Politics is the bludgeoning of the people by the people for the people. -Oscar Wilde

[This is a work of poker fiction set ten thousand hands in the future. Any resemblance to persons living or dead is coincidental.]

I had been playing for about four hours in a $4-$8 hold 'em game at a local casino and not doing well. I was on my second buy-in at a loose table with lots of poker pigeons. With a little luck, I was sure I could make up for my losses and go home a winner. Sound familiar?

In the big blind, I was dealt 7-4 off-suit. The under-the-gun player to my left raised and I was thinking about folding. But when five other opponents called his raise, giving me pot odds of about 13-to-1, I decided it was worth another small bet to see the flop. You never know what the flop will bring.

The final installment of this three-part column highlights more of my interview with Paul Leggett, Chief Operating Officer (COO) of Tokwiro Enterprises, the company that owns Absolute Poker and UltimateBet. As this article goes to print, there has been a decision rendered by the Kahnawake Gaming Commission with regard to the UB cheating scandal that will be addressed in the next issue.

The hippie era came and went and I missed it. The details are a little nebulous to me, since I was in grade school at the time. Mike says almost everything surrounding us has been influenced by the hippie era. Even poker. Some of that influence is good, but much of it isn't. I was brought up to respect my parents, grandparents, and elders. My family socialized together. It's difficult for me to comprehend hippies despising their parents, or accusing their elders of "messing with their heads." Could it have been the drugs messing with their heads?

You've called a standard raise in late position with Kd-Qd. The button calls as well, leaving three of you to see the flop. The dealer turns over the As-Qs-9h. The initial raiser leads out with a standard sized bet, and there you sit holding middle pair and a king kicker.

These starting hand charts, like all the preceding articles leading up to this point, were built on my database of starting hands ranked by net win. These charts represent a starting reference point based on the average net win from each position. Think of them as basic strategy, and don't be afraid to make adjustments for starting position.

The largest turnout in the five-year history of the World Series of Poker Circuit at Harvey's Lake Tahoe generated $1,418,132 in prize money spread over 13 tournaments. The annual attraction on the south shore of Lake Tahoe attracted 2,163 entries, surpassing last year's record of 2,128 entries.

With the recent airings of the WSOP final event on TV, I was amazed by the stellar play, while repulsed by some of the player behavior and lack of penalties. As a founding member of the Tournament Directors Association (TDA), I have been inundated with email from viewers and tournament directors who asked, "Why was abusive behavior allowed?" or "Why was the penalty of a well-known player overturned? Unfortunately I don't have an answer to those questions.

"The biggest leak a limit hold 'em player has," I told Fred, "is chasing when her money odds are less than her card odds. That may cost the average player even more than inferior starts. The table below shows when you should, and shouldn't, chase."

"There are three mandatory requirements: a) you must be drawing to the nuts; b) dead money in the pot must cover the house rake, bad-beat drop, and dealer's toke-tobe; c) the betting structure must be B-B-2B-2B.

Hobby and I and our friends, with the exception of our chef Patsy Fortuna, flew from Cabo San Lucas back to Los Angeles after limping into port on the damaged Lazybuns. Patsy, who enjoyed being an oceangoing chef, connected with the skipper of another yacht and signed on. Mike and crew would secure Lazybuns then sail her to the Ensenada shipyard for repair.

It was late when we got into L.A. Our gang was bedraggled and anxious to head for home. Since Hobby's home is usually on Lazybuns, he came back to my condo with me.