Efforts to win U.S. congressional passage of a bill to ban most forms of Internet gambling by tacking it onto a must-pass bill hit a roadblock on Tuesday, but aides said Republican backers were exploring other ways to make it law.

Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman John Warner, a Virginia Republican, raised a "strong objection" to attaching any unrelated legislation to a pending defense bill, which has been viewed by supporters of the Internet gambling bill as a prime vehicle for it.

"I have firmly opposed putting any (unrelated) bills in the conference report," Warner wrote in a letter dated September 25 to Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist.

Warner did not cite the Internet gambling bill specifically, but he said other senators have sought to tack at least nine unrelated items to the defense bill.

A Republican aide said Frist has not given up on passing the Internet gambling bill before lawmakers recess at the end of this week to campaign for the November 7 elections. He and other proponents are looking at other possible vehicles, such as a pending measure to bolster port security against potential terrorist attacks, aides said.

"He wants to get it done," one aide said. "We are still working things out. Everyone is still talking."

A senior Democratic aide said, "I wouldn't pronounce it dead yet."

Efforts to win support for a version of the House bill in the Senate have been opposed by lobbyists representing casino owners and horse- and dog-racing interests.

The bill would prohibit most forms of Internet gambling and make it illegal for banks and credit card companies to make payments to online gambling sites.

Investors in British-based gaming companies such as BETonSPORTS Plc, Partygaming Plc and 888 Holdings Plc are closely watching the U.S. legislation.

Democrats have criticized the Republican-backed measure as an election-year appeal to the party's conservative base, particularly the religious right.

Frist is a potential 2008 presidential candidate. He recently appeared at a congressional field hearing in Iowa -- the state that holds the first presidential nominating contest in 2008 -- to hear concerns about Internet gambling.

Supporters of a crackdown on Internet gambling say legislation is needed to clarify that a 1961 federal law banning interstate telephone betting also covers an array of online gambling.

Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist is trying use a bill authorizing U.S. military operations, including in Iraq and Afghanistan, to prohibit people from using credit cards to settle Internet gambling debts.

Frist, R-Tenn., and his aides have been meeting with other lawmakers and officials in both the House and Senate to get the measure attached to a compromise Defense Department authorization bill, according to a Senate GOP leadership aide.

The House passed a version of the Internet gambling measure in July, but the Senate has taken no action on similar legislation. Neither of the defense bills passed by the House and Senate mention it.

Frist is pushing for an approach that isn’t quite as sweeping as the House measure, said the leadership aide and lobbyists following the issue. All spoke on condition of anonymity because of the ongoing negotiations.

Frist, eyeing a 2008 presidential bid, recently discussed the online gambling measure in the politically important state of Iowa. He also called it a legislative priority in a recent speech on the Senate floor.

The measure’s supporters include the National Football League as well as conservative and antigambling groups. Some banking groups are lobbying against it.

Federal officials have made recent arrests involving offshore companies operating Internet gambling sites. The Internet gambling industry is headquartered almost entirely outside the United States although many of its customers live in the U.S.

To write your state's Senator and voice your opinion against this legislation that will take away your right to play Online Poker, please go to NROG.org - http://www.nrog.org

Thank you.

PokerAllstar Staff

You've read every book, you've seen every tournament every broadcast on TV, and you say to yourself, "Self, I'd like some of that money, too!!!" What's the first step? That's the key, and having read every book, the advice will vary wildly.

Some say, find a local casino, and play as often as you can. Others profess that to be a professional, first you have to play a million hands online. Still others will tell you that it's not a decision that you make, it just happens. One day you wake up and suddenly, you and the world declare you a poker pro….

The reality of the situation is some or all of the above, however, there are indeed several steps to take along the road to becoming a professional poker player. Personally, I don't even know if I'm on this road myself. So, I will tell you about it when and if I get there.

My first tournament experience came from a radio promotion freeroll at one of my local casinos. Having seen a few broadcasts of Celebrity Poker Showdown and listening intently to Phil Gordon's commentary, I thought I was ready. A couple of hours later I busted out with about a third of the field left, so obviously, I wasn't.

However, my father once told me, "You can either generalize, or specialize." At the time, he was talking about Stamp Collecting, but the advice holds for poker as well. Realizing that I had outlasted 2/3rds of the field when I didn't know what I was doing, I came home and did a search of poker on the 'net.

Over approximately 177 million sites later, I had found a wealth of information. Of course, with all things internet, some of it was spurious. But here's what I found:

· Patience is a virtue. You will be folding between 80% to 90% of the time.

· Build a decent bankroll. This advice is mostly for cash games, however, having a healthy one for tournaments is equally as important.

· Have six months worth of expenses covered. You'll need this in case of bad beatitis, and you continue to get unlucky.

· Did I mention patience? You'll also need this to get through the above mentioned losing streak.

· Experience. The more you play, the more you learn. Skills acquired include but are not limited to starting hand selection, playing style, and money management.

· Have you developed an effective playing style? Most will tell you that selective aggression is the way to go. My style can be called Beyond Aggressively Tight™, or BAT™ for short.

· Most importantly, knowledge. Something I thought I had when I played in my first tournament. Read every book you can get your hand on, pick up the magazines you've heard about, and read those too. Some excellent advice from top poker pros in the various publications. It's also available online if you perform the above mentioned search like I did.

After you've done all of the above, you may still not be ready. Do you have the mentality to sit at a table, and fold almost 9/10ths of the time, in order to win one big bet an hour? Can you extend this to online, and sit at a computer screen for several hours at a stretch? For a tournament, can you avoid going on tilt when you get a bad beat? Are you comfortable lying?

That last one is important. Poker is a game of deception at its root. The way to earn the most in the various pots you enter into is to disguise the strength of your hand. Sometimes a bluff is in order. Will you give off 'tells' when you do this? You might not be ready to compete at the highest levels yet if you do.

Are you in a relationship? If so, do you have the support of your significant other? Family is important. You're attempting to make life better for yourself and your family by becoming a professional poker player. Do you meet all of the above requirements?

You'll find as you travel to the various casinos in your area that most poker professionals never appear on TV, or even play in tournaments. This is a choice that I have made, simply because I've taken my father's advice. Until then, I'm merely a filmmaker that plays poker. I'll let you know when I become a poker player that makes films.

72 and sunny in Redondo Beach.

Next time, I'll write about poker. Be there. Aloha.

Mike "Matches" Malone

Editor's note: Matches Malone has been writing for us for a couple years now, and you can read his blog notes at PokerAllStar.com

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