TEXAS HOLDEM ONLINE POKER

And for Ron Ware of Tracy, that hand came at the end of the third day.

Ware, better know as "Grumpy" by friends, family and poker counterparts, finished 75th out of more than 5,500 players at the World Series of Poker in Las Vegas this month.

On this particular hand, he was dealt a pair of kings, the second-best hand a player can be dealt to start a game of Texas Holdem.

Through the course of playing the hand, he noticed a player reraise.

"At that point I read that he had the two aces that would beat me, " Ware said.

Many poker players would have played, but Ware folded his hand.

The player had a pair of aces.

"At that point I knew I was playing optimal poker," Ware said. "During the tournament,

I was able to sleep well at night because I couldn't have played any better." Ware, a real estate agent in San Ramon, started playing Texas Holdem poker as a teenager with his brother-in-law and friends.

He eventually would play in home games about three times a week and at card rooms throughout the area. He supplemented his income by working as a dealer at The Outpost Casino in San Ramon.

"I played wherever I could play a game," Ware said. "The past five to six years I basically lived off poker.

"I'm just a Texas Holdem poker fanatic."

Ware earned the nickname Grumpy because of his blank look when playing poker and not always smiling in pictures.

But Ware says that when he is playing he is actually loose despite his demeanor.

"I like to keep people loose by joking around when I'm playing," Ware said. "Eventually people will get lazy and reveal their habits and tip when they have good hands."

Concentration, composure and staying calm are Ware's strategy for successful Texas Holdem poker.

"You have to realize you can't change the cards, but you have to play what's coming," Ware said.

Talking to people and paying attention is part of his strategy.

"The more comfortable people start to feel, the more they'll start to do things like lean in when they have a good hand or lean back when they have bad cards."

Ware notices these tendencies so that he knows when his opponents are bluffing, or trying to bait him into betting.

"Bluffing is based on what you think the other person doesn't have," Ware said. "The longer a game goes on, the easier it is to read a person."

This year was the first time that Grumpy had been in the World Series of Poker. The World Series had a $10,000 buy in, which played into Ware's game-playing strategy.

"I like to have a lot of chips to start with," Ware said. "I play for the long term and will grind it out and play for the steady increase.

"It's not a race, but a game where you see who can play the longest."

Ware said that one thing he noticed at the World Series was the amount of bad players there.

"It was amazing," Ware said. "A lot of people were there that had won Internet promotions, and they were putting down crazy bets because they saw people on television do it."

He also said the atmosphere is different, with thousands of people and even more spectators trying to see the stars.

"But, the game is still the same," Ware said. "I really didn't care who or what was happening at the tables around me, because I had to focus on my own table."

Play Texas Holdem lasted about 10 hours each day, from noon to 2:30 a.m., with short breaks throughout the day. Ware made it to the fourth day of play. Unfortunately, the cards he drew that day were terrible, he said.

"I had the worst cards I think I've ever had," Ware said. "The best I had all day was pocket 9's."

On his last hand, Ware had to play because he would not have had enough chips to put in during the next round of betting.

"I was pushed into the money," Ware said. "But, overall I was happy with the way I played, and you can't help if you get bad cards."

Although his 75th-place finish may not have completely sunk in yet, Ware has achieved some recognition for his accomplishment.

"I walked into a card room and got an ovation," Ware said. "It was kind of neat that people appreciate that someone from the area was successful."

And he will be on during ESPN's presentation of the World Series of Poker in the fall. But, until next year he will continue to sell real estate and hope for a winning streak with the cards.

"This year's World Series wasn't it," Ware said. "I'll be there next year, and looking to place better."