The best card sharks in the world are competing for top dollar at Foxwoods Casino. It's all part of the World Poker Tour, and the fans can't get enough of it.

"These are the big guys, the big names in poker," says Gary Dziatko from Colchester.

The World Poker Tour is back at Foxwoods, where elite poker players meet in a darkly lit, fog-filled room, for a big showdown.

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"You can watch the players, their concentration, to see how intense they are," says Dziatko. "That doesn't always come out from studying the books."

Today's action had poker experts who have shared their secrets in books. The guy in the shades is Phil Hellmuth, and there's Doyle Brunson under the 10 gallon hat. To fans, these are the poker gods.

"It's like being in a room with Babe Ruth, Barry Bonds," says Ed Ryba, of East Hartford. "All the guys sitting at the table -- it's incredible."

Host Mike Sexton has seen the game's popularity explode.

"It's elevated the status of poker nationwide, where it's accepted now nationwide as a competition and a sport, rather than a gambling activity," says World Poker Tour host Mike Sexton.

The real thrill comes from the fans, who not only get to see some of their idols in action, but they get to learn poker tips of their own.

"To see if they play the way they write in their books," says Dziatko.

"I'm just here trying to pick up a read on any one of these guys, see if they have tells," says Barry Knight.

But watching the experts, has drawbacks too Knight says.

"Unfortunately if I do see a tell, it's probably a fake one, which will tell me the opposite of what I want to know."

So if you want to 'go all in' you have to do more than watch closely, you gotta walk the walk.

"Does that mean I have to have the shades on too?"
"You look like a player with those shades," says Sexton. "I think you'd be tough at the table."
"You think I'd fit in well?"
"You got a poker look to you!"
"Excellent."

Source: WTNH