I hate to be "that guy", but I feel like if you want results, there are existing solutions you could use, and that if you want to learn, this is an exceptionally messy problem that won't teach much that can be applied generally.
Like, far be it from me to dictate to people what they do for recreation, but this line:
Quote:
This is the stuff that nobody knows how to do at my day job.
Seems to suggest that you're taking something you're familiar with and interested in (poker) and are using it to learn about databases and programming. If so, you have definitely chosen the wrong subject to try to learn with.
I would reassess your goals here, and unless your goal is recreation, I would abandon poker. I know your first reaction is regardless going to be "BUT I LIKE POKER! **** YOU!" but I promise the whole experience will be discouraging for you. Programming at its best has a satisfying elegance, poker programming is horrible and bogged down in detail. I know from experience.
If you're doing this to learn, give us your day job in broad terms and somebody can probably suggest a better project.