First, Merry Christmas/Happy Chanukah/Seasonal Greetings: I hope you are all well and enjoying the holiday. If not, there is always poker to take your mind off things.

I was recently asked to clarify the contradictions between my column on blind play and Matt Matros’ in the latest Card Player. Here is my reply:

With the blind series, I am trying something that has not been done before: a comprehensive look at blind play.

Unfortunately, since it has not been done before, there is no established body of work. What you are getting is purely my opinion.

I do disagree with Matt, and have for some time on this issue. Here is what I believe is going on:

Matt, like many writers, is a successful professional and is telling you how he plays. This is nice and you could play this way as well if you had his skills. Matt can outplay people. Can everyone?

I try to provide a method that an average player can learn to play successfully. If you are an expert, you probably don’t need me to tell you what to do.

In addition, poker is a pendulum game. If you do too much of something, opponents adapt to it. In this instance, if you call every hand in the big blind, your opponents will notice and will steal less. But then every hand they raise on will be a good hand and you will be not be against the 73o you are hoping to be playing against. All poker actions have consequences.

Anyway, that’s my take on this. People do a lot of “expert shopping.” That is they ask experts until they find one that agrees with them and then they feel validated. We play a complex game, and frequently there is no way to prove anything. You get opinions or other people’s winning formulas and make your own choices. I stand behind what I wrote , and it is what I believe will help most people improve their play.

Next week, I will publish some year-end statistics.

The official opening of the new poker room at Caesars has been announced. It is December 21 at 10:0 AM. Many Bellagio regulars have high hopes for this new room, but we’ll see.

Congratulations to my friend Terri Evanowski for her finish in the WPT $15,000 event at Bellagio. She played very well in her second major event (the other was the 5000+ entrant WSOP final) and finished 42nd, earning $32,200 for her Super-satellite investment. She entered the 3rd day in 14th chip position, but ran into some unfortunate circumstances. Her QQ ran into AA, and her KK ran into AA. You need to win with these premium hands to gain chips…making great laydowns keeps you alive, but does not get you to the final table. She also had a tough table that day as five of the six final table players were at her table . To her credit, she did not try to make an additional $8,000 ladder move, but pushed in with QJ in late position trying to win some chips. Of course, she ran into AA and was eliminated. She did a great job, is a heck of a player, and you will hear more of her.

Last week, we started to talk about the Las Vegas home field advantage. Let’s finish that up.

Many tourists are not used to being offered free drinks by attractive women in abbreviated (to truly scanty) attire. Between taking advantage of the drinks and glancing at the servers, they are not playing the same game they play at home. At several casinos with Ultra-lounges, more women in “club wear” also provide a distraction. Hey, I like looking too, but since I am there every week, I am not totally consumed with this phenomenon.

House rules are different in some Las Vegas cosinos as well. I find it amusing when some visitor tries to make a ruling based on what the rules are where he usually plays. Let me give you two examples from Bellagio. In California, a player moves a certain number of seats and has the option of waiting a number of hands equal to the number of players he has passed, or posting. In Bellagio, you can move two players for free, but if you move three live players or more, you must post no matter how long you are willing to wait. You cannot “deal off.” If you come from a broken game, you are dealt right in…and that means if you sit down in the blind, you must take it or get a blind button. You cannot come in behind, and certainly not for free. Of course, if you sit down behind the button, you are dealt in for free. Regulars understanding this sometimes delay sitting down from a broken game until their position is favorable. Tourists get angry if they put their chips down, go to the restroom, and return to find a blind button.

Moving on. Some folks are not used to 24-hour towns with breakfast specials served from 11 PM to 8 AM, or steak specials 24 hours a day. No clocks, multiple TVS, unending games, never-closing bars, all help to remove the typical tourist from the element he is comfortable with.

So how to you overcome all of this? First, of course, don’t drink. Do not play a game requiring judgment the day you fly in. Relax, sleep, play later. The game will be there when you are ready. Remember that you are playing poker for money and that decisions matter. If you are tired, uncomfortable, up way past your bedtime or playing in a game that is too tough, stop. There is no shame in acknowledging that the limit you might play in at home offers easier games that the ones in Las Vegas. It is OK to step down a bit if you sense you are not one of the best players in the game you are playing. Too many people come to here and try to play higher because they want to test themselves. Fine, try this and it might work for you. But be aware it might not and be ready to step out.

Try to identify the professionals. True, some do not play that great, but they are all winning players to one degree or another. You would normally be better off focusing your efforts on the other guys. Not that you should give professionals a free pass. If you feel you have a hand, or a pro is taking advantage of a situation, go ahead and crush him. I tend to focus on the weaker players because, as Willie Sutton said when asked why he robbed banks, “That’s where the money is.”

Mid-December used to mean a significant lull in the poker action in Las Vegas. There were a few games in most empty rooms. Now, with the Bellagio tournament in town coupled with the poker boom, poker rooms are humming. Wynn, Mirage and Bellagio are all spreading middle limit games and Caesar’s is scheduled to open its huge room December 20. In mid-week, Bellagio was spreading three 15-30 games, five 30-60, two 80-160 and one 200-400 with a list, and that’s just limit hold’em. Plenty of no-limit, high limit mixed games and even some rare stud games were going. It’s a wonderful time to be a poker player here (even though a lot of pros, even in Las Vegas, are staying home and plying their trade on-line).

I want to say a few words about the Las Vegas home field advantage. I’m not sure it fits into one week’s worth of words, but let’s get started.

Las Vegas professional poker players have a series of advantages, some of which are found in other clubs but many are not.

First, Las Vegas attracts tourists from all over the world, something most cardrooms don’t. So we play with strangers every day of the week, and get used to sizing up players and their games very quickly. We know to expect the unexpected. Many players play with the same crowd and same styles every day, and can’t adapt well to new people and strange play.

Next, we are there for the long run. We do not have to play a hand today if we don’t feel it’s a winner. We will be here tomorrow. Many players from out of town, even if they know better, have a sense of urgency about gambling and getting involved. They are only in for a few days and they want action, even if they know it’s not the best course.

Similarly, many visitors, even those who play in other cardrooms around the country, play immediately when they get to town (some even before they check in!). They are jet-lagged, tired, and their judgment is not at its best. But there they are playing poker with some of the toughest players in the country. And many professionals are well rested and ready for a day’s work. For example, I always nap before I go in to play. I sleep from 5 PM until wake up, typically between 9 and 10 PM. Then I get ready and come in refreshed and in a proper frame of mind (at least I try to). I am playing with conventioneers who have been working all day, family men who have taken their wives to dinner and a show and now can finally play some poker, and other nice folks who are at the end of their day (and some occasional losing day shift “pros” who can’t get themselves to leave stuck).

As I suspected, this is running long. I will talk more about this next week.