February 16, 2006 at 11:36 a.m.
New law allowing for poker tourneys gives players opportunity to socialize, spawns new business too
New law allowing for poker tourneys gives players opportunity to socialize, spawns new business too
Texas Hold ‘Em is now being played just about any night of the week within minutes of anywhere in Chisago County. It’s right up there with the other legalized games whist, 500, cribbage, bridge, gin, euchre, skat, sheephead, pinochle and smear.
Wednesday night last week Shafer Crossroads Bar was bustling, mostly with customers playing Texas Hold ‘Em and their spectators. Four tables were going with six to eight players each.
Tournament tables, poker chips, and playing cards are supplied by Usher’s Poker Magic, a local business specializing in Texas Hold ‘Em. (call 462-5973)
Shafer Crossroads is one of several sites in Washington and Chisago counties where Ron and Luann Usher’s Poker Magic crew supervises Texas Hold ‘Em sessions. Poker Magic also runs games at JJ’s Pizza and Bowl in North Branch, and at Players Beach Club, the Forest Laker, the VFW and Legion posts in Forest Lake, plus sites in Hugo and East Bethel.
Usher is busy six nights a week, he said.
He came to this new enterprise after becoming an experienced “hobby” player at Deadwood, South Dakota poker tournaments. He and wife Luann, retired, asked themselves one day why not put their expertise to work and organize poker sessions.
At Shafer Crossroads, Usher’s employee Troy Lewandowski was the keeper of the rulebook and arbiter of any disputes. He said he’s never had any trouble at sessions.
Usher added, “I set these up for people to enjoy themselves. This is a social thing; we get a cross section of people from all ages and they get out to places maybe they wouldn’t visit otherwise.
“I want them to walk out of here having a good basic understanding of Texas Hold ‘Em and to have had a good time.”
Clientele who want to play put their names on a sign-up sheet and Usher randomly divides the list into tables. It makes for better play, he thinks, if he splits up groups of friends and couples.
They play until the house-provided chips are gone. There is no fee collected and no cash is even allowed on the table. Players have to be at least 18.
As people run out of chips the tables are consolidated until the last player with chips wins.
Without getting into too many specifics Usher explained he can bring a game to conclusion by progressively upping the blinds.
Shafer Crossroads runs two sessions, as do most of Usher’s sites. Each session needs to wrap up inside of two to two-and-a-half hours. The first session begins about 7 p.m.at all of Poker Magic’s sites.
Dealers for each table rotate.
The maximum payout per session under state law is $200 in either cash or gift certificates.
The sessions must accommodate needs of disabled players-- ie: an inventory of braille cards.
The bar or hosting site is not allowed to receive a direct financial benefit from the action.
At tournaments where a fee is assessed, any revenues must go back into payout for winnings, explained a sheriff’s department investigator. Doug Henning said he’s taken lots of calls about Texas Hold “Em and how to do it legally.
New to the game?
Usher will sit down with newcomers to Texas Hold ‘Em before a session begins and go over the game’s rules and nuances.
He clearly likes the educational aspect of this business. “We do it by the book and apply the rules consistently so that when someone has played our sessions they would feel comfortable in any casino, no problem at all.”
Other formats around...
The less formal Poker Magic sessions shouldn’t be confused with the tournament play at venues around here, like at Bunkie’s in Chisago City-- which is affiliated with the Minnesota Poker League. This tournament is a progressive tournament, with finalists vying for a spot on the World Poker Tour.
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