If I D3DXCreateTextureFromResource, does this mean that if I, say, create the same texture from resource three times in a row that it is actually only loaded into memory once with an incremented reference count? Seems the MS docs have nothing to say about this at all. Thanks.

Nope, three seperate textures are created. The easiest way to check is to do SetPrivateData() on one texture, then GetPrivateData() on another. If the return value is the same, then you'll be pointing to the same object. Also, the pointer values should be the same if they point to the same object.