Las Vegas

Thanks to television ESPN's coverage of Binion's World Series of Poker and the Travel Channel's World Poker Tour series the game called Texas Holdem is hot.

While playing in a casino isn't quite as glamorous as you might think from the TV version, Texas Holdem does offer some of the best bang for your buck in Las Vegas.

What is Texas Holdem? The card game is a variation of poker. Each player at a table is dealt two cards face down (your hole cards). After a round of betting, the dealer turns over the next three cards (called the flop), which everyone can see and use. After a round of betting, another card is turned over (the turn), followed by betting, then a final card turned up (the river). So, at the end of play, five cards are up for everyone to see. Each player still in the game makes the best five-card hand from his own two cards and the community five cards to see who wins.

To get into a game in Las Vegas, go to a casino and find the poker-room host, or brush. While the person called the brush no longer cleans off the table with a pool-table brush, he still is responsible for starting the games, maintaining the waiting lists and seating new players.

The first thing to find out is the table limits.

There are four rounds of betting in Texas Holdem. The first two rounds have a lower betting limit; the last two rounds, the higher limit. For instance, in a 4/8 game, the limit in each of the first two rounds is $4, while the limit in each of the last two rounds is $8. Typical limits for casino Texas Holdem are: 2/4, 3/6, 4/8, 8/16, 15/30, 30/60 and 40/80.

In No-Limit Texas Holdem, you can bet as much as you want, up to all of your chips, at any time. This is the most popular of the TV poker games.

But for most games, the limits tell you two things: how much money you need and what type of opponents you'll face.

A good rule of thumb for a starting bankroll is 20 times the "big bet," so if you were playing 3/6 Texas  Holdem, you should buy in with $120 (20 times $6). You can buy chips from a cashier, or an attendant will bring them to you at the table.

Low-limit games tend to be populated by locals who play conservatively. You'll find these games mostly at the downtown and off-strip poker rooms such as Binion's Horseshoe and Palace Station. There's not a lot of action.

High-Limit and No-Limit games (15/30 and above) are the realm of "rounders," professionals who make their living playing poker. The Bellagio is Las Vegas' premier high-limit room.

The best bets for the casual player are the low- to midlimit games at casinos such as the Mirage and the Orleans. They offer nice surroundings and players with varied experience.

Once you decide where to play, be sure to budget plenty of time. I was seated quickly on midweek afternoons at Binion's and the Mirage, but in the evenings and on weekends, the wait might be over an hour.

The game demands a lot of time, too. Despite what you see on TV, the vast majority of your time is spent folding your cards (dropping out of the hand). Following the recommended "tight aggressive" strategy, I only played two hands in as many hours at Binion's.

There are some other casino-related costs to consider, however.

In exchange for the safe environment, fair game and free drinks, the poker room charges a commission called the "rake." This is typically a percentage of each pot up to a set maximum.

Dealers depend on tips for a large portion of their income. While not mandatory, 3 percent of your winnings is standard.

If you don't have time for all this mucking and raking, and just want a quick shot of No-Limit Texas Holdem excitement, then tournaments are the way to go. Tournaments allow you to play with a lot more chips than you otherwise could afford, use a rapidly increasing blind structure to speed up the action and offer the chance to win thousands.

The Mirage's Poker Zone Tournaments run Sunday through Thursday night. For $130 to $330 (depending on the day of the week), players get $500-$750 in tournament chips and play until someone has them all. If fewer than 50 people enter, the top five finishers share the purse; if more than 50, the top nine.

If that sounds like too much to risk on the long odds of beating 50 other players, show up at the poker room at 1 p.m. to sign up for a satellite. These one-table tournaments last about an hour and are the best poker value in Vegas. For $35 to $75, 10 players receive $300 in tournament chips, and the top two win a seat in that night's main event.

I played in two satellites with buy-ins of $35 and $55. While I didn't win either one, I bluffed my way to a big pot, went "all-in" and even got knocked out on a "bad beat" just like on TV. There was real money on the line, so the excitement was there, but it was a safe, set amount so that it never got uncomfortable.

The next time you're in Vegas, consider talking to a brush or tuning in to a satellite. It might not be exactly like on TV, but it'll be fun.