Capture the Flag -- Bernard Lee

In 2005, Bernard Lee stormed through the World Series of Poker main event en route to a 13th-place finish and a $400,000 payday. Three wins and a dozen final tables later, he has amassed more than $1.4 million in tournament earnings in his five-year career. The Boston poker pro recently was signed as the official spokesperson for Foxwoods Resort Casino’s poker room, and is even a prominent poker personality on his own radio show and ESPN’s Inside Deal. Despite all of those accolades, he still gets together with his buddies for a weekly home game that has been running for more than a decade.

Card Player caught up with Lee to talk about the long-running cash game and what has made it so successful.

Julio Rodriguez: How did this home game start?

Bernard Lee: We started the game with just a few guys from our hometown, and it grew into a weekly home game. Our kids are in the school district of Loker, so we started calling ourselves Loker Poker. I was just graduating from business school when the game was forming, so the timing was perfect for me. It started out as a spread-limit game, but has since evolved over the past 10 years into a $10-$20 game.

JR: What do you play in this game?

BL: We pretty much play H.O.S.E. It’s a dealer’s choice game, and a game is played for an entire round before the next player gets to choose. The same game can’t be chosen more than twice in a row, so we get to try out different games and variations throughout the night. The only thing we don’t allow is wild cards, but other than that, pretty much every game is spread.

You have to remember, back in 1999, what was hold’em? I mean, we played it occasionally, but it was nowhere near as popular as it is today. None of us were really products of the Moneymaker boom, so, for the most part, it was variations of seven-card stud. Then, after 2003, we started bringing in hold’em and Omaha, just because they were getting so popular on television.

JR: What game do you choose when it’s your turn?

BL: Well, in 2005 and 2006, I chose hold’em pretty much every time, just because I was focusing on that at the time, and felt that I had an advantage over the other players. Lately, I have been choosing more and more variations of stud, not because it’s my best game, but because it’s where I have the biggest edge. Everyone has gotten so good at hold’em that it’s really tough to discern a great player from a good player, but the knowledge gap in stud is still pretty recognizable. Of course, the other players are choosing games that they are more comfortable playing, as well, so it’s fair for everyone.

JR: What was going on at your home game during your WSOP run?

BL: Everyone at the game heard that I had won my seat, and the guys were happy for me, but as the event got closer and closer, it kept being brought up over and over again, to the point that one guy finally had enough. He basically said, “You qualified, so what? When you get on TV, then we’ll talk.”

I went to the Series and had a great day one, finishing among the chip leaders, and all of a sudden, there was a little bit of a buzz among the group. I survived the next day, and the buzz continued to grow. Then, I easily made my way into the money, and now my buddies back home were going crazy. But the funny thing is that I wasn’t even a part of it. All of this was going on without me, because you have to remember, I didn’t even have a laptop, let alone Internet access in my hotel room. So, these guys were following along from home, and I couldn’t be a part of it. I mean, I knew that they were watching the coverage and rooting me on, but I had no idea that they were going crazy, bouncing e-mail back and forth with each update.

Two of the guys in my home game were really instrumental in my success at the Series that year. One guy, Dave, was my psychological support during the tournament. You have to remember that back then, I didn’t know anybody in Las Vegas. I was all by myself; I took breaks alone and ate meals alone. I’d call him every morning, and he’d just act like a sounding board while I got everything off my chest.

Another guy, Max, was also a huge help in preparing me for each day of the tournament. I didn’t know who was a pro and who wasn’t, so each morning, we’d go over my table draw and he would break down each of my opponents for me online, so that I wasn’t going into it blind. I can remember a few key situations in which that knowledge enabled me to make one particular play over another. To be honest, without their support, and the support of the others from the home game, I probably wouldn’t have done as well as I did. I was ecstatic for myself and my family, but I also was happy to say that I represented the guys back home, as well.

JR: Was there any pressure to up the stakes when you came home $400,000 richer?

BL: We’ve experimented with higher stakes, but for a home game, we found that it was just too much for some people. I think the key to a good home game is comfort, and when some players are in for big portions of their bankroll, it’s no longer about a relaxing, fun game of poker; it becomes more like work. Don’t get me wrong, you still can win and lose a significant chunk of money at our stakes, but it’s not enough to create any serious animosity among the players.

You walk into a casino, and it’s all business. You are there to win as much cash as possible from people who are strangers. In a home game, the fun and camaraderie come first. Of course you want to win, probably more so against your friends, but you need to remember that a home game is a social event that should relieve stress, not create it. It’s funny, ever since I became a professional poker player, these guys have taken every opportunity to rib me whenever they beat me out of a pot, saying things like, “I just beat the pro,” or, “How can a pro make a play like that?” It’s all good-natured and fun, but that kind of atmosphere is hard to come by in a casino.

JR: Your game has real longevity. What do you think has made it so successful?

BL: The real key to the game’s longevity has been a core group of five or six players who are there every week and bring others. So many other games have come and gone, but we’ve managed to keep this one alive, thanks to those guys and their dedication to the game, and the camaraderie that goes with it.

It’s all about finding a balance between the game and the social aspect of it. A bad home game is one in which the players might take it way too seriously. I can go to a casino if I want to take the game seriously. Also, they usually play for stakes that are either way too low or way too high. If they are too low, the money becomes insignificant and it takes the skill factor out of the game. Players will call down with anything, simply because they can afford to. On the other end of the spectrum, nothing is worse than when one of your buddies loses a pot that he can’t afford to lose. The tension becomes palpable, and it can really make for an uncomfortable and awkward game.