Card Player and I: Together Since The Beginning

The first time I ever picked up a Card Player magazine was back around 1993. Long before I ever considered a career in the world of poker, I became a regular reader like you.

As a youngster, my father taught me the basic concepts of poker. When I left home at 18, I honed my skills playing in a regular limit game throughout college. In May of 1992, one of my college game buddies suggested that we trek to a casino to play some poker. “Go all the way to Atlantic City?” I questioned, not realizing that Atlantic City casinos did not have poker (Atlantic City casinos did not get approval for poker until June 1993). Not Atlantic City…Connecticut.

My buddy told me that a new Indian casino called Foxwoods Resort Casino had opened about an hour and half away from Boston. Since neither of us owned a car, we actually rented one, just to drive down to the “Woods” and play poker recreationally for about 12 to 16 hours. This routine occurred weekly during that summer of 1992 and continued on a regular basis thereafter. Back in those days, the East Coast was known for seven-card stud, which I played during our excursions. However, my buddy played another game that I had never heard of before. It was supposedly very popular on the West Coast and the game was called Texas hold’em. As the regulars became familiar with us, we were unwittingly known as the new young aggressive kids on the block.

In 1993, a poker magazine called Card Player appeared at Foxwoods; courtesy copies for all the players. Since I visited regularly, I was able to pickup most of the issues and would scour through the pages. Publisher Linda Johnson had transformed the publication into an informative poker magazine for all players to enjoy. I loved reading the different strategy columns, as well as the stories about famous players and casinos across the country. I dreamed of flying to play in these big poker tournaments against the best players in the world. Amongst all the tantalizing pages, the one section that always ignited my envy was the tournament recaps.

“One day, I’m going to make a final table and you are going to see me on one of these pages,” I told my wife.

She paused to think about that concept a few seconds and then, not realizing the depth of my passion in poker yet, she replied flatly, “Sure.”

Well, almost two decades later, things have drastically changed for me. Some of my dreams have become reality, while others have gone well beyond my wildest expectations.
After completing my college education and earning an MBA, I worked in marketing and new business development for almost 12 years. But the lure of poker was too great to pass up. My 13th place finish in the 2005 World Series of Poker main event, a few tournament victories and almost $2 million in career earnings gave me the confidence to give professional poker a shot in 2007. Today, I play poker professionally, travelling to dozens of casinos all over the United States and sometimes even abroad. I regularly play in some of the biggest buy-in tournaments in the world against the current superstars of poker, many of whom I call my friends.

My current game of choice is no-limit hold’em, but I do occasionally go old school and play seven-card stud and recently worked diligently on deuce-to-seven no-limit single draw. I am primarily a tournament player, mainly because of Chris Moneymaker, albeit in a more subtle way than you may imagine. When ESPN’s Norman Chad uttered his famous words: “This is beyond a fairytale. It’s inconceivable,” the 2005 World Series of Poker changed my poker life forever. Since I was already playing poker regularly, the Moneymaker effect influenced me to redirect my efforts toward tournament play in lieu of cash games.

As the saying goes, “The more things change, the more they stay the same.” This adage applies to my home situation, as well as on the poker tour. For example, I still routinely utilize the picture of my children during tournaments. Over the years, I have updated the picture, but it still brings me joy and keeps me calm during the battles on the green felt. Along with my kids getting older, I regrettably report that in today’s poker world, I’m considered to be part of the older generation. Sometimes, the young online players consider me a dinosaur. Nevertheless, in the past two decades, I have been pleased to show my wife my name on the tournament recap pages and a few television appearances as well. I may also have shown some of the young online generation that I’m not extinct just yet.

Off the felt, I have put my education, especially my MBA, to good use, becoming an active member of the poker media since 2005. I currently host my own radio show (The Bernard Lee Poker Show found on RoundersRadio.com and iTunes), co-host an Internet poker show (ESPN Inside Deal), write for the Sunday Boston Herald and ESPN.com and authored two books, The Final Table: Volume I and II. I have also had the privilege to teach hundreds of students in the World Poker Tour Boot Camps, World Series of Poker Academy and privately.

Perhaps the most fascinating part of my poker media life has been interviewing and eventually befriending numerous professional players and industry experts. For example, I recently interviewed the newly elected Hall of Famer Linda Johnson. Over the years, I have taught with her during World Poker Tour Boot Camps and we have become good friends.

In 2009, I was fortunate to interview the current Card Player publisher, Barry Shulman, on my radio show after he captured the World Series of Poker Europe main event. Media has granted me the thrill of interviewing some of the best and rising stars in the world including the past four World Series of Poker main event champions. One of the greatest benefits of playing on the tournament circuit and knowing these players is the ability to pick their brains. My jam-packed interviews, often heard on my radio show, are not only informative to my listeners, but also have helped me improve my overall game in the process.

Through all of these changes in my life, one piece of poker and media has remained constant throughout these past two decades: Card Player. I religiously read the magazine just as I did back in 1993 and today, I’m very proud to join the Card Player family.

Over the next several months, my column will incorporate my poker life as a regular tournament player and as part of the poker media. I plan to discuss a range of topics; from finding value on the tournament circuit to strategies that can help you improve your game to exciting news from my hectic life in the world of poker. Hopefully, my column will add to your experience while you too read Card Player cover to cover.
See you here next time. ♠

Bernard Lee is the co-host of ESPN Inside Deal, weekly poker columnist for the Boston Herald, ESPN.com and radio host of “The Bernard Lee Poker Show.” Follow Bernard Lee on Twitter: @BernardLeePoker or visit him at www.BernardLeePoker.com.