TEXAS HOLDEM ONLINE POKER

Clay chips faintly clinking on felt is a familiar sound for Sean Clancy.

Arriving late for the evening’s game at a Gold Hill tavern, he can only wait and wonder whose luck will run out, opening a spot at the table. Like many Rogue Valley residents, Clancy has the Texas Holdem poker bug.

"Once it’s got on TV, it’s like ‘Wow, it’s really easy to play,’ " the 35-year-old Shady Cove resident says.

Whether they’re old hands or first-timers, Rogue Valley residents are riding the wave of a nationwide poker craze. Private Texas Holdem poker parties have become commonplace weekend events within the past year. Many players bet cyber cash on live Internet sites. And when they’re not practicing their poker faces, they’re watching games on television.

"It definitely has to do with the publicity it’s been getting," says Carl McCracken, 27, of Sams Valley, who’s been playing cards since he was a kid — betting with Oreos. "It’s pretty much mainstream."

Professional poker gained a new following last year when rookie Chris Moneymaker won the $2.5 million first prize in the World Series of Poker broadcast on ESPN. Moneymaker earned his World Series bid in a $40 Internet qualifier competition, proving that anyone can compete with the big boys.

At the World Series, the name of the game is no-limit Texas Holdem. Among the most popular forms of casino poker, the game also takes center stage on Travel Channel’s "World Poker Tour" and Bravo’s "Celebrity Poker Showdown" — in which Hollywood’s hottest gamble for charity.

Terry Fitch deals Hold ‘em three nights a week at Miner’s Roost saloon in Gold Hill. She starts off flipping two cards across the green felt to each player.

Surrounded by nine other men sporting ball caps and sunglasses, 38-year-old Brian Ward takes a quick peek at his cards, barely bending them up from the table. A round of betting follows with players chucking a few chips onto the felt or shooting their hand back to Fitch.

Her chunky gold rings dull in the harsh light, Fitch slides three cards — known as the "flop" — face up onto the table for every player’s use. More checking, betting and folding precedes Fitch’s unveiling of the fourth "turn" card and the fifth "river" card.

Combining the two cards in his hand with three out of five on the table, Bob Gast of Shady Cove claims the $50 pot with a straight. He loses it all in subsequent hands before taking a $75 "rake" on an "all-in" wager of $12.

"It’s the best game in town," Gast says.

Players can go "all-in," betting their entire pile of chips at any point in a "no-limit" Texas Holdem game like this. The style is more fast-paced and exciting than other forms of poker, aficionados say. In large part due to its television exposure, no-limit Texas Hold ‘em now reigns supreme among Internet gaming sites and in pick-up games among friends.

"Now you find everybody out there knows how to play," McCracken says. "Hardly anybody has any questions anymore."

Texas Holdem Poker parties are a welcome weekend diversion among much of the local twentysomething crowd, who find the Rogue Valley’s entertainment options limited, says 22-year-old Mason Maeda. The Central Point resident and his buddies easily reap five hours of fun with just a $5 investment in the communal pot, he says.

"It was a really cheap way for all of our friends to get together," Maeda says. "It’s a lot cheaper than going out and drinking all night."

Poker games in private homes are perfectly legal, according to state law. Police occasionally get complaints from someone who got taken in a poker game. But unless the organizer is profiting, gambling wins and losses are of no concern to officers, says Medford police Lt. Mike Moran.

Unregulated gambling in Jackson County is confined to residences with the exception of Miner’s Roost in Gold Hill, where local law allows social gaming in licensed businesses. The business makes no profit from the games. Dealers like Fitch customarily work for tips.

Miner’s Roost Texas Holdem poker has drawn a steady crowd on Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights for several years. But lately the influx of younger, new players has increased Fitch’s business and the hope of an easy win among old-timers.

"Sure, we love it," says Gast, who likes to sip a Shirley Temple while staring down his opponents.

"They don’t know how to play."

"It’s a little different than TV," Fitch echoes. "And they figure that out pretty quick."

For one, the hands come at rapid-fire pace while Fitch gently nudges players who spend too much time considering their "stack." Twenty-dollar bills are cashed discreetly for more chips.

Players steal a quick bite off a hamburger or absently munch nachos while Fitch shuffles up. Food and beverage sales are the only profit for Miguel’s Guadalajara Restaurant, which owns the tavern.

Folding a marginal hand off the deal allows a quick cigarette break in the bar beyond or outside against the sun-baked saloon. The no-smoking rule is strictly enforced around the poker table.

Lacking is the wise-cracking comedy of celebrity face-offs or the play-by-play of professional tournaments. But regulars know their compatriots’ weaknesses and exchange good-natured jabs. Hundreds of dollars may change hands in a given night, but it’s a friendly crowd, Clancy says.

"We don’t try to kill each other."

Texas Holdem Poker remains most popular among men, but the recent exposure has prompted women to try their hand. The game has grown significantly in the past year at Seven Feathers Casino in Canyonville a little more than an hour north of Medford, but female participation alone has increased by about 75 percent, says Sharon Thomas poker room manager. Female-only tables have replaced the odd woman or two trying to compete against a group of men, she says.

Seven Feathers also has seen a boost from the television exposure of poker. The casino often fields calls from would-be players who say they’ve seen Texas Holdem on TV and would like to try it, Thomas says. The chance to socialize is really what makes this game of chance so appealing, she adds.

"Poker’s always been the first in gambling, and now it’s coming back."