After a string of several wins, I finally got my comeuppance last night at the hands of the Belterra Casiono in Switzerland County, Indiana. I lost more than sixty dollars at the 2-4 Texas Hold'em Table. I learned quite a bit from the experience, too, though, and I also had an unforgettable experience while playing. First of all, I learned that the only winner at low-limit poker in the casino is the casino itself. I set down at a fresh Hold'em table that began about 7:20. Of the ten people that sat down, myself included, when I got up to leave with a much smaller stack of chips than I started with, there was one other fellow who still had about what he started with. All the rest had either busted out, or lost enough money that they just decided to call it a night. You just can't beat the rake on a game like that. The Indiana Gaming Commission let's the casino take 10% of every hand up to five dollars, no matter what limit is being played at the table. That means for 2-4, the actual percentage being collected is right around 9.5%. For limits like the 15-30 table, the actual percentage is much, much lower because every hand the $5 cap is enforced. The reason I was able to stay in and play, even with the Draconian rake in place, was the unfrgettable experience that I mentioned earlier. I won one hand wirth over a hundred dollars. The amount of the hand is not the reason it will be so memorable though, it is what I won it with, and what I beat. I started with the jack and ten of diamonds, and in a game like this, you just couldn't get much better of a starting hand. There were frequently seven or eight people seeing a flop, and I was the only one who could resist taking a look more than once. The flop was the king of diamonds, the queen of diamonds, and the eight of hearts. Now right now I know that you probbly see where this is going, but at the time, my only thought was, "Hey, I've got a four-flush and an open-ended staright draw." The betting was moderate, but I had to call at this point, and I was glad I did when the turn was the ace of spades, completing my nut straight. Betting got a little heavier, and of course I was glad to see it do it. The only rivers I was afraid of was any diamond other than the ace or the nine, or an ace other than the diamond, or any king, queen or eight, because these guys were certainly betting like they had some outs. The river however, as you probably have figured out, was the ace of diamonds, completing my best possibly hand in poker, my Royal Flush. I'm excited all over again just writing it down right now. My thought at the time was, "Okay, some guy just hit aces full, and I have the freakin' unbeatable nuts, and this will be an excellent time to see if I can stay calm and act like nothing different." I was bet into, I raised, I was re-raised, and then the orginal bettor capped it off. I called slowly and methodically, and the guy behind me did the same. All the money that could get in was in, and that was when my ears started to burn a little. The capper turned over his AKQ98 diamond flush. The button turned over his AK for his power-house aces full of kings. I just said, "Well, I'm sorry, but I have the jack and ten of diamonds." They were so surprised they didn't know what that meant at first. So I added, "I guess that makes my royal flush." The table erupted. Immediately people started talking bad beat jackpots and special bonuses for royal flushes. I wanted to see, of course, but I said, "Well, I wouldn't mind starting with the pot." The dealer pushed it to me. Unfortunatey, Belterra offers no bonuses, not even a lousy hat. That hand made my stay long enough to be entertaining, anyway. I won't be back, though, until that five dollar rake is inconsequential.