You can bet a few poker "sharks" were circling late last month when more than 300 people waited in line to try their luck in the new poker room at the Tri-State Racetrack and Gaming Center in Nitro, W.V., near Charleston.

Experienced players know that the first card room in an area where there had been none brings out plenty of home-game amateurs ready for "real" action. Some of those sharks no doubt feasted on soft games.

I missed the grand opening, but played there last week after visiting family in Huntington, just 30 miles away. Most of the 10 games in action that Monday afternoon had a waiting list.

"We're filled on weekends and solid during the week," said Ron LaDuca, director of table games.

After just one month of operation, the Big Easy Poker Room is firing up daily tournaments this week featuring buy-ins from $50 to $200, including a ladies-only event. The room has 24 tables for cash games, plus 16 more available for tournaments.

"We wanted to see what kind of clientele we have here first before starting the tournaments," said LaDuca, who has 12 years of gaming experience at Foxwoods Resort in Connecticut, the nation's largest casino and home of the biggest poker room (116 tables) on the East Coast.

Blackjack, craps, roulette and other table games start up in October at the New Orleans-themed Tri-State, which has four restaurants and 90,000 square feet of gaming action, including 1,800 slots. Tri-State is operated by the West Virginia Lottery Commission.

"Players overall are pretty happy with the poker room," LaDuca said. He noted the room's openness and its proximity to the facility's greyhound racetrack. Tables are generously spaced, and plenty of TV monitors are mounted around the room.

"We're working on a few things that need improvement, including better lighting for the tables," LaDuca said. The level of light on the felt surface was the only complaint I heard from players at my $2-$4 limit hold 'em game.

I signed up for $1-$5 seven-card stud, but because there was a waiting list I jumped into an open hold 'em seat instead, knowing I only could stay for about an hour.

As I expected, the game was rather loose and passive, with six or seven players limping in almost every hand and few pre-flop raises. My un-shark-like strategy was to play relatively tight, see a few cheap flops with good drawing hands and push stronger hands when I could thin the field.

Here are two sample hands:

— I held K-10 of clubs the first pot I entered with five other limpers. Two clubs came on the flop, so I bet $2 as a semi-bluff, hoping for a free card if no club came on the turn. The plan worked perfectly. A blank hit on the turn, everyone checked, and the free river card gave me a winning flush. Two players called my $4 bet on the end.

— A little later I raised with 10-10 under the gun to thin the field, then I bet every round against two opponents who appeared to be chasing a straight or flush. The river was a blank, and neither player called my final bet.

I won two other pots with A-J and in 70 minutes was ahead $41 (yea!), so I hit the road.

The trip back to Illinois included a stop at the Argosy Casino in Lawrenceburg, Ind., which has a well-established 18-table poker room on the bottom deck of a huge triple-deck floating casino connected to a three-level entertainment pavilion and a 300-room hotel.

I had a fast start in a $90 buy-in no-limit hold 'em tourney with 44 players. In level one, my pocket sixes became trips on the turn and a full house on the river for an easy winner. Minutes later, pocket sevens turned golden with a flop of 7-7-Q.

The momentum faded, however. In level four, I lost a key race after isolating an all-in player with a re-raise. He held K-Q offsuit and hit a king on the flop, beating my pocket sevens.

Now short-stacked, I got my last 800 chips into the pot with K-7 against a player holding Q-J. He flopped a queen, and I was out in 22nd place. Bummer!

Happily, the next day I got my $90 back (and then some!) in a $3-$6 limit hold 'em game, which made the trip home seem a lot shorter.

E-mail your poker questions and comments to russ@luckydogpoker.com for use in future columns. To find out more about Russ Scott and read previous LuckyDog Poker columns, visit www.creators.com or www.luckydogpoker.com.

COPYRIGHT 2008 RUSS SCOTT

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