TEXAS HOLDEM ONLINE POKER

     Using an old poker adage, he advises other players that "when you sit down at a table, there's always a sucker in the game. If you can't spot the sucker, you're it."

     These words of wisdom are invaluable, especially to the ranks of amateur players eagerly gathering at tables across the country as the game continues to grow in popularity.

     No naive young high-stakes gambler, Tomaso has been a poker aficionado for about 50 years. As kids, he and his cousins got their early training at underground games where they "used to sneak in...and watch (the grownups) play."

     After growing up and learning the tricks of the trade, the retired Milford native still plays two times a week. Asked why he thinks the game has grown in popularity, he reflects, "Because anybody can play it; you can be out of shape, young, old."

     Tomaso now enjoys playing online, sometimes for two to three hours at a stretch. But that is nothing compared with the stamina it takes to last out a game in Las Vegas, where he might be involved for 24 hours (with 40-minute sanctioned breaks). He's won about $1,000 at a sitting, and his wife approves of his hobby as long as he doesn't "touch the house money."

     From the multimillion-dollar "World Poker Tour" on the Travel Channel and the "World Series of Poker" on ESPN to penny-ante home games, the pastime of Texas Holdem poker seems to have universal appeal.

     But when does a popular game which includes betting become illegal gambling? According to Beth Stone, spokeswoman from the Massachusetts Attorney General's office, they have not "broken up any house games." Stone further added, "We make distinctions between small, informal, house games and larger, organized, illegal gambling operations and have focused our investigative resources accordingly."

     Another poker enthusiast, Natick resident Nate Edwards, 17, a high school senior, first began playing Texas Holdem regularly last summer while a camp counselor. As a camper, he'd play for candy, but this year the games became more serious.

     He says he enjoys poker because "it's kind of like a mind game." He cites the 1998 movie "Rounders," starring Matt Damon and Edward Norton, as bringing the game back into popular culture consciousness.

     Now Nate and his friends from across MetroWest, including students who live in Millis, Newton, Wellesley, Winthrop, Weston, Winchester, Natick and Malden, get together and play almost every Friday night.

     Asked whether his mother or his friends' parents worry that he and his friends gamble, Nate said none do "because they know where we are and they know what we're doing."

     Edwards said the evenings have become a "ritual" for him and his friends. He says games can end up lasting for four hours of smoke- and drink-free fun.

     Dot Pedroli, a Milford native who works in the town's Waters Corp., says she has played poker for at least 20 years. In the beginning, she and her friends used to cap off a Wednesday night of bowling with a poker get-together, but since the games went on so late, they decided to switch to Fridays. The group initially included female friends and two of their husbands. Now the games are just women friends playing at each other's homes.

     "When we started out (we played for) nickels and dimes," Pedroli said. Now they've increased the amount, but she is very disciplined about setting a limit for herself.

     With the "oldies" playing in the background, and pastries and coffee on the table, the evenings are fun social events, much like Edwards described, in the company of good friends. Most who play with Pedroli come from Milford, Franklin, Medway and Norfolk. She also noted that many of her co-workers who know she enjoys poker have inquired where she plays, and have subsequently started groups of their own.

     Asked why poker seems to be experiencing a resurgence in popularity, Pedroli says, "I think, personally, the majority of people are gamblers. Everybody likes to take a chance. Just think of the Lottery. A lot of it has been brought to light because of TV. People like the social part of it. I know I do."

     She and Edwards both say they enjoy watching the "World Poker Tour" on television. Edwards said the games were "cool" and he was impressed by the players' "poise betting that much money." He also said he watched the shows to pick up some tricks.

     While many play either for social reasons or to win cold, hard cash, a group of 30-year-olds made up of friends from Newton, Needham, Cambridge and the Boston area, has been playing Texas Holdem for more altruistic reasons.

     Book production artist Reuben Kantor, the unofficial leader, said since all of the friends who play are Democrats, they decided that rather than keep the winnings for themselves, they would donate the money to presidential nominee John Kerry.

     The winnings, which have been accumulating since they began playing in November, add up to about $500 so far and the pot is still growing. Kantor says he will send the money to the Kerry camp soon, possibly with a letter explaining how it was earned.

     Whether playing for fortunes or pennies, Kantor, Tomaso, Edwards and Pedroli seem to agree about one reason Texas Holdem poker has universal appeal. As Kantor put it, "It's the type of game where you can get a whole group of people together and have a really good time."