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 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.

Maybe you are one of those people that never played cards, of any type, and the whole concept of poker seems foreign? It does seem a bit absurd that people come together just to beat each other out of their hard earned money with a deck of cards in a game of poker, right? Right!

And doesn’t it just get a little more absurd and strange when you consider that everyone has their idea of what ‘real poker’ is? What if you’re sitting between two friends and one only plays 7 Card Stud and the other will only play Texas Hold’em and they are arguing that their game is ‘real poker’ and they both play at PokerStars? How can that be? Where can you find an explanation of what PokerStars is about?

If you aren’t a poker player, you’re still wondering what the big deal is and why another one of your friends can stay up all night to play in a poker game but when he’s not playing poker, he’s asleep on the couch in front of the TV by 8 p.m. But then his eyes light up as he explains that the rake is a percentage the poker room takes for spreading the game and he is getting paid to play at Full Tilt Rake Back because he receives rake back on hands that he plays.

The real question now would be - if you have at least three friends that play poker, why aren’t you a poker player? And unless you take a seat in the game, you’ll never know how it played out. Do you want that on your conscience?

It seems that all your friends are playing poker online these days and you can’t wait to feel the exciting experience of playing online games. The purpose of this article is to provide you with a comprehensive online poker basic guide to begin learning about online poker. Start learning, go play and have fun!

What Are Online Poker Games?

First, let’s address what online poker games are not:

• Online poker games are not “video poker” – that game you’ve see in brick-and-mortar casinos that looks like a slot machine.
• Online poker games are not something that you play by yourself. This game has at least two real people, while most have eight to ten. Although you may be sitting at home all alone, you’re connected to a game server via the Internet. The larger poker tournaments have several thousand people all playing simultaneously at many different tables.

Getting Started with Online Poker Rooms

Even if you’ve played poker for years at home or at the casino, getting started playing online poker games at an online poker room means learning a new set of basic skills. You need to be able to find a game, sit down, buy chips and then, finally, see your cards and bet, raise or fold. In the online world there are few unique issues to consider, like what to do when you lose your Internet connection in the middle of a hand, and special rules of online etiquette.

When you are getting started, the first decision you generally need to make is which site to try out first. You can actually hold accounts at more than one online poker room if you like, but you’ll generally find the most action at one of the major poker rooms, such as PokerStars.com and Full Tilt Poker.
Online poker, also known as Internet poker, offers many advantages: a player can get a game any time, and play a variety of poker games. Enjoy the games!

Pairs

Two matching cards, anywhere from 22 to AA. If you have a big pair like QQ, KK or AA, you’ll almost always raise. You are really looking to get all your chips in the middle pre-flop most of the time.

As pairs get lower, they become more speculative hands. An unimproved 99, TT or JJ could still be the best hand after the flop. However, you must proceed carefully.

With lower pairs like 88, 77, 66, etc., what you are really looking to do is flop a set (three of a kind). If you don’t, you should get rid of the hand if there is a bet (with some exceptions, for example, you have 66 and the flop comes 345).

High Cards

Cards like AK and AQ are high card hands. The problem with any high card hand besides AK is that they can be trouble hands. You can flop a dominated hand and get into real trouble.

However, if you are first in, you should usually raise with these hands. Play them as aggressively as the board and your opponents will permit.

Connecting Cards

Two consecutive cards like JT or even with some spaces in between, like QT or KT (called one- gappers and two-gappers, respectively. Only play these hands if you can do so cheaply and if they have some high card value as well. These hands don’t hit often, although you can get paid off if they do.

Suited Cards

Two cards of the same suit. Unless they include the ace of the suit and sometimes the king, it’s best to avoid these hands.

You probably won’t flop a flush. Even if you do, you may get no action or get action from someone with a bigger flush.

Suited Connectors

These cards are suited and connecting. They are great to play in late position when you can see a flop cheap and get some great information after the flop.

You need to hit these hands hard, however. If you only get a small piece of the flop, it’s often better to check fold than to call multiple bets on a prayer.

You don’t have to plan to become a pro in order to enjoy online poker. However, you probably will enjoy it more if you have a good understanding of some basics. In this blog, I’ll provide tips on how to become a winning player in the long haul.

Poker Is a Waiting Game

In games like blackjack and craps, you’re in action on every hand. Not so in poker. One of the ways you get an advantage in poker is by making sure the average hand you enter a pot with is stronger than the average hand of your opponents.

This means throwing away a lot of hands and waiting for the next deal. You’ll need to hone this skill set to be successful at online poker.

Poker Is a Game of Aggression

Poker is a game that you should play aggressively if you want to succeed. If opponents know that you will only call bets or raise pots with a huge hand, they will force you out of every other pot. You won’t get any action on those big hands because everyone will know what it means.

You need to be willing to test for weakness by throwing out bets when you appear to have an advantage. You cannot be afraid to bet and raise when you enter a pot.

Online Poker Is an Information Game

All poker is about information, but in online poker you have access to much more information than you would in a live game. You can take notes on your opponents and input them right on the screen, so they are available to you whenever you play.

This was just a scratch on the surface. Carry on reading for more tips on how to become a winning poker player.