As we continue to ferret out obstacles to improved performance, let's discuss table image in this installment. Conscientious players work hard to evaluate their opponent's play. Observational skills and focus to the game are critical to begin to establish patterns of play in the several opponents you face in a full game. Who's loose, who's tight, who's weak, strong, a beginner, a seasoned pro or the resident maniac? This analysis is crucial in order for you to make informed decisions against your opponents.

I recently went to see impressionist/singer Gordie Brown at the Golden Nugget, where he performs every night except Wednesday and Thursday. Here's a guy with great talent and who puts 110 percent into every show. The night I was there, which was a weeknight, the joint was packed and he got a well-deserved five-minute standing ovation at the end of his performance. I had a chance to catch up with him after the show to find out a little bit more about him. Brown hails from Montreal and began his working career as a political cartoonist for an Ottawa newspaper.

As football season gets underway, many of your favorite Las Vegas card rooms combine poker and football so you can catch the best of both worlds at the same time.

The Palms Casino Resort will be keeping poker players in their seats during Sunday and Monday Night Football by rewarding them with cash prizes. The "Football Cash Bash" is held in the Poker Room on Sunday and Monday nights. All seated poker players using a Club Palms card get a free entry into the drawings. A winner for a $100-$500 cash prize is drawn every time either team scores a touchdown or field goal.

There are an estimated 1,840,100 active real money online poker players, according to PokerPulse.com. So, you would think that someone could tell you whether you were committing a crime when you bet, raise or fold online.

It actually is possible to know whether you are breaking the law. In fact, it has to be, or you are not guilty. The U.S. Constitution requires that people must have a way of knowing in advance that their actions are illegal or they cannot be convicted of committing a crime.

The second season of the European Poker Tour began today with the Barcelona Open. It was held at the Casino de Barcelona in Spain. One year ago, EPT creator John Duthie took a huge gamble. He knew that there was a market for a poker tour in Europe to rival the WPT and the WSOP. His vision became a reality with the EPT and last year's inaugural season was a huge success. This year, the EPT is back and bigger than ever and is sponsored by Poker Stars. From what I have witnessed so far, it's going to get bigger and will be around for a long time to come.

The stage is set for the main event final table finish to the 2005 Harrah's WSOP Circuit Tournament in Las Vegas. A little before 9:00 pm the 106 entrant field had been trimmed to the final table nine after An Tran eliminated John Phan on the bubble. Going into Friday's final table with the chip lead will be Chad Layne with $197,000. Chad is followed by Kevin Song holding $154,500. An Tran sits in the third chip position after accumulating $140,000. Even the table's short stack, Michael Fetter, goes into the finals with $58,000 in play money.

I just won two pots back to back, first by sucking out and then by victimizing my foe's insta-tilt.

With the enormous interest in poker these days the cardrooms are just overflowing with players. Many of these players, if not outright newbies, don't have the experience level of the regulars who have been playing for years and years. Of all the learning tools at a player's disposal, experience should never be underrated. Players may learn faster than in the past due to all of the available tools from expanded literature to televised analysis but having personally viewed over a half a million flops doesn't hurt either!

Aggressive play is one aspect that is essential in a poker player's arsenal of weapons. With aggressive play, I find that my emotions can sometimes come to the forefront and cloud my normally objective thinking. That can be bad or even ugly. Why does this occur? My medical background once again helped me to understand why.

Many casinos across the United States are offering live poker for the first time, or are reopening or expanding long-dormant poker rooms that, ten years ago, once gave way to slot machines. The state of Iowa is an excellent case in point.