The world of poker includes some well-known celebrities. In playing against them, I have often found the experience to quite enjoyable, but different than I expected.

Wild Bill Hickok epitomized the courageous but dangerous hero of the untamed American West. In an era that produced such frontier legends as Doc Holliday, Wyatt Earp and Bat Masterson, none more defined the image of "gambler 'n gunslinger" than did James Butler Hickok.

First off, if you are playing Limit or No-Limit Hold em' and your two personal cards are a 10 & a 5-and of course there will be a flop-which will total five common cards if the hand is played to completion. Out of these two in your hand and the five in the flop, then, WHAT STRAIGHT IS IT IMPOSSIBLE FOR YOU TO MAKE ?

Today I'd like to discuss gambling debts and when you should expect to get paid. I've taken this lesson from a 1985 issue of the Gambling Times magazine. Mike's column, Caro on Gambling, pertained to Last In First Out (known as LIFO).

Last time I switched from a local maniac's play to the loose aggressive playing style. The attributes that a maniac and a good loose aggressive player share are actually few. Maniac Doug was a very loose aggressive player who turned into a maniac due to a high intake of alcohol that dulled his senses and caused him to lose all fear (as well as a psychological need to feel all powerful). On the other hand, Daniel Negreanu is an excellent poker player who utilizes the loose aggressive strategy but he also has outstanding attributes that make him one of the best players in the game today.

A good stud player has many tools that he can use to his advantage at the poker table. He can observe and remember the folded cards. He can characterize the playing style of his opponent. He can keep track of his recent image at the poker table. I've covered these items before. There's another tool that is available to on line players that is not readily available to live players. It is the feature of "notes" available on many of the internet poker sites.

A friend called me the other night to tell me the following story. He had played for 9 hours and couldn't make a hand hold up. He had pocket aces cracked, straights beaten by flushes, and full houses beat by bigger full houses! He went on and on with examples of bad players that called him and outdrew him no matter how much he bet. Obviously, he bought in several times.

"What did you change?" I asked. "Nothing," he said," I only played the best hands and the best positions!".

"THAT, was your mistake!"

Hello! This is Steve Horton, prolific poker writer. I'm returning to this column, which will be covering poker in a different European country every issue. Once we finish with Europe, we'll hit the rest of the world before returning back to the United States.

Don Bartee, better known as "Bear" was born in Lancaster, Ohio on August 30, 1945. At the age of six his family moved to Battle Creek, Nebraska where he graduated from high school in 1963.

Right out of high school at the age of 17 Bear joined the Air Force and after receiving an honorable discharge in 1967 he moved back to Battle Creek.

In 1968 after settling back down in Battle Creek, Don decided to venture into the bar business and bought a tavern. In 1974 he sold the tavern and bought a night club in Hastings, Nebraska.

I awoke in a hospital room. Gradually I remembered that Hobby and I had been driving our protege Lara home from the casino when some stupid shit rammed us. I had tried to keep my car from tumbling down an embankment, but my skill was no match for gravity.

I moved my legs and arms, thank God for that, but I was on an IV. I touched my face and felt a bandage on my forehead. A nurse was soon at my bedside. "Mr. Crest, glad to have you back among the living. How're you feeling?"

"Got a headache. Where am I?"

"St. Mary's Hospital. You've been unconscious for two days."