The tournament to find this year’s “Best Poker Player in St. Louis” was scheduled to begin Wednesday — after the Call went to press — as cards are dealt for the 22nd annual Budweiser/Muscular Dystrophy Association Poker Classic.

Players may register at the door at 5 p.m. for both preliminary rounds.

The first is at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, Aug. 20, at Orlando Gardens Banquet Center, 2050 Dorsett Village in Maryland Heights, next to Schnucks.

The second is at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, Aug. 27, at the Holiday Inn Southwest/Viking Conference Center, Watson Road at Lindbergh Boulevard.

Preliminary round table winners advance to a semifinal round on Thursday, Aug. 28, at the Holiday Inn Southwest and the top seven semifinalists play for the title the same night.

The winner receives the “braggin’ rights” to the title and his or her name is engraved on a permanent trophy the winner keeps for a year. Dr. Larry Millis, a Richmond Heights veterinarian, will de-fend the title he won last year.

Since the tournament began in 1982, it has raised more than $350,000 for the Muscular Dystrophy Association.

A tax-deductible donation of $30 to the MDA is suggested to enter one preliminary round or $50 for both preliminary rounds. Players must be 18 or older.

More information is available by calling 429-9100.