Poker and Politics in Montana

I was surprised to learn that any bar in Montana can also have a poker table. This came in especially handy tonight since I was feeling a little better and wanted to have some fun. Sat down at a table in a bar in the Big Sky resort. The game is run by Joe and his wife Joann. They play button-choice Tahoe high-low or Hold'em. When I arrived there were only a few people at the table but it quickly filled with as many as nine players at once. There was an interesting mix. A few local kids (really, they couldn't have been much older than 18, the legal age to play in Montana), some engineers from a conference being held at the hotel and a succession of middle-age, Orange County republicans who were apparently all vacationing together with their respective families. I clicked well with the locals and the engineers but could not with the OC repubs. This is no surprise, and one of them even mentioned that Obama's middle name is 'Hussein' to which I replied that McCain's middle name is 'Sidney' and whether that made him a girly man to which he replied that McCain is a war hero, after all. A quick Keating Five reference quieted him down some. I don't mind having an intelligent and informed political discussion but hate it when I have to rebut demagogic talking points.

Anyway, back to the poker. Played for about three hours in a 1-2 blind game with max $10 bet and three raises and ended up $140. Not bad for a $60 buy in. In fact I only one two hands and played very few overall. With these lose games it is easy to get sucked in and play as crazily as some of the others at the table; a recipe for disaster. I may play again before I head to Jackson Hole on Sunday.