Poker

April is the cruellest month - outdraws, bad beats, a long descent from riches to rags - in short, a new World Series of Poker at Binion's Horseshoe casino in Las Vegas. Everyone who's anyone in the game will be there. The month-long series opens next weekend and spans 20 tournaments before the climax of the World Championship on 12-15 May. Binion's boast is that in the 27 years of the World Series, one hundred million dollars in prize money has been won - and also lost, one might add, because the money comes from the accumulation of players' entry fees.

Well, it is special. The excitement of so much action, at such high stakes, round the clock, has an almost hallucinogenic effect on all the participants. Are we coming or going or playing or watching? Wars, elections, natural disasters, anything going on in the wider world outside the card room seems unimportant and hardly worth noting. All that matters is the next hand coming down.

There are, however, certain rules to be observed for anyone who wants to survive, whether a casual player on vacation or a sharp-edged pro. First, so far as British visitors go (and there will be plenty), it is sensible to take at least a couple of days to adjust to the different time zone and climate. Second, start playing at low stakes, to adjust to the rapid-fire system of fixed raise betting (as opposed to pot limit). Third, ensure that you have enough funds to see you through without having to phone home or pawn your cuff-links. (The "railbirds" - players who have gone broke and are reduced to watching from the side - are a sorry sight). And fourth, take some exercise every day, such as swimming. As for getting a good night's sleep - forget it!

Fifth and finally, to focus on the job in hand, which is to come out a winner. How, you may ask, have I fared in past years? The answer I usually give when I get back home is that I was a pretty good winner - not in money but in experience. In other words, win some, lose some, but learn a lot. You have to be there to feel it.