BILLINGS — This weekend, the stakes are high at the Billings Hotel and Convention Center.
The Montana State Poker Tournament is taking place and over 300 players are competing for a top prize that could push north of $25,000.
"We’ll pay about the top 12% of the tournament so, around 36 to 45 people will get paid, depending on how many compete. The prize pool will be over $100,000," said President & CEO of the Rough Riders Poker Tour, Jerry Sorrells.
A number that's the focus of poker players like Frank Lucero.
"I got into poker very young, probably about 17 years old, I started playing at the local bars and I started making some money," said Lucero.
Years of playing the game he loved paid off.
"Frank Lucero won this tournament last year. There were 291 entries and I believe it was $27,910 that he won. He's a great player from right here in Billings," added Sorrells.
And he’s hoping for a repeat this year but said it's a "tough road."
"There’s a lot of things that need to go right to win a poker tournament. A lot of things," added Lucero.
The tournament draws some of the best poker players around, from both Montana and North Dakota, where the tournament got its start. The top players will compete on Sunday to determine the winner.
"Take your pick, there’s a ton of players here from Montana that come every time and they’re tough competition.... It’s a minefield really and you have to pick and choose your battles, it’s all dependent on your table and who you’re going to be playing against, you never know," Sorrells added.
So, what sets the winners apart?
Lucero believes it’s the ability to read the table.
"Every bet is a tell. So, if you sit back and watch that for a while, you'll see that everybody has a tell," Lucero added.
But he says staying grounded as you grow is also the key to improving.
"A lot of players think that they’re better than they are because they have a good night or a good session. They’re not able to ground themselves and figure out if they got lucky or if they actually played well. It’s hard to separate the two because of ego," Lucero said.
Poker is a mix of skill, luck and patience that Lucero says will always test players.
But in the end, he says that it’s those tough times that help eventually pave the way to success.
"Times get tough and poker gets tough. You just need to stay in there and just keep pushing forward and sooner or later you’ll prevail," Lucero said.
