If it was real IV

Could we make money playing poker in a casino? After every ten live poker tournaments at Lil Kim's Cove and Club H2O, we stop to see -- by using the rules and presumed payoffs of a poker room in the Kansas City area.

BUY-INS: 70 nights x $50 = $3,500

While we've made four final tables in the last ten trips and barely missed two others, we've only had one top five finish -- a fourth on March 12. Presuming a payoff of $500 for first, $400 for second and so on:

First -- 4 ($2,000)
Second - 3 ($1,200)
Third -- 3 ($900)
Fourth - 5 ($1000)
TIES for fourth:
one two-way ($150)
one three-way ($67)
Fifth -- 4 ($400)

TOTAL -- 21 for $5,717.

We're not making double our investment anymore -- but we're still up a healthy 63.3%.

Let's figure it another, more "real" way. Since we regularly pay two dollars for a soda when we play (good for an extra 1,000 chips at Lil Kim's Cove)....

70 nights x $2 sodas = $140

First place at Lil Kim's pays $50. Second earns a "bucket of beers" -- or about $10, since we don't drink beer.

First -- 4 ($200)
Second - 3 ($30)

TOTAL -- 21 for $230.

We've made 64% more than we've spent! (Not counting tips to the server.)

But Lil Kim Cove's games are admittedly small, with 30-40 players. We're finding at NBC's poker room with 100-300 players a tournament, the going is tougher.