Last year the terms fourth street, turn, flop, river, and nuts could have been confusing directions leading to a painful belly flop into the Mississippi River. Now, they're synonymous with no-limit Texas HoldEm, and if you haven't heard of it by now, you should have.

HoldEm, as it is referred to by poker regulars, was introduced to a mainstream audience in the movie Rounders, in which Matt Damon's character - fictional poker pro Mike McDermott - refers to the game as "The Cadillac of Poker." Since the 1998 film, the ever-growing popularity of HoldEm has led to extensive coverage on ESPN, which broadcasts the "World Series of Poker" every Tuesday night.

Likewise, the Iowa City American Legion hosts HoldEm tournaments of its own every Tuesday and Thursday at 7 p.m. On Tuesday, 91 players were in attendance trying their luck. The Legion has been hosting poker tournaments since October and usually expects more than 80 players a night.

Mike Hall, the Legion's service officer, says he volunteered to set the tournament up. Sign-up is between 6:30 and 7 p.m. - it costs $10 to play - and the top nine places get paid out.

"Whoever has the most chips takes first and then on down the line," Hall said. "Usually, there's about four or five people left at 10:30."

Although the humble American Legion in eastern Iowa City doesn't have the glitz, glam, or nostalgia of Vegas, the players there might have as much game.

"There are some real good poker players here in Iowa City," Hall said. "We have guys here who are in the upper echelon week after week."

He sees firsthand how popular poker playing has become, and he credits the TV coverage for all the newcomers he sees enter his tournaments.

"Everybody grows up playing cards, you know Crazy Eights or whatever," he said. "And then they start seeing people on TV winning millions of dollars, and they're thinking, 'I can do this. I can't believe that guy just called,' or, 'He bluffed like that and got away with it; I could take him down.' And then they start doing it themselves."  

Poker is becoming especially popular with college students; Hall said that during the school year, the Legion's tournaments generally reach their limit - 120 players.

"I think they spend all their study time studying poker," he said with a laugh.

"I've probably been here four or five times," said UI student Eric Quinn. "There's nothing else to do on a Tuesday night.

"Actually, I'm in summer class - my final is on Friday, but I don't want to study yet, so I figure I'll come and play poker."

UI junior Jeff Smith, along with Quinn, is among the local students who can't get enough poker.

"People are starting to see it on TV and learning it on TV, so they're more willing to play and practice," he said, who estimated his poker time - balanced between live and online games - to be almost 20 hours a week. "It's not hard to find a game because they're always people willing to pay for $5 or $10, but playing for higher stakes is harder to find."

Whenever Smith can't find a game among friends, he logs onto his paradisepoker.com account, where there's always a game available. Smith said he favors live action over online poker because the online version eliminates some of the strategy involved.

"You watch how they're betting - if they bet quickly or slowly," Smith said about playing live. "Nonverbal communication has a lot to do with it. You can tell if they're uneasy or confident pretty easily by the way they carry themselves.

"Even breathing can tell you some things about what they may or may not have. I'm not a pro; I just play a lot."

He cites his competitive drive - the result of a lifetime of success playing sports - as one of his main reasons to play so much and so seriously.

"I don't have football any more, so I play poker to stay competitive," he said. "You're out to win, and because I don't have anything else to compete in anymore, poker's my game."

And, Smith says, if you ask around, there's a Texas Holdem poker game seemingly around every corner in Iowa City. Whether people are in an online poker room playing against someone they've never met from halfway around the world or grinding it out against their closest friends (who, while over the green felt, are enemies), one thing is for sure: We're all in.