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Bozeman man charged with recovering poker losses in robbery
Published: 2006-01-21
 By TED SULLIVAN, Chronicle Staff Writer
A Bozeman man accused of losing money to a man playing poker at a local card room, then following him home and robbing him, appeared in Gallatin County Justice Court Friday.
Steven J. McEwan, 25, allegedly entered Adam J. Chesterfield's home with a stick, argued and wrestled with him, according to court records. He then repeatedly punched him to recover his poker losses.
He was charged with robbery and held in Gallatin County's jail on $2,000 bail.
But McEwan's attorney, Deputy Public Defender Mary Kramer, told Judge G.L. Smith that McEwan was invited to Chesterfield's home to play more poker.
"There is probably a lot more to this scene," Kramer told the court. "There are allegations on both sides."
McEwan was playing poker at Mixer's Tuesday night and into early Wednesday morning. He and Chesterfield played cards for several hours, argued back and forth and taunted each other.
McEwan told Chesterfield at one point, "You better watch your f---ing mouth" and "I'm going to f--k you up if you don't knock it off," according to court records.
A manager at Mixer's told McEwan to stop being confrontational.
The men continued playing cards until Chesterfield won money from McEwan and left. McEwan then followed Chesterfield to his home on Fallon Street.
McEwan entered the home, became angry and demanded the money he lost. Chesterfield refused to return the money and they began arguing.
McEwan got in his face and threatened to shoot him if he didn't return the money.
Chesterfield told his roommate to grab a shotgun to force McEwan to leave. His roommate then told him he saw what appeared to be an axe in McEwan's pants.
Chesterfield charged McEwan and placed him in a headlock to avoid the axe. But McEwan repeatedly punched Chesterfield in the face and got out of the headlock.
He then placed Chesterfield in a headlock and held him until he returned his money. McEwan took $370 in cash and left.
Officers questioned McEwan Thursday. McEwan told police he had a stick, not an axe, in his pants. He added he "wasn't thinking straight" and confessed to taking $100 from Chesterfield, not $370. Officers arrested him for robbery.
In court Friday, Deputy County Attorney John Worsfold asked for $5,000 bail.
"(McEwan) decided to take matters into his own hands," he told the court. "The victim was mistreated and attacked in his own home."
But Kramer asked the judge to release McEwan on his own recognizance.
She said Chesterfield charged McEwan first. She also said McEwan had only a small stick.
Smith set bail at $2,000. He told McEwan he had to stay out of bars and casinos in case he posts bail. He also told him he could not use alcohol or drugs, contact the alleged victim or leave the state.
If convicted, McEwan faces up to 40 years in prison and a $50,000 fine for robbery. He is expected to enter a plea to the charge in District Court at a future date.
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Omaha Hi-Lo offers players some variety
Published: 2006-01-20
 By DANIEL NEGREANU
Look around any poker room today, especially in the higher limit section, and you'll definitely find a game of Omaha Hi-Lo. The game is vastly different from Seven-Card Stud or Texas Hold'em as far as strategy is concerned, as it caters to a more conservative, mathematical approach, which allows less room for bluffing.
The rules are as follows:
The game is dealt just like Hold'em: a button, a small blind, and a big blind to initiate action. In Omaha Hi-Lo, however, each player is dealt four cards unlike the two cards that are dealt in Hold'em. From there, the play looks identical to Hold'em. There's a three-card flop, followed by a round of betting, the turn, more betting, and finally the river and one last round of betting.
Now, this is important.
You must use exactly two cards from your hand plus any three of the community board to make your hand. So, even if four hearts are on the board, if you hold the ace of hearts, you won't actually have the flush unless you have a second heart in your hand.
The twist
The other important wrinkle to Omaha Hi-Lo is that it's a split pot game. Half of the pot goes to the best high hand, and the best low hand wins the other half. In order for a low hand to qualify, it must consist of five unpaired cards that are eight or lower.
Remember, you must use two cards from your hand and three from the board.
It's important to note that you can use any two cards for high, two different cards for low, or the same two cards for both high and low.
It is very possible and very common to scoop the whole pot by winning both the low and the high. Let's say you have a hand like A-4-10-J and the final board reads 2-3-7-8-9. Well, in this case, you'd have the best possible low hand (A-2-3-4-7), and J-10 the best possible high hand (7-8-9-10-J).
Omaha Hi-Lo may seem a little confusing at first, but you'll soon get the hang of it.
I'm betting that you'll get a kick out of this game too.
Go with an ace
Before I send you out there to play this game, let me give you a few pointers on what types of hands to play.
Obviously, with an ace being good for both high and low, it becomes an even more powerful poker card. In fact, some players live by the following rule — never leave the gate without one. For a beginning player, that's not terrible advice.
You'll want to start with premium hands since they'll be much easier to play after the flop. A premium hand is one with low features that also has the potential to make high hands and scoop the pot. Hands that do extremely well in Omaha Hi-Lo include:
•Ace of spades-ace of hearts-two of spades-three of hearts (the best possible starting hand)
•Ace of spades-two of spades, jack of clubs-10 of clubs
•Ace of hearts-two of spades-three of hearts-four of diamonds
•Ace of clubs-king of clubs-two of hearts-three of diamonds
What is it that they all have in common? For starters, they all contain an ace. Not only that, they also contain a deuce. The A-2 combination is particularly strong because any time three low cards hit the board, you'll lock up the low side of the pot, provided you don't pair the ace or deuce.
Now, mind you, those aren't the only hands you should play.
The hands you want to avoid, though, are the middle card combinations. 4-5-7-8, 5-5-7-9, 6-7-8-10 and the like all make for second-best hands that will cost you lots of money. In Omaha Hi-Lo, stick with the premium hands and let your foolish opponents play the rags.
Daniel Negreanu writes for Card Shark Media. Questions should be directed through an e-mail link at cardsharkcomments.com.
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