LAS VEGAS - Jesus broke me.

It wasn't just him, of course. It was my cards. But it was Jesus' bet that forced me to push my few remaining chips into the pot.

Bad move. Amateurs like me don't try to match skills with Chris Ferguson, whose long dark hair and short beard have earned him the nickname ``Jesus'' among fans and his fellow pros.

But I foolishly tried anyway. With one swift motion, I shoved my small stack forward and called ``All in'' -- pokerspeak for ``Please let me win this hand and avoid an embarrassing exit.''

Thankfully, we weren't playing for the kind of money you see being won and lost on such TV shows as ESPN's ``World Series of Poker'' and the Travel Channel's ``World Poker Tour.'' But even at a fantasy camp for Texas holdem poker players, a loss can be humbling.

No one knows better than I do.

Poker `reality' camp

Is this how poker players spend their vacations -- playing cards instead of sprawling on a lush Hawaiian beach? Bluffing opponents inside a cramped Las Vegas casino instead of ordering mai tais?

Apparently so. Almost 170 signed up for the first Howard Lederer Poker Fantasy Camp -- the latest trendy vacation choice that allows wannabes to mix with famous professionals, pick up poker tips, ask questions and match their skills against others in tournaments. A second camp will be offered March 31 to April 3 at the MGM Grand (www.allincamp.com).

Fantasy camps have been around for years -- hit fastballs from a former big-league pitcher, catch passes from an ex-NFL star. So, considering poker's explosion from backrooms to living rooms, a four-day ``camp'' seemed like a natural step in its expanding popularity.

Lederer, a top professional known as ``the Professor'' for his intellectual and analytical approach to the game, admittedly hesitated when the idea was proposed by brothers Jon and Rick Bierman, who had produced instructional DVDs with him earlier this year.

``There was a little fear and dread,'' Lederer recalled. ``I wondered, what happens when only six people sign up?''

The response surprised him. For $3,195, campers got three nights' stay at the Palms Casino and Resort, entrance into two no-limit Texas holdem tournaments (the preferred game for most competitive poker players), breakfast, two banquets and seminars with Lederer, Ferguson and Phil Gordon, who has won two World Poker Tour events and co-hosts Bravo's ``Celebrity Poker Showdown.''

But most campers just wanted to sit down at a table and see how well they played against someone like Lederer or Ferguson.

``They're getting access, and they're getting knowledge they can use to become very good players in their own right,'' Lederer said. ``That's something you don't get at another camp. If you're tossing a football with Joe Montana or trying to hit Nolan Ryan's curveball, it really is a fantasy. This is more like a reality camp.''

On the ropes

As soon as I turned over my cards, I could see I was an underdog. My king and 10 of clubs didn't look particularly good against Jesus' ace and jack. But I should have figured that out earlier.

Ferguson had bet into me before the flop (the three community cards that are dealt face up and which players can combine with their own) and I had called his bet. When he bet again after the flop, I had little choice but to risk my dwindling stack.

The flop didn't help either of us. Nor did the turn (the fourth community card) or the river (the fifth and last card). A king or 10 would have won the hand for me, but nothing came. Ferguson smiled and shook my hand.

I shrugged. ``At least I can tell my friends that Jesus knocked me out,'' I told him.

Two South Bay campers

Teri Schwimmer, a business operations manager at Cisco Systems in San Jose, came to see if she could elevate her game -- that and the hope she might get to play against actor Ben Affleck, who was scheduled to compete in a final-day celebrity tournament with several campers and professionals. Affleck was a no-show, but he would have been a minor star among the poker hierarchy anyway.

Schwimmer got knocked out in a qualifying event, although she didn't seem to mind afterward.

``I love to play poker,'' she said, ``so it's a fantasy to come here and see if I can improve in a short amount of time. But it would've been more of a fantasy if I'd gotten to play with Ben Affleck.''

David Glen of San Jose, a software quality engineer, said he wanted to improve his game and perhaps sit down at a table with someone like Lederer or Gordon. He had no fear of either of them.

``I wanted to meet Howard and Phil, and I thought that making it to the celebrity tournament would be cool, too,'' he said. ``But getting to talk to the pros about strategy and hearing their stories was great.''

Schwimmer said she plays regularly at a cardroom in Hayward. Glen spends about 25 hours a week in online poker rooms, which have grown in popularity the past few years. Attending the camp was a vacation, they said, although Schwimmer left her husband home in Los Gatos.

``It's a vacation in terms of getting away from the office,'' she said, ``but definitely not like a vacation to Hawaii. I think I'd rather go someplace like that with my husband.''

What would Jesus do?

``When you play, play aggressively,'' Gordon told us on the first day. He was imparting knowledge about playing hole cards before the flop, when players sometimes choose to ``limp in'' by calling a bet rather than taking control by raising.

``If you're the first in the pot in no-limit, raise,'' he said. ``Always.''

I remembered that later at a $100 single-table tournament with nine fellow campers. When several players folded in front of me, I made a sizable bet -- and got everyone else to fold. Inside, I was leaping happily. Outside, I looked impassive -- a perfect poker face I had learned from watching TV.

I stayed aggressive later, when the dealer turned over three clubs on the flop and two players checked to me -- poker terminology for not making a bet. Despite holding no clubs, I threw in $300 hoping I could bluff the table and convince everyone that I had a flush. It worked. Everyone else folded.

They were brief moments of triumph, but I still couldn't forget how I'd lost to Ferguson. I was still salving my wounds later when Ferguson's table broke up and I pounced on the chance to ask what I had done wrong. Jesus gently confirmed that I had misplayed my hand.

``You should have folded,'' he told me. ``When I raised from early position, I'm saying that I think I can beat the other nine people at the table. That should have told you that I had a good hand. And unless you have a hand that you know can beat me, you should fold.''

What I had forgotten during our hand was that I was in early position -- meaning I had to bet before the other players at the table. Because of that, they had the luxury of seeing what I did before they decided whether to call my bet, raise or fold.

One reason I had stayed in was because I didn't want to appear intimidated by a pro of Ferguson's caliber. But when he beat me, it was the poker equivalent of being dunked on by Shaquille O'Neal, or swinging wildly at a Randy Johnson fastball.

It was an honor, but it still stung.

The thrill of victory

Schwimmer and Glen fared better. Schwimmer finished 16th in a tournament that earned the winner a seat at the World Series of Poker next year. Glen played in a $25 one-table tournament (called a sit-and-go) and knocked out Lederer and Erik Seidel, a respected pro whose final-table loss to Johnny Chan at the 1988 World Series of Poker is immortalized in the movie ``Rounders.''

When I saw him later, Glen was beaming.

He recalled each victory in detail, explaining how he had re-raised Lederer on the turn, then picked up a straight on the river. A few hands later, with Seidel on a short stack, Glen went all in and caught a flush to win again.

``It was awesome,'' he said. ``Freakin' awesome.''

And they continued playing. Glen stayed up all night and won $1,600 playing in the Palms' high-limit Texas holdem  poker room. Schwimmer awoke at 5:45 a.m., hit the same room and won $2,100.

She's still putting her lessons to good use. In an e-mail a couple of weeks after returning home, she said, ``I definitely learned a lot from attending the camp. What I liked most was the ability to learn so much in just a few days, and I came away totally passionate about becoming a more serious player.''

Me? I lost $225 playing in fantasy camp buy-in tournaments -- and although my passion is strong, my results proved that my game needs work.

But the camp stoked my interest. I was immersed in the game every day, playing and watching and listening when someone like Lederer or Gordon would pause during a hand to impart some sage poker knowledge.

If I can remember most of what they taught, I'll become a better Texas holdem player. And maybe, if I get good enough, I'll get another crack at Jesus.