TEXAS HOLDEM ONLINE POKER

 Texas Holdem has arrived in Thief River Falls. The high stakes game has people flocking to poker tables. Last weekend, players lined up to play in the Heartland Poker Tour Tournament at Seven Clans, Casino, Hotel and Water Park near Thief River Falls.
 Against 321 players, Brett Kuznia won the tournament at the casino on Sunday. The Stephen resident walked away with $22,331. 
 Perhaps the high payout that’s possible in this game is one reason for its popularity, but it’s definitely a game of skill and challenge, as well.
 As a gauge of how popular Texas Holdem has become, a search on a popular Internet search engine yielded nearly 33 million results.
 How does one play Texas Holdem?
 The Two players to the left of the dealer start by posting the blinds (starting bet). If there are only two players in the game the action will rotate from small blind to big blind. A Standard deck of 52 playing cards is shuffled by the dealer. Each player is dealt two cards face down. These are called hole or pocket cards. The player to the left of the players who posted the blinds starts betting. This level of play is called pre-flop. (There are various levels of betting, these are determined prior to entering play.) The players involved are allowed to either raise, check, call or fold.
 The dealer then flips the next three cards face up on the table. These cards are called the flop. These are shared cards that anyone can use in combination with their two pocket cards to form a poker hand.
 The next round of betting begins with the player to the left of the dealer. After the round of betting is completed the dealer flips another card. This is called the turn card. Players can use this sixth card now to form a five-card poker hand. 
 Another round of betting begins with the player to the left of the dealer.
 The last and sometimes the most anticipated card is dealt by the dealer. This card is called the river. Players can now use any of the five cards on the table or the two cards in their pocket to form a five-card poker hand. The final round of betting begins with the player to the left of the dealer. The showdown begins with all remaining players. The best poker hand wins and claims the pot.

 “It was one of the most competitive fields we’ve had,” said Greg Lang of the competitors vying for the pot last weekend at Seven Clans. “The competition was fierce,” he said.
 Lang is one of the two founders of the Heartland Poker Tournament Tour. Lang explained that in January of this year, he and his poker buddy, Todd Anderson, were talking about Texas Holdem and its growing popularity. They even began discussing a television show that would combine elements of reality television and Texas Holdem. As strong as reality television is and poker is, Lang and Anderson believed that could work. They then realized that no one was doing what they were proposing to do.
 The game at Seven Clans Casino began on Friday. Preliminary qualifying tables were on October 28 and 29 at 10 a.m. and 5 p.m. The top 20 percent from those events advanced to Sunday. The buy-in was $250 plus $25.
 The Heartland Poker Tour is airing on television stations and cable networks throughout the United States and Canada. 
 Each episode of the Heartland Poker Tour will air once a week on these stations and cable networks for 52 consecutive weeks, beginning Oct. 1, 2005. The closest television station broadcasting the tournament is KVLY TV in Fargo, N.D. They broadcast the final table in the tournament on Sundays at 11:30 p.m.
 According to Lang, the tournament played at Seven Clans, will be broadcast in two episodes starting Nov. 26 and then on Dec. 1.
 The next Heartland Poker Tournament will be at the Grand Casino in Hinkley Nov. 25-27. Lang said he expects it to be one of the largest tournaments they’ve held to date. The pool could consist of 500 to 600 players and the purse to be $100,000 and up to $200,000. The buy-in is $400 plus $40.
 The total purse at the Seven Clans was $79,750, and they paid down to the 30th place, which amounted to $478.
 Jeff Jasperson, general manager at Seven Clans, said he was very pleased with the event. Players came from all over the United States.“It was very exciting.” 
 Lang said the community should be excited about the economic impact from the event, as well. Lang estimated that 70 to 80 percent of the players participating in the event had never been to the community or Seven Clans Casino. And Lang added that Seven Clans did a great job of hosting the event.
 Seven Clans was so impressed by the popularity of the event and its potential that it has signed on to host another tournament in May.
 The following is a list of the top 10 finishes: 1. Brett Kuznia, Stephen, $22,331; 2. Clayton Lilleby, Lake Park, $11,166; 3. Christopher Banks, Warroad, $7,178; 4. Natalia Thompson, Morris, $5,582; 5. Chad Ransom, Fargo, N.D., $4,785; 6. Dana Mjoness, Fargo, N.D., $3,988; 7. Devon Garrett, Hayward, Wis., $3,191; 8. Scott Strom, Crookston, $2,792; 9. Brian Horshine, Thief River Falls, $2,392; 10. Dave Kundert, Lindstrom, $1,993.