Forget about finding Eric Drache's name in the World Series of Poker record books. It's not there but his fingerprints are all over this biggest of all gambling events because of the 14 years he served as its director from 1973 to 1987.

Desiree, a poker dealer in a southern California card room, wrote to ask two hold 'em bad-beat questions. The first question was tougher than this one and we'll wait for a later column to answer it. She asked what the odds were against a steel wheel losing to a royal flush.

We think the math is fun and logical so we'll break it into small chunks for easy digestion. You should skip to the end if you're not at all interested in combinatorial mathematics. Here goes.

Thievery is an essential part of poker. If poker were simply a game where the best hand always drags the pot, it would lose much of its strategic nuances and in turn, much of its appeal. The giant all-in bluff is the most dramatic form of poker larceny, but there are many others. Stealing the blinds and antes is small potatoes by comparison, but it's still a crucial tactic, especially in tournaments.

Mohegan Sun's upcoming Summer Showdown Poker Tournament features a $1 million guaranteed prize pool. This ten-day event, which features the largest confirmed poker prize pool in Mohegan Sun history, concludes with a three-day, $700,000 guaranteed no-limit hold 'em main event on August 1st.

In life and in poker, rules guide us and help us to avoid trouble. But there are always exceptions. No rule can consider every conceivable situation. Sometimes you must use your "better judgment" and make an exception.

Los Angeles resident Tong Le-a tournament only player-earned his first win in a big series. Tong played a very deliberate and aggressive final table, taking his time on big decisions and using the power of the re-raise to shut out his opponents. He controlled the final table and earned the title through his aggressive play.

The Mike Caro and Doyle Brunson Power Poversity Of Poker by Diane McHaffieker Seminars began with energetic audience participation as "the Mad Genius of Poker" pranced back and forth across the stage, his hair in its usual disarray.

Mike pointed out that good decisions equal bigger bankrolls and that this concept can be used in everyday life as well as at the poker table.

He discourages participating in roulette or craps. You won't find professional players in those games, but you will see skilled players making a successful living at poker.

Heads I win, tails you lose.-the coin flip trick

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

The pipe bomb rolled into the poker room and under Ben Parsons' chair.

All-in for all his chips, Parsons turned over quack quack, 2c-2h.

His opponent flipped over Oil Slick, Ac-Ks.

"Over cards versus pocket pair, a coin flip," said the dealer as the fuse burned down to the explosives.

Founded on April 29, 2009 as a global governing body-a federation based on the same legal criteria and principles as those of other mainstream sports-the International Federation of Poker (IFP) was established in Lausanne, Switzerland, a venue symbolizing international sports cooperation. Lausanne is the home of the International Olympic Committee and many other international sports federations.

The founding members are::
• Danish Poker Federation (Denmark)
• Fédération Française des Joueurs de Poker (France)
• Stichting Nederlandse PokerBond (Holland)
• UK Poker Federation (UK)

I'm in Jacksonville this week to audit a corporate client, and yesterday I was treated to something I just don't see in California: a thunderstorm. Now practically every summer afternoon in Florida there's at least the threat of a thundershower, but in Southern California they're few and far between. Yesterday's storm was, according to my client, the strongest in a year or two.