Jean Carr has well-coiffed white hair, and her preferred beverage is orange juice. She’s also a regular player at the Twin Falls Poker League.

“It’s a very entertaining game,” the Twin Falls woman said, citing the challenge of play as one of her reasons for frequenting the league’s Texas Hold ‘Em poker tournaments, held eight times a week across Magic Valley. She also appreciates the friendliness of the league’s players. “They all treat me with a lot of respect.”

That might be because of Carr’s conservative style of play – “I don’t bluff” – or it might be the nature of the league’s participants, who are quick to teach beginners the game and slow to get upset over a lost hand or newbie mistake.

“This is a good place to learn, because it’s free, the people are really nice, and they’ll help you,” said Brian Fife of Twin Falls. He has played cards since the late 1970s, and said the variety of skill levels among the league players make the game challenging even for experienced participants.

The league was started about a year and a half ago by Magic Valley newcomer CR Larsen, owner of Ground Round in Twin Falls, where the group meets on Sunday evenings. He had played in poker leagues in other areas of the country, and when he discovered there wasn’t one here, he organized one.

“The first week there were 21 people that played, just three tables of seven people,” he said, of the kick-off tournament in October 2006. The biggest tournaments recently attracted between 80 and 90 participants.

Keeping it legal

As he put the league together, Larsen kept the state’s gambling laws in mind.

“I decided to leave out the aspects the state considers gambling,” he said, meaning that participants aren’t risking any money or property in the games. They don’t buy in. “It doesn’t cost anything, it’s a form of entertainment like karaoke.”

The daily free tournaments are great practice for players, while the league earns money by charging the bars a fee for holding the games there. Once a month, players have a chance to take home some cash by participating in a charity game, which – as Larsen interprets state law – is allowed if at least 5 percent of the proceeds go to a charity.

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Author Contact Info: Ariel Hansen, Times-News