2009 March 30

One man's terrorist is another man's freedom fighter. -Anonymous

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

I was lounging poolside at Hobby's Palm Springs villa when he burst from the house shaking his cell phone. "It was Mike, Hobby's first mate, who just called from Ensenada. Lazybuns is ready; they repaired the hull and gave the whole boat a new bright white finish. I can't wait to see it."

"That's good news, but I thought you were going to sell it and buy a 135-foot super-yacht."

"I was seriously considering it, but I'd miss Lazybuns. I think it's just the right size for me."

"Whatever makes you happy, Hobby."

Magic has always been a major part of the entertainment scene in Las Vegas and no-one has had more success than Lance Burton who is now in his thirteenth year performing at the Monte Carlo in a theater named for him. I saw his show the other night for the first time in more than a year, and though it was a weeknight, the place was packed and the show ended with a well-deserved standing O.

You would think that putting on a show almost nightly for more than 10 years would get a little tiring, a little stale, but Burton has been able to keep his show fresh and his enthusiasm high.

I received a large volume of email requesting an explanation of a term I use quite often and have defined many times, a "Bandit." Coined by author Bill Boston, it refers to a seven, eight or nine. He goes on to explain that while the ace is the most important card in Omaha/8, the worst three cards are nine, eight, and seven, which are in more losing hands than any others.

An astonishing new place to visit is Mike's forum, called simply Mike Caro Poker, at www.doylebrunson.com/forum. It hasn't been officially announced or advertised yet, so consider this an exclusive! Mike has already contributed 70 posts explaining strategy and participating in worldwide poker discussions.

Most experienced poker players are familiar with the river bluff with nothing but a busted flush... a desperate measure. You're holding the nut flush draw and since you started with a suited Big Slick, you find yourself pushing it hard all the way to the river against one lone and tenacious caller.

Two clients came into my office recently, call them John and Jane Lucky. John is a professional gambler; his wife Jane owns her own business.

"Well, John," I began, "I see that you made $125,000 this year. Aren't you glad that under the Online Gambling Legalization Act of 2010 your business is treated just like any other, and you can take the net operating loss you had in 2009-the first time you had lost money-and can apply that against your 2010 income? That's going to save you a lot of money on your tax bill.

I continued my Florida poker odyssey-with stops in Melbourne and Daytona Beach. I arrived at "Club 52," the Melbourne poker room, at 1:30.

While most normal people kicked off 2009 with typical New Year's Resolutions, such as quitting smoking, losing weight, or stop chasing gutshots, Tom "Durrrr" Dwan began January with one of the most daring and risky challenges to date. Durrrr is laying 3-to-1 odds that he can beat anyone in the world heads up over 50,000 hands in either no-limit
hold'em or pot-limit Omaha.

Barney Underwood is not an ordinary railbird-he's a tell catcher. He detects tells and passes them on to other players for a percentage of their win.