Poker Room Near Madison Wi
Ho-Chunk Madison Details The Ho-Chunk Madison poker room has 8 electronic poker (e-poker) tables that combines the best of traditional and online poker for the ultimate poker experience. E-poker at Ho-Chunk Madison is 'Live' poker, played on an automated poker table that allows up to ten players to compete against each other. Madison-area business. The wood cycle & hayloft gallery, 1239 south fish hatchery road, oregon, wi, 53575608.835.8462 hours monday-friday 8am-5pm, weekends.
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Wisconsin has many great options in relation to Texas holdem poker rooms and
you won’t have to travel too far to find a table near you.
This state boasts, albeit perhaps infamously, that it’s the birthplace of one
of poker’s biggest names in Phil Hellmuth. Irrespective of what you think of the
man, he’s a fantastic no limit Texas holdem tournament player and he has the
record of the most WSOP bracelets of all time.
In any case, the poker scene is alive and well in the state with a few great
options. Particularly Potawatomi Hotel and Casino, which has the biggest poker
room in the state and is a 24 hour a day 7 days a week operation. After
this the Ho Chunk Wisconsin Dells is the next best poker room that you’ll find
in the state.
Given Wisconsin has such a vibrant poker community you’d think they would be
taking steps to regulate online play, but unfortunately this is not the case.
You can’t play any online poker in the state, unless you roll the dice
and play with an offshore provider that accepts US players, and we wouldn’t
recommend that.
The state offers a vast range of gambling options with pari-mutuel betting on
horse and dog racing being permitted. Casinos can operate, as is evidenced by
the below listed poker rooms, but these must be based on native Indian
reservations.
Finally, the state also runs and regulates the state lottery which allows
residents to purchase tickets for major lotteries like Powerball and Mega
Millions, as well as state based draws and instant win games.
But back to poker, because that’s what we care about the most. The standard
of play in Wisconsin is good without being great.
You’ll come across mostly amateurs battling it out in the smaller poker rooms
with the better players going to the larger rooms where there is more action and
higher stakes. If you have a decent game you should still be able to find a good
edge in the larger poker rooms though, so don’t be too concerned.
List of Wisconsin Poker Rooms
Here is our compiled list of all the poker rooms you can find in the state of Wisconsin:
Bad River Lodge & Casino
- Location: Odanah, Wisconsin
- Hours: Wednesday from 5pm until 2am and Saturday from 6pm until 2am
- Tables: 2
- Games: No tournaments are offered at the Bad River Lodge and Casino and
you’ll only find a $1 / $2 no limit holdem cash game running when they are open. - Ambience: This small poker area in the main Casino features two tables which
are clean and well maintained. The lighting and chairs are comfortable enough
for a longer session and no smoking is permitted at the table. Unfortunately,
they don’t have any TVs around the table so you’ll have to people watch to stay
entertained between hands. - Hospitality: You’ll only get food service while you play poker at this
Casino. On top of this they sometimes run some jackpots and promotions to keep
you coming back for more. - Players: The players in this poker room, which is only just two tables in the
Casino, will be quite random. You could come across some good players every now
and then but mostly it will be weak to average amateurs taking to the felt. From
all reports the staff and dealers here are quite good and look after players
well.
Ho-Chunk Wisconsin Dells
- Location: Baraboo, Wisconsin
- Hours: Open daily from 10am until 4am
- Tables: 12
- Games: Cash players will find $1 / $2 no limit holdem, $3 / $6 limit holdem
and $2 / $5 pot limit Omaha in this poker room. They also run a $5 / $10 limit
holdem game on Saturday. If you are looking for tournament play they hold
them on Sunday, Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. These are no limit holdem and
the buy in ranges from $40 to $90. - Ambience: This no smoking poker room is partially separate from the rest of
the Casino and features TVs on the walls the to keep you entertained between
hands and dark green felt tables that are clean and well maintained. The room is
nicely appointed with a modern decor and enough space for it to be comfortable.
Over all it’s a nice room to play in. - Hospitality: Comps can be earned while playing cash games in this poker room
at a rate of $1 per hour through the Rewards Club. You’ll also get cocktail and
food service at the table so you need never miss a hand. Finally, they also
offer players the chance to win more through a progressive bad beat jackpot,
high hand prizes and some other bonuses. - Players: You’ll come across a mix of regulars and visitors in this poker room
with the overall play being quite soft. Dealers and staff go out of their way to
make you feel comfortable, and you’ll always find a $1 / $2 no limit holdem cash
game running when they are open. It’s well worth a visit if you are in the area
and want some poker action.
Lake of the Torches Casino
- Location: Lac Du Flambeau, Wisconsin
- Hours: Open Thursday from 4pm until close
- Tables: 3
- Games: You will only find a tournament played here on Thursday at 6pm, with
registration opening at 4pm. - Ambience: This isn’t really a poker room; they just offer a weekly
tournament. The tables are temporary and are good enough for what is offered
here. They have TVs around the room and no smoking is permitted. - Hospitality: You’ll only get basic cocktail service while playing in the
tournament at this Casino. - Players: It’s hard to say what the other players will be like in the weekly
tournament, although overall the field will be quite soft. So, if you can play
weekly and have a solid game you should be able to make a tidy profit in the
long run. Keep in mind the tournament won’t always run, so call ahead to check.
LCO Casino
- Location Hayward, Wisconsin
- Hours Tuesday, Thursday and Friday from 4pm, Wednesday from 6pm, Saturday from 12pm and
Sunday from 10am - Tables 5
- Games Tournaments are held on Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday with the games
being Pot Limit Omaha on the Sunday, and no limit holdem on the other two days.
The buy in for all tournaments is $30. If you are looking for a cash game,
you’ll find $1 / $2 no limit holdem tables running most of the time. - Ambience This small poker room features TVs on the walls to keep you
entertained while you play in a completely non-smoking environment. The decor is
plain yet modern with decent lighting and well maintained tables and chairs, so
you will be in relative comfort while you play. - Hospitality You can earn comps for the buffet based on your cash game play
in the poker room, on top of this they also offer cocktail service while you
play. You can also get food, but this is available in the room next door and not
in the poker room itself. They also offer a progressive bad beat jackpot to keep
you coming back for more, especially because you are contributing all those
dropped dollars. - PlayersYou’ll come across a mixed bag of players in this room with the play
being quite soft in the tournaments and a little bit harder in the cash games.
Some regulars take to the tables so make sure you analyse the play for a little
while when you sit down to ensure you make the right moves against the right
opponents. Staff and dealers are competent and welcoming in this poker room.
Oneida Casino
- Location: Hayward, Wisconsin
- Hours: Tuesday, Thursday and Friday from 4pm, Wednesday from 6pm, Saturday from 12pm and
Sunday from 10am - Tables: 5
- Games: Tournaments are held on Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday with the games
being Pot Limit Omaha on the Sunday, and no limit holdem on the other two days.
The buy in for all tournaments is $30. If you are looking for a cash game,
you’ll find $1 / $2 no limit holdem tables running most of the time. - Ambience: This small poker room features TVs on the walls to keep you
entertained while you play in a completely non-smoking environment. The decor is
plain yet modern with decent lighting and well maintained tables and chairs, so
you will be in relative comfort while you play. - Hospitality: You can earn comps for the buffet based on your cash game play
in the poker room, on top of this they also offer cocktail service while you
play. You can also get food, but this is available in the room next door and not
in the poker room itself. They also offer a progressive bad beat jackpot to keep
you coming back for more, especially because you are contributing all those
dropped dollars. - Players: You’ll come across a mixed bag of players in this room with the play
being quite soft in the tournaments and a little bit harder in the cash games.
Some regulars take to the tables so make sure you analyse the play for a little
while when you sit down to ensure you make the right moves against the right
opponents. Staff and dealers are competent and welcoming in this poker room.
Potawatomi Hotel & Casino
- Location: Milwaukee, Wisconsin
- Hours: 24 hours, 7 days
- Tables: 20
- Games: No regular tournaments are offered at this Casino poker room, but the
mid states poker tour does make a yearly stop if you want some action. Other
than that, you’ll find some regular cash games including $1 / $3 and $2 / $5 no
limit holdem, $5 / $5 and $5 / $10 pot limit Omaha high, $2 / $4, $3 / $6 and $4
/ $8 limit holdem, $3 / $5 mixed and $3 / $6 limit Omaha 8s or better. - Ambience: This no smoking poker room is open and spacious with pink felt
tables and comfortable seats. The bright and colorful patter carpet clashes well
with the beige decor in this well-lit room. They have plenty of TVs across the
walls so you can stay entertained while you play. - Hospitality: Comps can be earned by players in cash games through the Fire
Keeper’s Club. On top of this they offer cocktail and food service at the table
so you need never miss a hand. You’ll also be in the running for some more cash
with a progressive bad beat jackpot. - Players: You’ll come across some decent play in this poker room given the
location and size. Sometimes you may need to wait a bit of time for a seat in a
game, so be sure to get in early if you don’t want to spend too long waiting
around. Dealers and management here are great and go out of their way to make
you feel comfortable while you play, which is essential these days. For best
value visit on the weekends and sit in on some low stakes no limit holdem cash
games.
St. Croix Casino Turtle Lake
- Location: Turtle Lake, Wisconsin
- Hours: Open Thursday to Sunday from 10am
- Tables: 10
- Games: You’ll find tournaments here on Thursday, Saturday and Sunday with the
game being pot limit Omaha on Sunday and no limit holdem on
Thursday and Saturday. The buy in ranges from $50 up to $75. If you are looking
for a cash game you can find $1 / $2 no limit holdem tables running here when
they are open. - Ambience: This non-smoking poker room is open, spacious and features TVs on
the walls to keep you entertained while you play. The tables and chairs are
clean and comfortable and the room lighting is at a good level on the eyes for
longer sessions. - Hospitality: You can earn comps through the TLC Player’s Club at a rate of 75
cents per hour in cash games. On top of this they offer food and cocktail
service at the table so you need never miss a hand. They also run a bad beat
jackpot to keep you coming back for more. - Players: You’ll come across mostly local regulars and amateur visitors in
this poker room which means the play will be somewhere between soft and decent
at most times. If you take your time and analyse the table, you should be able
to pick up quite quickly who the amateurs are. The staff and dealers in this
room are good enough and will provide you with decent customer service as would
be expected in a poker room. For the best games visit on
Friday and Saturday evenings.
Conclusion
Wisconsin is not only the birthplace of the famous poker player Phil
Hellmuth, but it also offers quite a few poker rooms for local players. On your
next trip to the state of if you live there and are looking for another poker
room use this handy guide to find what you need.
Bellied up to a table in Players Sports Bar, the east-side tavern he's owned for a quarter-century, Mark Kroon adjusts his cap and points a thumb over his shoulder to a corner of the room.
'We used to play right back here,' he says. 'This was about the mid-'80s. Phil probably wasn't even old enough to be in the bar at the time.'
He's talking about Phil Hellmuth, the Madison native and legendary University of Wisconsin dropout known as the Poker Brat. At 24, Hellmuth became the youngest ever to win the game's biggest prize and is now arguably the most famous -- if not the best -- poker player of all time.
But when his old playing partner won the World Series of Poker in 1989, Kroon wasn't exactly star-struck.
'I'm like, 'He won? He wasn't that good of a player.'
As it turns out, Kroon was no slouch himself. A few years later, at Hellmuth's invitation, he entered -- and won -- his first Las Vegas tournament, netting a cool 40 grand. Then, when online poker took off in the early 2000s, Kroon -- known by his handle 'P0ker H0' -- plopped himself at his computer up to 12 hours a day. For a time, a major poker website ranked him the top online player in the world. The game was booming, and by the mid-2000s he was touring North America with legends like Hellmuth, Annie Duke and 2004 WSOP winner Greg Raymer, giving lessons to aspiring players.
'It was almost too good to be true,' he says.
Meanwhile, his hometown tavern kept hosting weekly poker games. Contestants usually ponied up $50 to play each other. None of that went to the bar, which didn't take a 'rake,' or commission for each pot, like casinos do.
'We used to have a tournament every Monday night,' says Kroon. 'We'd have 50 players. Everyone would look forward to having a burger, drinking a beer, playing poker and socializing.'
But in September 2011, the fun stopped.
As Kroon tells it, one afternoon a man in a suit came into the bar and, nice as could be, informed the staff that he was from the Green Bay office of the state Department of Justice.
According to an incident report provided by the DOJ, the state Division of Criminal Investigation had, a month earlier, received an anonymous complaint that Players was hosting illegal poker games.
Kroon was confused. Taverns across Madison and Dane County had been doing this for years. What's the big deal?
According to the report, the agent later explained to Kroon's mother, who co-owns the bar, that poker -- when played for money -- is illegal.
Kroon says the stakes were clear: Keep it up, and he could face felony gambling charges and lose his liquor license.
'I said, 'Okay, that's it. I'm not going to lose my bar.'
The games stopped, but three years later Kroon is still irked.
'We had Madison police officers play here!' he says. 'They think it's ridiculous, too.'
Lawsuit in the works
Just about everyone, from grandmothers to President Obama to Madison's mayor, has played some variant of poker. But Wisconsin is among roughly half the states where playing for money is considered illegal, unless you're at one of a dozen tribal-run casinos that have poker rooms.
Still, cash games or tournaments like the ones at Players can be found nightly in Dane County, even though participating could cost you a $1,000 fine and nine months in the clink. Hosting a game could yield a felony charge, $50,000 in fines and 15 years in prison.
Even home games -- like the $10 games my friends and I play -- are against the law, according to the Department of Justice.
But area poker players are launching an effort to change that.
Last December, leaders of the state's chapter of the Poker Players Alliance, a nonprofit organization that aims to decriminalize the game, asked local players to chip in money to hire a lawyer. By June, they met their $10,000 goal and retained Stan Davis, a local private attorney and former chief legal counsel under Gov. Jim Doyle, to challenge the state's interpretation of the law.
Cross Plains resident Steve Verrett directs the Alliance. The crackdown at Players spurred him to act, but he's long been peeved by the notion that his poker-playing buddies -- including his wife -- have to be 'shady' about a hobby they think is perfectly legal.
Case in point: Area players are even wary of publicizing a closed Facebook page that lists upcoming games and lets players talk trash and relive hands. They let me join the group, but only after screening me with a phone call.
'It's almost like we're an underground criminal organization,' Verrett says. 'It's shameful.'
Lax enforcement
The agent's warning to Players appears anomalous. Verrett has never heard of strictly poker-related arrests in Wisconsin, and spokespersons for the Madison Police Department and Dane County Sheriff's Office couldn't recall instances of cops breaking up games. The latter chuckled at my question.
'We're certainly not going around and doing search warrants on people's houses that are doing poker tournaments,' says Elise Schaffer, spokesperson for the sheriff's department.
An Internet search turned up a few relevant cases. In 1997, Dane County deputies, acting on an anonymous tip and undercover work, raided an afternoon game in the basement of Cross Roads Tavern in Cottage Grove. No players were arrested, but the owners got three years' probation after admitting to allowing betting on sports, poker and blackjack, according to media reports.
In 2005, Department of Justice agents raided the Dream Lanes bowling alley on Madison's east side, seizing video gambling machines and sports-betting cards, as well as poker chips, playing cards and banners advertising Hold 'Em tournaments.
But by and large, poker seems to fly under law enforcement's radar. Dana Brueck, spokesperson for the Department of Justice, hints that's no accident.
'Both law enforcement and district attorneys are mindful of how they manage their valuable yet limited resources,' she writes in an email.
Even with lax enforcement, Verrett says the Players incident shook people up. Last fall, he and others considered calling the state's bluff by setting up a card table at the state Capitol and fighting subsequent citations in court. But the possible penalties scared them. Instead, the group intends to file a legal petition as early as this month to ask for a 'declaratory judgment' from a judge in an as-yet-undetermined county, Davis says.
That process, he explains, will get a judge to rule whether poker is, as he and Verrett assert, legal under current statutes.
'If we didn't think we had a strong argument, we wouldn't be bringing this in the first place,' Davis says.
Skill or chance?
When it comes to poker's legality, states hold the cards. They can ban or allow the game, and the rules run the gamut from allowing poker in homes, casinos or licensed card rooms in states like California to airtight bans in Arkansas and West Virginia. In between are states like Colorado, where home games are okay if the contestants previously knew each other, or Michigan, where only senior citizens can play for pots no bigger than $5.
Wisconsin's constitution bans most forms of gambling outside of tribal-run casinos governed by gaming compacts between the tribes and the state. But the ban, Verrett says, hinges on a separate state statute that defines betting.
'A bet,' the statute reads, 'is a bargain in which the parties agree that, dependent upon chance even though accompanied by some skill, one stands to win or lose something of value specified in the agreement.'
In that skill-versus-chance continuum, Verrett sees an opening. In recent years, judges in other states have ruled that poker -- like darts or golf, and unlike roulette or the lottery -- requires much more skill than luck.
For years, that argument was based on common sense. After all, how would top pros like Phil Ivey, Hellmuth and Johnny Chan perennially play deep into major tournaments? Are they just luckier?
In the age of Big Data, the argument runs deeper. In recent years, testimony in cases in New York, Idaho and Pennsylvania has made headway in proving that skill predominates in games like Texas Hold 'Em.
When I asked the DOJ's Brueck for the state's stance, she sent me several decade-old documents, including a 2004 article in the Wisconsin Law Enforcement Bulletin titled 'The Legality of Poker Tournaments.' Its thesis was clear.
'Chance predominates over skill in all poker games,' it says. 'This is due to the fact that the game involves a deck of cards in which nobody can predict...what card will appear next.' Poker played for money is 'illegal and should be discontinued.'
Davis declined to speculate on who might oppose their effort. Perhaps the justice department or the tribes will step in, or it could generate heat from the anti-gambling crowd. For now, Davis says he's focused on getting a judge to rule on the statute.
A court win
Idaho's gaming law mirrors Wisconsin's, and if opponents materialize here, Verrett and company can only dream they'll mount as weak a case as the state of Idaho did this spring.
In July 2013, Mike Kasper, a radio host in Boise, was playing Hold 'Em with eight buddies and one undercover cop at a friend's rental property when police entered with guns drawn.
'It was shocking,' Kasper says. 'There were literally two soccer moms at the game. We're not talking about criminals.'
The players were cited with misdemeanor gambling charges. Most pleaded guilty and paid their fines, but Kasper and another man took their case to a judge. In May they won, as the judge agreed with experts who contended that poker is a 'bona fide contest of skill.'
It didn't hurt that the state's sole witness, a detective, copped to playing poker himself.
Testifying for the defense was James McManus, a journalist who famously parlayed a $4,000 advance from Harper's Magazine to write about the 2000 World Series of Poker into a fifth-place finish that earned him $247,760.
In his testimony, McManus cited statistical studies -- including one by Steven Levitt of Freakonomics fame and another that analyzed a billion hands of online poker -- concluding that skilled players simply win more money than their opponents.
The Idaho case was not the first to favor poker players over the state. In 2012, a federal judge in New York overturned the gambling conviction of a New Jersey man who'd profited from poker games he hosted in a Staten Island warehouse. In that ruling, the judge cited a study analyzing 415 million hands of online poker and concluded, again, that skill trumps luck.
Davis declines to reveal his legal strategy but hinted such research might be his ace in the hole.
'It is not an analysis where you've just got some people saying, 'Well, we really, really believe this.' It's quite scientific.'
Casino poker
This will all unfold as a separate legal battle continues over the Ho-Chunk Nation's right to continue offering 'electronic poker' -- a touch-screen game with no physical cards, chips or dealers -- at its Madison casino on the city's far east side. Ho-Chunk recently appealeda federal judge's ruling that the games violate gaming compacts.
The casino, formerly known as Dejope Bingo Hall, opened its eight-table poker room in November 2010. It occasionally draws crowds for bigger tournaments. But the casino's executive manager, Daniel Brown, says poker is more of 'an amenity' than a moneymaker for the casino, as the game's popularity seems to have waned since federal authorities cracked down on online poker in 2011.
Speaking for himself and not the Ho-Chunk Nation, Brown suspects the state's tribes might oppose loosening poker laws, as such a move could be seen as infringing on the gaming compacts.
Multiple calls and emails requesting comment from Ho-Chunk leaders in Black River Falls were not returned.
Seeking a local politician's take, I phoned Mayor Paul Soglin, who I heard was a poker fan. Soglin says he used to play more often -- 'primarily Texas Hold 'Em, occasionally Omaha hi-low' -- but has cut back to 'six or eight times a year' since being reelected in 2011. That campaign, by the way, got a $1,250 boost from Hellmuth, a Soglin supporter.
On why he plays, Soglin says he likes 'trying to see if you can outwit others. It's the competition.'
In his experience, skill trumps luck, he says, but he's not stumping for legalization. He says he'd need more details, and, as mayor, he has bigger fish to fry, like managing budgets and tackling racial disparities.
Fair point. And support for poker might not win political points in a county that in 2004 soundly voted down a referendum to expand gambling at Ho-Chunk's Madison facility.
If poker were legalized, Verrett says he or others might someday open stand-alone poker rooms, which exist in such states as California and Ohio. The games would be regulated and more secure than 'underground' tavern games that risk being robbed, he says. That could yield a 'free market' effect of more options and better games.
'If it was a legitimate place...I think you'd see more people come out of the woodwork.'
More players, of course, also means more money. That's music to the ears to some local players.
'Think of all the college kids at UW from all over the world who will come and play,' said one commenter on the local poker Facebook page. 'This is a never-ending river of talent and money!'
All in
In early May, I had what I like to call 'my mini-McManus moment,' when my poker-playing neighbor drove me to a tavern outside of Madison for its weekly No-Limit Texas Hold 'Em tournament.
I didn't have an advance to blow, but the buy-in was a reasonable $45, which bought me a tidy stack of 20,000 in chips and a seat at one of three green-felted tables.
It's an intimidating thing to walk into a roomful of 32 people, mostly men, knowing they want your money and are quick at spying ineptitude. Among them, the amateurs are the 'fish' or the 'donkeys.'
I hoped, briefly, that my competitors would mistake me for someone who'd been there before. But when I folded my first hand, instead of mucking the cards into the center, I set a pile of chips on top of them and said 'fold,' like I do at my low-stakes home games. Play paused for one and a half excruciating seconds.
'You fold?' the dealer asked me.
'Um, yes?'
'Then I need your cards.'
'Right.'
Men, meet your donkey.
I took some deep breaths, then watched the others do battle while I happily folded another dozen crappy hands.
Each player in Hold 'Em is dealt two 'hole cards' face down. Five common cards -- three on 'the flop,' then one each on the 'turn' and 'river' -- are then dealt face up between rounds of betting.
My admittedly poor strategy was to play 'weak-tight' early on, folding unless I caught strong hole cards. Eventually I did and won a small pile of chips. At the first intermission, my neighbor offered me a menthol and congratulations on not being the first guy to bust.
Then things got interesting. I went all in on a big pot with mediocre cards, sensing my opponents would assume I had something good. I guessed right. Later, I reluctantly called with a King-Queen unsuited after a gray-bearded man named Gary shoved his chips in. He turned over a Queen-Jack suited. The flop-turn-river went my way. A few hands after that, I made a bundle by catching a flush on the river.
Poker Room Near Madison Wi Dells
Nearly five hours in, I was astounded to find myself at the final table. I pushed all in again with nothing but a pair of nines on the flop, logic again telling me the time was right. Not so logically, I wondered if the others heard my heart pounding.
That bluff worked, too. Minutes later, an aggressive player in his late 20s, two seats to my left, shoved in his stack before I saw what I was holding. I made a little cave with my hands, pried up the corners of my cards, and spied two aces. Thank you, Jesus. I called. I won again.
Suddenly it was down to the final four, and my stack was the biggest. The guy to my right, wearing a flat-brimmed ball cap and a sneaky grin, suggested we call it a night and split the $1,460 pot, with me taking a little extra. I happily concurred, and the dealing was done. The organizer handed me a few hundy that I coolly tucked into my wallet. But on the drive back to Mad Town, my neighbor and I let it out.
Poker Room Near Madison Wisconsin
'Can you believe that shit?!'
We could not.
I didn't fall asleep until 3 a.m., and the next day I felt wiry and weird and didn't get much work done. But I was also exhilarated. For less than $50, I got to take some risks, place some bets and stare down guys who could beat the crap out of me if they wanted to.
Wanted: Legitimacy
I tell a brief version of this story to Verrett.
'It was fun, right?'
Damn right, though winning helped. Still, wasn't I lucky?
That I won my first-ever tournament suggests so. Pocket Aces on the final table's pivotal hand was four-leaf-clover-esque. I did follow some basic rules of thumb, gleaned from several hours of online poker tutorials, my home games, a couple strategy books and conversations with my experienced neighbor.
But I'm smart enough to know that, over the long haul, I'd lose nearly every time. Judging by the erudition on the local poker Facebook page, these are players who know the odds of making a straight by the river from a gutshot straight draw on the flop (16.4%. I looked it up).
Verrett, who holds an electrical engineering degree, learned poker at age 20 in a tent in Saudi Arabia, when he and his Army comrades would play during the first Operation Desert Storm. His passion for the game didn't peak until he moved here from Chicago in 2004. Players in Wisconsin are topnotch, he says. But they want to be legitimate.
'We don't feel we're breaking the law,' he says. 'We're just trying to clarify it so people don't get into trouble.'
[Editor's Note: Stan Davis filed a petition in Dane County Circuit Court Aug. 14 asking for a 'declaratory judgment' on whether poker is legal under Wisconsin's current statutes. The defendant is Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen and the assigned judge is Richard Niess. Check isthmus.com as we follow this story.]