Bluffing is the sexiest of the poker betting actions. Except when it's plainly stupid, it is bold, daring and exciting. Aside from the adrenaline rush of winning something significant, bluffing gets the juices flowing much more than other actions, especially things like folding or calling or betting the best hand.

The year is 1860, a small western town breaks the otherwise monotonous and arid country side. A coyote is heard howling somewhere in the distance. The day is nearing its end as a lone man and his horse slowly descend a hill and ride towards the town. call it Dodgeville, Hope, Doomsvilles, The town is characterized by innate western clichés; adobe houses sitting cheek by jowl with battered clapboard dwellings, their once bright paint faded and cracked by the intensity of the Arizona sun.

Our editorials are usually dedicated to the kind of poker that's played by humans against humans. There are, however, poker variants which allow players to compete against the house, and video poker is perhaps the most popular game of this kind. The game is based on five-card draw poker, and is played against a computer. Just like real-life five-card draw, the player is dealt five cards, and can then draw one round of cards.

The largest site on the ipoker network has a great reason to celebrate. Titan Poker is about to reach an astronomical one billion hands played on the site, and it is already celebrating with cash prizes. That’s right, last week Titan hit its hand ID 950,000,000. The 950 millionth hand marked the beginning of celebrations that include cash prizes of $350,000, and will end with the anticipated billionth hand.

Michael A. DeDonno, a doctoral student from Case Western Reserve University, recently set out to answer the hottest poker question of recent years: Is poker a game of chance or skill?

Bluffing is as essential to a poker player as barking is to a dog. OK, even if you disagree with that analogy, you have to agree that bluffing is a big part of any poker game. This article will take a look at bluffing in light of David Sklansky’s Fundamental Theorem of Poker, which was discussed in the previous article. First, a quick reminder to the Fundamental Theorem of Poker: "Every time you play a hand differently from the way you would have played it if you could see all your opponents' cards, they gain; and every time you play your hand the same way you would have played it if you could see all their cards, they lose. Conversely, every time opponents play their hands differently from the way they would have if they could see all your cards, you gain; and every time they play their hands the same way they would have played if they could see all your cards, you lose".

Rock and roll has This is Spinal Tap; Horror films have The Blair Witch Project; even dog shows got Best in Show. Some people feel a movie like this was way overdue, but it’s here now – poker finally has its very own mocumentary.

Of all the different poker variations out there, Texas Hold’em is by far the most televised. The reasons for Texas Holdem’s sudden popularity are many, but one aspect of the game that helps capture the thrill on TV is the community cards. With the help of ‘hole- cams’ revealing each player’s hole cards, the entire action can be unfolded before the viewers. Though there are other community poker games available, Hold’em has the simplest rules and is the easiest to follow. If you add the ‘Heads-Up’ aspect to the game, Texas Hold’em becomes a true TV treat.

For the beginning poker player, the biggest advantage of playing the freerolls is the fact that they are free. After all, why should you risk your money when you’re at a clear disadvantage? Even if you’ve read all the poker strategy books you could get your hands on, your knowledge is still strictly theoretical, and you don’t really stand a chance against the average opponent. But that advantage turns into a disadvantage once your poker skills have improved. Now you’re spending your valuable time playing freerolls, fighting for hours to make ridiculously low amounts of money, when you should be better utilizing your skills, and perhaps building a real bankroll for yourself.

Though we are still a while away from the 2008 World Series of Poker opening event, Harrah’s Entertainment has announced the full schedule for the 39th WSOP. For the first time ever, the event will begin and end with $1,000 buy-in world championship tournaments. It will also feature no less than eight $1,000 buy-in championships.