The biggest strategic advantage of online poker over live play is not the speed the hands are dealt, nor the slightly lower rake or absence of tipping -- those are each dwarfed by the incredible advantage of being able to pick and choose from dozens of different subsets of potential opponents.

If you play poker, there's really no reason to ever pay for a full-priced room at any casino-hotel.

• Aces Full A full house with three aces and any pair.
• Ace-High A five card hand that contains one Ace, with no straight or flush or a hand with no pair in it.
• Ace Magnets A pair of kings.

Something funny happened to me in mid-2009. I had been playing the $10/20 and $15/30 games online for about a year, happily humming away at approximately 1.25 BB/100, which is considered a relatively solid winrate for mid-stakes hold'em.