Texas Holdem first showed up in Vegas when Texas poker legends Amarillo Slim, Doyle Brunson and Crandell Addington introduced it to the casinos in the late 1950’s. It was only called holdem in those days. At first, the only casino where you could find the game was at the Golden Nugget downtown. When a poker room opened up at the Dunes in 1969, the game’s popularity began to grow.

An annual “Gambling Fraternity Convention” was a collection of professionals playing different variations of poker to decide the best player in the world. In 1970 Benny and Jack Binion bought the rights to the convention and turned the event into the World Series of Poker. Journalist Tom Thackrey decided that the main event should be Texas Holdem, and the Binions agreed.

In 2004 Harrah’s Entertainment bought Binion’s Horseshoe and the rights to the WSOP, and the tournament was moved to the Rio.

So are you getting addicted to holdem yet? Are you telling your girlfriend that you don’t feel well so you can stay at home and play? Or are you playing when you should be doing something more important? It doesn’t take long for the game to grab you and consume you. It’s not like all of your buddies aren’t playing all the time; poker games are more common on the weekends than house parties.

The successful players learn how to juggle the action with a life. They’re usually not perfect lives, but who lives a perfect life? Don’t let the game control your life or it will sink you fast. It’s no different than any hobby, it can’t consume you. Set reasonable limits to your play and stick to them. It’s tough, but it’s important to have structure. If the game stops being fun, you need to step away for awhile.

If you’re heading to Vegas for the WSOP 2008, there are a couple of things you can do to get ready. You can adjust your schedule to include more multi-table tournaments. If you have chosen a specific variation of tournament, it would only make sense to get in as many events – in that variation – as you can between now and then.

It wouldn’t hurt to read up on some tournament strategy before heading into the WSOP. Dan Harrington’s books on tournament holdem will teach something to anyone who reads them. “Tournament Poker for Advanced Players”, by David Sklansky, is another sure bet.

The other thing you can do is dream about winning. Picture yourself deep into an event, getting to the final table or winning the whole thing. Envision yourself being successful; it’s more important than most people realize. Realities begin with a thought, and then with effort become experiences.

Everyone knows the golden rule of life is “treat others as you would like to be treated.” However, that doesn’t really fit in poker. If you treated the other players at the table the way you wanted them to treat you, then you would be dumping your chips to them throughout the entire game.

If you do a quick Internet search of poker and the golden rule you’ll find some very different definitions then the one cited above. You’ll find rules that tell you to maximize the pots you win and minimize the size of pots you lose; always use pot odds when deciding whether to call or not; know your fellow players and adjust your play accordingly; and so on. Unfortunately there’s no one “golden rule” of poker that will make you a winning player overnight. But there is a list of “golden rules” to follow at the table that will keep you afloat while you improve your game.

Analyze the weaknesses in your game and develop your own list of customized golden rules; follow them and take your next step toward playing winning poker.

Vegas is always the place for poker action; even in March there’s lots to be found. If you’re in Vegas this month there are lots of tournaments to choose from. The Wynn Classic is underway and will run until the 19th. There is a wide array of action for different poker variations, with the $10,000 main event running from the 16th - 19th.

The major poker rooms run weekly and daily events if you’re not there for the Wynn Classic. The Mirage has daily $115 & $175 no-limit holdem / 10-player sit and go tournaments starting at 9:00 am.

Caesar’s Palace has a weekly $200 no-limit holdem on Mondays, and players start with 7500 in chips with 40-minute blinds. The Bellagio has their $500 no-limit holdem event on the same day. You can also find a $122 no-limit holdem tournament at the Luxor if the others are full.