Poker News

Byron Liggett

Montana folks don’t give a damn what happens in Las Vegas; what’s more, they hope it stays there. Here, you’re more likely to see only bear breasts.

“Big Sky Country” is wide open spaces, long distances, breath-taking scenery, and few people. It’s small towns… and not alot of them.

Unlike other states, in Montana you don’t find big casinos and huge herds of players prowling the premises. In a state that has so few people, a full Hold’em game is considered a crowd.

Poker in Montana is more like it was on the frontier - almost every bar and tavern provides a few tables and a dealer. That’s how it’s been since two great American poker players Buffalo Bill Cody and Wild Bill Hickock came through.

At the head waters of the Missouri River, just miles from the Rocky Mountains, is Great Falls. In 1805, Lewis and Clark reported the falls could be heard from seven miles away!

Today, poker is reputed to be the second most popular indoor pastime around Great Falls. Dana Forrest knows, he has his pulse on poker around town. He owns THE BRICK Sportsbar & Casino, a local action attraction, and three other Great Falls favorites.

The 2005 “Montana No-Limit Hold’em Championship” took place at The Brick last spring. The winner, Randy Carpenter, collected $12,000 and a trip to the WSOP. And, Dana’s got game. A few years ago, he won one of the events at the Hilton Pot-O-Gold tournament in Reno. He still likes to take in a tournament when he can tear himself away from making money long enough.

If you want real Montana hospitality with your poker, see Cindy at SAN REMO in Great Falls. Here you get Homestyle Hold’em. “I cook and feed all the poker players”, Cindy says proudly, “and my daughter Lila helps me”.

The San Remo spreads three tables and the game is Hold’em. “We mostly play $1/4, $3/6/9, and $5/10,” she explains. In Montana there is a cap of no more than $300 in a pot. “We hope to see that changed soon,” Cindy says. Farther east, Billings is farmlands, ranches and stockyards.

It is the gateway to the Little Bighorn Battlefield where General Custer and the 7th Cavalry were defeated by Sitting Bull, Crazy Horse, the Sioux and Cheyenne in an historic no-limit, take-no-prisoners contest.

Now, the massacre has moved indoors. Billings has several places where poker players can make their last stand. SHOOTERS is a favorite local “flop” house. Owner Todd Hegg runs a satellite to the WSOP that’s a highlight of the year.

A lot of players get their flops fixed at DOC & EDDY’S, one of Billings’ best card clinics. Poker Manager Jerry Fischer runs the operating room. He tells players all surgery is elective and there are no insurance forms — you pay as you go whether it’s a success or not.

Missoula is called “The Garden City” because the winters there are said to be less harsh than in the rest of the state. If you’re looking for a poker game with a comfortable fit, try on THE OXFORD.

“Our players want something they can slip into that doesn’t pinch or cost more than a pair of loggin’ boots,” says owner Ralph Baker. “What we have is low limit social poker. Our players are mostly regulars.”

Montana may not have great, grand, glittering poker palaces. They may not be permitted to play large limits. But poker, which has long been a part of Montana history and culture, is alive and well in Big Sky Country. Bet on it.

Filed under: Poker News