Capture The Flag -- Jean-Robert Bellande

Jean-Robert Bellande is a man with many titles. He’s a nightclub owner, a reality TV star, and a poker player, but first and foremost, he is a tireless self-promoter. The sometimes brash but always entertaining Bellande has been playing poker for more than a decade, and has earned more than $1 million in tournaments. But recently, he has ventured away from the tournament circuit to focus on one of his biggest passions, which is playing variations of lowball against some of the game’s best in Bobby’s Room at Bellagio.

Card Player caught up with him during a break in one of his sessions to discuss the game, his image, and his lifestyle.

Julio Rodriguez: You are playing against the best players in the world. Why not look for a better spot?

Jean-Robert Bellande: We’ve actually been playing this game for two weeks in Bobby’s Room, but it’s not a game I just hopped into. Billy Baxter and I were playing this game throughout February at Commerce Casino. It’s essentially a $400-$800 mixed game of triple draw, badugi, and no-limit deuce-to-seven. Basically, the live one has the most pull when it comes to negotiating the terms of the game. The game used to be just no-limit deuce-to-seven, but who wants to play that when Billy is killing everybody? So, Billy brings me in and drums up other action by using me as bait. The only condition, of course, is that we have to play badugi, as well. Everyone pretty much perceives me to be a sucker, but I have no real problem with that. It’s how I’ve made my living for the last eight years.

Badugi is an up-and-coming game, and I consider myself to be one of the better players out there in that game. When I’m not playing in Bobby’s Room, you can find me sitting by myself on PokerStars at the $200-$400 or $400-$800 tables waiting for action. I’m ready to play anybody in badugi, and it’s a game that these guys in Bobby’s Room aren’t necessarily the best at. Billy Baxter, Doyle Brunson, Johnny Chan, and Eli Elezra all know how to play the game, just like they know how to play any game, but they haven’t mastered it yet. I mean, I’m a proficient limit hold’em player, but I’m not going to go play it against guys like Joe Cassidy, Phil Ivey, Patrik Antonius, or David Benyamine, because there’s a whole other level of expertise with those guys, and a solid hold’em player just has no chance of winning.

Deuce-to-seven triple draw has been my road game for a long time, and I figure to be one of the top 50 players in the world at that game. I don’t really feel like anybody has a significant edge on me there. In no-limit deuce-to-seven single draw, I’m sure that these guys are better than me. I love the game, and think it’s the best game out there, but I’m not the best at it. I hope that one day I can be up there with the greats, and I’ve learned a lot by playing with Billy, but I’m not there right now.

JR: Is Billy the best in the world at that game?

JRB: Billy is probably the most feared no-limit deuce-to-seven player out there, and frankly, the only reason I agreed to play in this game in Bobby’s Room is that I figured he was really the only person in the game who was significantly better than me. But I was wrong about that. Doyle is unbelievable at no-limit deuce-to-seven. To be honest, I think I would rather play Billy than Doyle. That’s not to say that Doyle is better than Billy; I’m just more comfortable with Billy’s game. With Doyle, I honestly have no clue where I’m at in a hand. Every single day that I play with this guy, he never ceases to amaze me. He has so much imagination and creativity. I’m really afraid of the guy. He is almost 80 years old, and I’m petrified. Every day, I sit down with some of the world’s greatest — people like Ming Ly, Johnny Chan, and Jennifer Harman — and Doyle is the person I fear the most. He’s unreal.

Despite all that, the reason I continue to play in the game is that I actually figure myself to be a favorite with that lineup. I have an edge in badugi, I’m about even money in triple draw, and believe it or not, no-limit deuce-to-seven plays a little bit smaller than the other games. So in the long run, I figure to be a favorite in the game.

JR: You were pretty honest in your twitter (http://twitter.com/Brokelivingjrb), and said you were down earlier this week.

JRB: I’ve lost about $140,000 straight, but when you are playing $400-$800 and running really salty, that can happen. Those are the normal swings in the game. Today, I’m up close to $60,000, so I can see it finally turning around. Speaking of twitter, I think people enjoy that I’m so open and honest about all of the details in my life. Part of the reason why my twitter is so popular is that I have no problem telling the world how it really is. Forget the poker, I’m honest about life.

JR: You mentioned earlier that you are perceived to be the fish at the table. That really doesn’t bother you?

JRB: It honestly doesn’t. I make my living as the fish. As long as I take home money at the end of the day, the haters can say all they want. I have a very nice lifestyle, I drive a very nice Mercedes, I have a very nice flat right here behind the Strip, I fly first-class and stay in the best hotels in the world, and I don’t owe anybody any money. How can you beat that?

Somebody can be lucky, win a tournament, and sustain himself for a year in the poker world, but if you aren’t a winning player, you’re not going to last much longer than that without an outside source of income. In other words, you can fake a poker career for a while, but not for a lifetime.

JR: There are stories out there that players are willing to spot you big advantages just to get you to play with them.

JRB: Oh, man; you know, it’s interesting when you have players make offers that are almost insulting to you, but you kind of have to just bite your lip and take it. When I was in L.A., this kid Jared “Harrington10” Bleznick got a lot of press because he was spotting me one card in Omaha. The immediate reaction was that he beat me. That’s not true, of course, as I beat him for $20,000 in that session. But the perception of my game is that I’m so bad that I can’t beat someone even when I’m spotted five cards to four cards. Anyone who plays Omaha seriously knows that’s an edge that just can’t be beat.

You might think that this interview could kill my action, but it honestly doesn’t matter what I say. People are going to believe that I’m the fish no matter what. Again, I don’t mind that people think I’m terrible. If being consistently underestimated makes me money, I’m more than OK with that. I mean, I’ve been in this business for 10 years, and yes, everyone knows that I’ve had my struggles along the way. Part of my problem is that I’m always willing to put it all on the line. Just today, when I was down to the last $40,000 I have to my name, we were in a big pot of no-limit deuce-to-seven. After the draw, Eli Elezra made it $3,000, Johnny Chan then made it $9,000, and I stuck in $20,000, even though I had paired sixes. You must have heart to play this game and put in half of your roll [bankroll] like that. Just because I’m short, it doesn’t mean that I’m going to go against my read and play scared.

JR: So, I shouldn’t ask you for bankroll-management advice?

JRB: If you want to learn more about managing a bankroll, don’t look to me for any advice. My life is exciting because it’s always on the line. And forget about whether or not I’m perceived as a winning poker player. If you are a successful poker player, there’s always going to be 10 or 20 people out there who are interested in doing business with you if you go broke. I’ll just build another bankroll. I have no problem with starting over.

That’s pretty much what my upcoming book Broke and Living Like a Millionaire is all about. Here’s the thing: I’ve never had a million dollars to my name. The most I’ve ever had was about $300,000 on a few different occasions, but whether I have that or nothing, I’m still able to live a lavish lifestyle.