who know the scene, and you'll find a poker table. And wherever you find poker tables, you naturally find poker players.

Amateurs and professionals alike litter the poker tables of cities like Vegas, Reno, and Atlantic City. Some of them are in

it for the social interaction, some of them use it as a means of fighting off their work-related anxiety, and others are

looking to become the next Doyle Brunson or Chris Moneymaker. Regardless of what skill level and personality that an

individual brings to the table, there will always be certain characters that can be found at virtually any given poker table.

For starters, there's the one called ?the fish.? The origins of this term are unknown, though most poker players worth their

salt either know about it or learn it real quickly in the middle of a game. Basically, ?the fish? is the worst-skilled player

at any given table. The one that's going to be easy pickings, to the point that the best player at the table would be able to

beat him blindfolded. These players usually feel quite a bit of anxiety coming to a table, mainly because they tend to be

either beginners still learning the ropes (which most players will be willing to forgive) or the ones who have some idea of

how bad they are, but are sorely mistaken as to the severity of their lack of skill. As a general rule, if a player can't

identify who ?the fish? is after the first few hands, then chances are, they're ?the fish.?

Another type that often ends up at poker tables would be the relaxed player. They tend to be the ones that play just for

kicks, completely unconcerned with how much money they might win or lose, or whether or not their skill improves. As such,

they only rarely show genuine anxiety or fear, though not all of them are adept at faking it for the purposes of a bluff.

These players can sometimes play simply for the joy of playing and the social interaction that comes with poker. Others

started out to play a good game, but something more pressing came around and they've become eager to drop out of the game.

The rarest type of relaxed player would be the one that's confident that he's got so much money to burn that he could lose

everything in one hand and he'd still walk away with more cash than he knows how to spend.

And then, there's the competitor. In every event where there are winners and losers, there will always be one player that's

in it to compete, to improve, and to win. Poker has a number of skilled players, some of whom have become professionals

simply because they enjoy the thrill of competition. These players are the ones that pick out tables with players they

believe are on their level or higher, discarding any anxiety that might spring about from fear of defeat. Their purpose is

relatively simple, if one takes the time to think about it. If they play against their betters and lose, they take the time

to learn from the game. If they play against their betters and win, it not only represents an improvement in their game, but

it also speaks a basic truth. They just won.