Hi everyone, I have been away on a holiday for a few weeks and have taken a break from poker.  It’s allowed me to gain a new perspective, which I will share with you.

Whilst I was traveling during my entertaining holiday, I managed to chat to people and get some completely new, fresh ideas from people outside of the game.  What I have realized is just how hard it is for new poker players to start the game.  There are loads of poker strategy sites and blogs, all giving their opinion on what to do, what not to do and how to make your next big win!  But not many sites that will take you through the steps of “how to start playing poker online…”

New players are completely confused by all the jargon.  There is enough to cope with learning the game, the last thing you need is some smart a.., giving it to you in some strange lingo!

So, over the next few weeks, I am going to go back to some of the basics of online poker and how to start playing online.  I am going to also include a few interviews on the blog, with new players that I have made contact with. I will be calling myself the ‘Poker guide’ at times, so don’t be confused when I start talking about the Poker guide, because its me, its my new name.

To those of you that have been playing for a while, stick around you never know, you may learn a thing or two.  My poker improved so much when I started teaching and explaining poker to new comers, because I had to go back to the basics and actually think why things were that way, so that I could explain it better.

The ‘Poker guide’

Do you want to have a poker party, rather than the usual boring home game?

Then you should visit www.haveapokerparty.com, its a site that will make your dream of the perfect poker evening come true.  It’s not only for private games, however, but for fundraisers and corporate events as well – if that‘s what you‘re looking for.

Royal Flush Enterprises Inc. is the company behind the site and this is, in short, what they offer:

*   Casino-grade poker tables (chairs provided by venue or client)
* Professional dealers and support staff
* All gaming equipment including casino-quality poker chips, casino cards, poker guide, dealer buttons, seat assignment cards, chairs, cup holders, cut cards, dealer trays, and structure sheets.
* Delivery, set-up and tear down of all poker tables and equipment.

Everything will be taken care of throughout the poker evening; the tournament format, player registration, monitoring of the tournament and announcements regarding winners and payouts.

The well-known and respected host for the site is no other than Robert Thompson, the tournament director from TV show Celebrity Poker Showdown.
When you hear Robert Thompson yell ”Shuffle up and Deal”, you will know that the game is for real!

Royal Flush Enterprise’s services have received a lot of praise over the years, including this glowing endorsement from Amy McDaniel of the Remington Hotel Corporation:

“Thank you for an outstanding job at our first ever Texas Hold’em Poker event”. As a novice gamer myself, I was a bit nervous taking on such an “unknown” event. My nerves were calmed after my first interaction with you because your professionalism is constant and your friendly demeanor puts a client at ease in an instant. I appreciated how you worked with our organization to accomplish the goals of our reception while staying true to the rules and requirements of hold’em – I know that wasn’t an easy task.”

Nevada casinos suffered another month of declining revenues in September as gaming win was about 5.4 percent less than it was in September 2007, according to a report released today by the state’s Gaming Control Board.

Statewide, casinos raked in $1.001 billion, a 5.44 percent drop from the same month last year. Revenues on the Las Vegas Strip, which accounts for more than half the state’s gaming win, declined 5.2 percent to $525 million.

September was the ninth straight month of declining revenues, but it broke a streak of four straight months of revenues below $1 billion.

For the first ninth months of 2008, casinos raked in more than $8.9 billion, about 6.6 percent less than the first ninth months of 2007.

The largest declines occurred in northern regions of the state and recreational destinations in the south. Of the latter, Laughlin saw a 6.9 percent slide in revenue, while Mesquite suffered a 27.8 percent decline.

In northern Nevada , Washoe County and the Reno area saw gaming win dip 20.5 percent when compared to September 2007.

Southern Nevada casinos saw some improvement over last month. Not counting the Strip and downtown Las Vegas , Clark County casinos experienced a modest 2.9 percent slide, while casinos in North Las Vegas and along the Boulder Strip enjoyed increases of 11.1 percent and 13.9 percent, respectively.

Gaming win is defined as the amount of money gamblers lost in the casino. It does not include revenue from food & beverage, entertainment, hotel rooms, retail sales, spas,poker guide and other amenities. Over the past five years non-gaming revenue has grown to more than 50 percent of casinos’ total revenue.

A breakdown of statewide casino revenues showed that slots were down 3.6 percent, while table games saw revenues slide 9 percent.

Among slot machines, only penny slots, Megabucks, $100 slots and multi-denominational slots recorded increases in gaming win. Penny slots raked in about $157.7 million or 9.4 percent more than a year ago.

The state’s poker rooms generated about $10.8 million, about 13 percent less than a year ago.

Nevada’s race books won about $5.1 million, 25 percent less than a year ago, and the state’s sports books, buoyed by the first full month of football, saw revenues increase to $26 million, but still about 42 percent less than a year ago.