The game of poker keeps accumulating more and more adherents as the years go by, in spite of or perhaps because of (1) the rules, (2) the math and (3) the conventions and traditions.

The appeal of poker may come from the excitement of the wagering or the glamour of the casino or the fascination with the mechanics of how the cards combine. Many will say that it comes from knowing that everybody behaves in routine ways. Thus the trick is to conceal one's consistencies of play and body language from the others, while at the same time deciphering the "tells" and techniques of others. Poker is popular in part because it is a game of skill. True, cards are doled out at random, but they are random for everybody. In a game like Texas Hold'em, more than two-thirds of the cards are the same for all players.

The difference between winning and losing has much less to do with the quality of cards than with the quality of the players. This was true in the days of the Mississippi river boats, and it is true today in the poker rooms of Las Vegas.

Of the three skills required of a good poker player (making bets, interpreting the bets of others and calculating strategies), the first two involve understanding how humans (including the player himself) behave. It has something to do with competition, the fear of losing and the pride of winning; it has to do with sizing up the intensity and convictions of the other players. More than any other activity in a Las Vegas casino, poker has to do with people rather than chance.

Games discussed in the Vegas 365 poker guide include Texas Hold'em, (and some "Hold'em" variants), Five Card Draw (and draw variants), Seven Card Stud (and some variants, like Hi-Lo), Razz, and Omaha. Many other versions might be included as well, but these are the games that will be found in the Poker Rooms of the Las Vegas casinos.

The secret of success in life is sincerity. If you can fake that, you've got it made." - Groucho Marx