Sometimes we just gotta take a step back and let our minds rest-rest from everyone and everything so that the focuses of our spirit and minds sharpen, so that we do not fall. So that we do not lose, take a break from it all. Take a break from cards. "Know when to hold them and know when to fold them." Also, know when to play and when not to.

Chopra said "life is a cycle of rest and activity."

It's the same with the game. In my opinion, without one there cannot be the other. Take a break!

Just a few weeks ago in this column I suggested that online poker was flourishing in Europe. Shortly after I submitted that column, the German government introduced a nationwide ban on online gambling similar to the USA's Unlawful Internet Gaming Enforcement Act.

I'm in deep seclusion here in the Ozarks. About five years ago, I quit playing poker regularly and stopped giving frequent seminars. I moved to a forest on a lake near Branson, Missouri where I've headquartered what remains of the physical campus of Mike Caro University of Poker (MCU). Almost everything else I do has moved online.

Bill is by far the best player at his regular home game. Each Friday he huddles into the basement of a co-worker, almost always outlasting the feeble opposition to come home with a profit. Most of his opponents are the same each week- starry-eyed amateurs who play because of inspiration from the movie Rounders or ESPN's coverage of the World Series of Poker.

I was in New Mexico, visiting the many poker rooms around the Albuquerque and Santa Fe area (something I'll report on in more detail in a future column) when I happened to check my email from a remote computer terminal. I was pleased to have an email from a reader. I receive a fair number of emails from readers and listeners (I have a poker radio show at houseofcardsradio.com).

Welcome to my world---the world of poker, glamour, fun, and excitement. Las Vegas is my home town-I know this town-I have lived here all of my life, and played poker in all its poker rooms. I cohosted "The Seniors" World Championship of Poker at the World Series of Poker with my dad, "Oklahoma" Johnny Hale.

I hosted my own poker tournament-the L.A.C.E.- at the Horseshoe in Tunica, I am the first lady to win a poker tournament at the Wynn in Las Vegas. I have sung in all of the Vegas karaoke night spots.

Acting from middle position in poker can prove quite challenging, and holds its share of dangers. Sometimes you'll find yourself at odds about whether to raise or to call. Mike has some powerful concepts that can assist you in making these decisions from middle position and hopefully build your bankroll in the process.

Certain things in this world are necessary evils. Politicians. Root canal. And in the poker world, crying calls. The crying call, a.k.a. the "I had to make sure" call, is that grudging call you make on the river when you know you're probably beaten. But you're not quite certain. So you call anyway-just in case. And sometimes crying calls are necessary, if only for the pot odds. As with everything else in poker, the trick lies in picking the right spots. When, against whom, and how often?

In my clinical practice, I developed a course called Self-Effectiveness Training (SET) that I applied to relationships between couples, families, and coworkers. In such relationships, SET was very helpful in assisting couples having communications problems to draw from their untapped inner resources. For example, it was employed to enhance the quality of things like parenting, and to improve the efficiency of work forces. It's now time to employ the model of SET to playing poker.

I was watching a $25-$50 blinds no-limit hold'em game recently. Six of the players were relatively deepstacked, with at least $10,000 on the table. The other three players were playing short; each had about $850 in their stacks. An interesting hand developed showing the dynamics between big and small stacks. Dean, with a big stack, raised to $150 from early position. Brad re-raised all-in to $850 from middle position. Anna, in late position raised another $1,000 and Dean called. Both Dean and Anna had about $20,000 left in their stacks.