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Many mothers may not want their children gambling, but one gambler is actually following in his mother’s card-playing footsteps by competing for a good cause and a chance at a national championship title.
“My mom loved to play poker, so I learned to play at an early age,” said Johnny “Brother-in-Law” Ryals, winner of the 2012 Louisiana Poker Tour Championship. “Some years ago, a friend of mine told me about Poker Productions, which organizes and conducts these Texas hold ’em poker tournaments, and I’ve been playing cards with them for about five years. It’s recently started to get popular, you know, with being on television. It’s much more complicated in my opinion. You really have to read people and use your instincts and, like any other card game, you need luck and skill.”
Last year, Ryals, 66, of Mathews, put his luck and skill to use at 25 games on the Poker Productions tour of southeast Louisiana, helping to raise money for charities and other non-profit organizations like Lions Clubs, the American Legion, the Lake Pontchartain Basin Museum in Mandeville and Veterans of Foreign Wars. In addition to helping others, Ryals also helped himself. By winning the poker tour’s state championship game, the 55-year veteran poker player earned himself a seat at the World Series of Poker national championship May 21-23 at Harrah’s in New Orleans.
Ryals’ win at the March 1 Louisiana Poker Tours championship game, played at the Marrero Lions Club, was the poker player’s second time to play in the state championship game.
“My friend told me that there was an upcoming tournament in Raceland,” Ryals said. “I chose to play in that tournament and placed high enough to win money and points. I didn’t realize that points were given and, if enough were accumulated, the top point leaders would be invited to play in the 2011 Texas hold ’em championship game. I continued to follow the circuit and accumulated enough points to be invited to that tournament, but I did not win that year.”
Louisiana Poker Tour players earn 500 points for participating in each game, and the top eight players in each game also receive points, 4,000 for first and 500 points less for each place thereafter. Players also have a chance to score 500 extra points at each game by bringing a canned good for occasional food drives.
In 2012, Ryals again racked up enough points, 43,000 in total, to secure a spot in the 16-player championship table. His point standing also placed him second among the tour’s 400 other players.
“I played poker every other weekend in places like Golden Meadow and Baton Rouge,” he said. “You meet a lot of nice people at the poker tables, some of which have become very close friends.”
One by one, Ryals’ poker-playing pals folded from the last big game that Friday night, and Ryals was left holding the winning hand.
“With a little luck and some skills, I managed to be the last man standing,” Ryals said. “There were many observers there, some friends and some family. After receiving our hole cards (the two cards each player is dealt face down), my opponent bet all in and, after studying him and the situation, I called his bet with Q-3 (a queen and a three). Being an all-in bet and a call, the dealer ordered us to expose our hole cards, where he and the observers can see them.”
“My Q-3 dominated his cards, and the dealer turned the five community cards (cards dealt face-up that all players may use),” Ryals continued. “None of the community cards improved his hand while I caught another Q on the fifth card, better known as the river card (the last of the five community cards). It was a very happy moment for my family, friends and myself.”
The pot for the night’s game? A $500 seat at the World Series of Poker national championship game, courtesy of Poker Productions.
“I’m not nervous” Ryals said. “I think I have a good chance of placing.”
Paul Meyers, owner of Poker Productions, is also optimistic that Ryals will do well in the national championship game.
“I’ve watched Johnny move up the rankings since he started playing,” Meyers said. “He has come a long way since he first started. He has gotten a lot better, and he’s never far from the top in rankings. He has been playing really well.”
“The pot at the World Series of Poker national championship can get up to $40,000 or $50,000,” Meyers continued. “I hope that he goes deep in it. Last year’s circuit winner placed fifth at the event and got $6,500. I really hope that Johnny can do that.”
Entry fees at the Poker Productions games generate anywhere from $750 to $4,500, and Meyers is more than happy to put the money to good use.
“Our events are a fundraiser first and a poker tournament second,” he said. “Fundraising really helps these organizations. These games support organizations in the community that need it the most.”
Johnny Ryals of Mathews shows off the plaque he won by taking first place in the 2012 Louisiana Poker Tour Championship. Ryals’ win secured him a seat at the World Series of Poker national championship May 21-23 at Harrah’s in New Orleans.
