Like a powerful summer storm or a fierce winter blizzard, Rick Burleson is proving himself to be an unstoppable force in the American Midwest.
In 2018, Burleson won the South Dakota State Poker Championship, earning... The $63,462 prize was the largest prize of his poker career. Eight years later, he added another state title to his collection. He conquered a field of 325 entries and defeated Andrew Asher in a short heads-up match to win the Roughrider Poker Tour event.635 Montana State Poker Championship Winner.
Burleson has had some successes in this event in the past, including reaching the final table in 2023. Now, his record at the Billings Hotel & Convention Centre has been further enhanced with a champion's bracelet and a $30,000 first-place prize. "It's really cool. I haven't played much in the last few years, but this feels amazing. I've reached the deep rounds of this tournament three or four times. This is my second time reaching the final table in this event. It feels great to win," Burleson said.
RPT Montana State Poker Championship Final Table Results
| Ranking | player | country | bonus |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Rick Burleson | United States | $30,000 |
| 2 | Andrew Asher | United States | $20,000 |
| 3 | Jeff Heiberg | United States | $15,000 |
| 4 | Rick Lehman | United States | $10,700 |
| 5 | Alex Powell | United States | $8,600 |
| 6 | Nathan Allen | United States | $7,300 |
| 7 | Eric Kraft | United States | $6,100 |
| 8 | Lance Schuchard | United States | $5,000 |
| 9 | Justin Fowler | United States | $4,000 |
Champion's reaction
This 37-year-old player from Rapid City, South Dakota, started playing poker as a child, taught by his grandmother when he was young. While he has recently focused on managing a car dealership, his poker resume still boasts over $100,000 in live tournament winnings, including a victory in Daedwood eight years ago. His path to that title was smooth sailing then; today, he must fight hard to reach the top.
"I'm almost certain I'll be going to Las Vegas this summer."
"That was eight years ago. This time it was like a roller coaster ride. That time I felt like I was in control of the final table from start to finish. But this time, there were a lot of ups and downs. There were so many comebacks today, so it was really cool," he said.
"There were two or three very, very aggressive players at the final table. I was usually the aggressive one, so I had to adjust. I folded a lot in the first two or three hours, which was really not what I wanted to do. I had to mix my play more than I expected."
This victory won't change Burleson's immediate plans. He'll drive six hours home tonight and go to work tomorrow morning. But one thing will change things for Burleson in the near future.
"I'm almost certain I'll be going to Las Vegas this summer," he said.
Day 2 Match Results
The second day began at 11 a.m. local time, with 55 players returning to compete for the bracelet. Only the top 50 players will receive a share of the total prize pool of $175,500, and from the very beginning of the day, everyone is fighting to make it into the money.
Mikiyo Aoki returned today with only 52,000 chips, but failed to stage a comeback and ultimately did not finish in the money. John Bailey was eliminated during the money bubble when Jeff Heiberg made two pair on the flop, breaking Bailey's pocket kings.
John Schroer (47th), Penn Swindle (42nd), Leonardo Valenzuela (39th), and Kevin Ellis (37th) were among the early exits after entering the money bubble. Weston Wells, who finished runner-up in this event two years prior, went all-in with pocket aces on his final 140,000 chips, dominating Alan Curl's pocket tens. However, Curl miraculously hit his last live hand (a ten) on the river, winning the pot and eliminating Wells in 44th place.
Burleson, who started the day with third-place chips, quickly rose to the chip leader in a huge pot against Alan Li. Li went all-in for 725,000 with 6 of a kind on the flop, and Burleson called with a nut flush draw. Although Burleson didn't make a flush, he hit a straight on the turn and river, eliminating Li and pushing his own chip stack to over 2,000,000.
Arlie Brandvold went all-in for 180,000 with two Jacks on an 8-high flop, and Leighton Lindsey called from early position with top pair. Lindsey hit trips on the turn to win the pot, and the three-time RPT Player of the Year was eliminated in 28th place.
When the final 26 players drew lots to determine the seats for the last three tables, Burleson led with 1,800,000 chips. Miles Barnum was eliminated in 26th place, while Burleson defeated Brandon Luckey in 24th place with AK in a coin toss. Meanwhile, Day 1A chip leader Josh Brown also defeated Eric Hjelmstad's Q with AK in another classic coin toss, eliminating the former RPT Player of the Year in 23rd place.
Heiberg took the chip lead after hitting a flush that eliminated Evan Yellick in 16th place. Heiberg then completed a double win, with pocket Kings against Alex Smith's pocket Queens and Angie Lee's AK, pushing his chip stack to over 3,400,000.
Burleson eliminated Curl in 12th place, then opened and raised to 105,000 from the crucial position. Brown and Nathan Allen called from the blinds, and the flop revealed a King-high. Burleson bet 120,000, and only Brown called after seeing a Queen on the turn. Burleson re-bet 200,000, Brown raised to 700,000, Burleson went all-in, and Brown called with 1,500,000. Brown held a pair and a flush draw, while Burleson revealed the nut straight.
Burleson steadied himself, won another huge pot, and eliminated Brown in 11th place to secure the final table of ten.
Burleson started the final table with a chip lead of 7,465,000, more than double that of second-place Heiberg. The early eliminations were swift. First, Josh Egle went all-in for 505,000 with two 9s on the flop, but Burleson called with pocket tens, eliminating Egle in 10th place. Asher then reversed the situation by hitting a 10 on the flop against Justin Fowler's AK with A-10, eliminating Fowler in ninth place. Later, Lance Schuchard lost a coin toss with 5 against Heiberg's AQ, finishing in eighth place.
Burleson suffered a major blow when he went all-in with pocket queens, but Rick Lehman instantly called with pocket kings for 1,685,000, doubling his chips. A few hands later, Burleson recovered some ground when Eric Kraft went all-in for 400,000 on the flop, to which Burleson called with top pair queens. Kraft could only show a pair of fives and couldn't recover, finishing in seventh place.
In a coin toss, Burleson defeated Allen's 9 points with KJ, eliminating Allen in sixth place. Meanwhile, Alex Powell, the chip leader at the start of the day, missed the board with AK against Heiberg's pocket Jacks, losing in fifth place. Burleson then avenged his loss to Lehman, calling Lehman's pre-flop all-in of 2,500,000 with AK and dominating Lehman's AQ. Lehman hit a Q on the flop, but Burleson hit a K on the turn, winning the pot and eliminating Lehman in fourth place.
The three-way battle lasted nearly two hours. Heiberg had a chance to go heads-up early when he let Asher go all-in with 3,400,000. Asher, with AJ against Heiberg's 9, went head-to-head with a coin and hit an A on the flop to win the pot, doubling up his chips. Heiberg also doubled up once, later beating Burleson's pocket Kings with three 9s to win a large pot from Burleson.
Asher was once tied with Burleson for the lead on the leaderboard with around 7,500,000 chips each, but Burleson forced Heiberg out with a bet on the turn and then showed up with 7s two pair against Heiberg in another pot, regaining the lead and increasing his chip stack to 12,000,000.
After Asher limped on the button, Burleson raised to 700,000 from the big blind, and Asher called. The flop came a King. Burleson then bet 575,000, which Asher called. Burleson went all-in on the turn with an Ace, and Asher folded for his remaining 4,000,000 chips. He later claimed he had made two pair on the flop.
When the three players went into the break, Burleson led with 13,500,000 chips, Asher had 4,500,000, and Heiberg was short-stacked with only 1,800,000 chips. In the first hand after the break, Heiberg went all-in with J-8, but Asher dominated with K-8, eliminating him and putting him heads-up against Burleson.
At the start of heads-up play, Burleson held a 13,000,000 lead over Asher's 6,500,000. Just a few hands later, Burleson raised to 600,000 from the button. Asher called, and then again on the flop, betting 500,000. On the turn, Asher went all-in for his 5,200,000 chips, and Burleson instantly called, having made a straight on the turn. Asher held a flush draw but failed to make it, finishing as runner-up.
"Wow, what a fantastic day!" Burleson exclaimed with relief after the last card was dealt. Eight years after his last moment of glory, Burleson could once again call himself a champion.
Common Mistakes Review: Why Do You Keep Losing? The Problem Lies Here
Most players lose money not because of luck, but because they repeat the same mistakes.
These debriefings will help you identify the most common mistakes and understand how to correct them:
Why does constantly calling cause you to lose money?
[Bluff Imbalance] What are the costs of excessive bluffing?
Why do you always lose on the last street? [Never fold]
[Slow Play Error] Why do I lose big pots when I play slowly?
What's the problem with betting too small?
Why do people lose money when they bet too much?
[Emotional Issues] How do emotions affect your decision-making?
[Range Misjudgment] Analysis of Errors Caused by a Lack of Understanding of Range
[Location Ignore] What are the consequences of ignoring location?
[Misinterpreting People] The Impact of Misinterpreting an Opponent's Behavior
Avoiding mistakes is more important than learning new skills. By reviewing these common mistakes, you can quickly identify your weaknesses, correct your decision-making habits, and reduce unnecessary losses.
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