returning to the USA, I decided on a trip to the Merion Club in Dublin. However, although this featured a European Poker Tour (EPT) event, the main aim of the trip was for the PLO cash games. So why go all the way to Dublin? Simple! The Irish! I have only been to Dublin a handful of times during my poker career. And each time, it never ceases to amaze me at how much fun can be had with these adorable and friendly people.