Tournament Trail Q and A -- Keone Young

The HBO show Deadwood portrays the American West in the Black Hills of Deadwood, South Dakota, before the end of the nineteenth century. The show involves a scene that portrays the death of Wild Bill Hickok as he got shot in the back at a poker table. The show involves many scenes with poker and other forms of gambling, and provides a glimpse at their place in the American West. Keone Young played Mr. Wu on the show,  who was the head Chinese businessman in the town. Young has also had parts in Crank, Crank II, Curb You Enthusiasm, Alias, and NYPD Blue.

Young recently become a student of the game of poker in much the same way he is a student of acting. Young played in the Caesars Palace Classic in October and he cashed in 25th place in his first major live tournament. Card Player caught up with Young to discuss the similarities between acting and poker, as well as the subject of gambling as portrayed on Deadwood.

Ryan Lucchesi: What brought you to poker from acting?

Keone Young: I always loved the game, and I loved playing it with my family. Then reading about it and getting online … anything I do, I study the science of it, and that’s how I am as an actor. Once you’ve studied the science of everything, then you can really do the job well. When I saw poker, I started reading the books, reading [David] Sklansky and [Dan] Harrington and Phil Gordon, and I started studying the math. I studied different aspects of the game, which I liked very much. I happened to be good at it, I don’t know why — I mean, not great at. I was never a great math guy. But for feel, for people, because in acting you’re always sensing other people, and your study is human nature. For me, playing with people I was never afraid. You know how some people when they get up in front of people in public and speak, they become a whole different person when they have to stand up and speak. But for me, I was trained so that I could go in front of 10 million, or 10 thousand, or 10 people and feel very comfortable. So, looking at somebody and going all in and bluffing them, it’s an acting job. That’s no big deal for me, so that’s how I got interested in poker.

RL: Do you find a bigger value from your acting experience in your ability to read other peoples’ emotions or when you act the part to confuse your opponents?

KY: I would say it is to get people to trust you as a human being, because in order to be a good actor you really need to be a good human being. You have to understand humanity, people, what makes them work. [You have to understand] the positive aspects of them, their culture; you also have to understand their culture, because the Vietnamese are one different type of people, and then Americans and the old school are another. Guys like Doyle Brunson, they come from a whole different history and culture. And all of the young online players, they come from a different culture, their concept of money and capital and profit is totally different from the old school. If you study people and their history and culture, then you really have good depth and you understand who you’re playing with. I think that is really an important aspect of the game.

RL: That sense of different cultures is really something that you brought to the show Deadwood with your portrayal of the head Chinese businessman in camp, Mr. Wu. How would you define the blend of cultures in poker?

KY: The show was about how you can identify with other people, and how we all have some kind of commonality. All of the poker players have that one thing, to win, that need to win, or want to win. If you understand that psychology and how different people approach it … how [Mike] Matusow will approach needing to win, or Phil Hellmuth needing to win versus Doyle Brunson’s attitude. That need to win, but yet with much more maturity, and seeing things in the long term as opposed to results now. That has helped me a lot, understanding human beings.

RL: A lot of people come to the game learning the cards and the math first, knowing that they will pick up on tells and reading peoples’ emotions once they become more advanced, and you’re coming into the game the opposite way. What advice would you give people on trying to pick up on different emotions at the table?

KY: Try and understand that person you’re playing with. Don’t react … you know if you were to play with Phil [Hellmuth] you might get upset with him. Try to understand why he does what he does, and once you can understand him as a person, you can probably use that against him. His tolerance level and why he behaves the way he behaves. You know when not to push his buttons, because if people empathize and sympathize with you, they’ll give you a lot of leeway, and then they credit you with a lot of strength, as well. They’ll error on the side of goodness … "he’s strong, he’s confident, he’s good," even if you’re not, which is always good to have in any relationship. Actors have some of the biggest egos in the world, but once you can make a star comfortable with you and make him realize that you’re supporting him, and making him better, then he gives everything up to you and he trusts you, and that’s what you really want. I would say in poker too, have them trust you, have them realize that you are good in terms of human intercourse, and that you are someone to be regarded.

RL: The show Deadwood portrays the death of Wild Bill Hickok at the poker table holding aces and eights. How intertwined are the themes of the American West and poker do you feel?

KY: Relationships between men and how they related to each other … it’s the whole gamesmanship, and that carried on into public life, as well. Particularly in a burgeoning country, people were trying to become something that they weren’t, and competing with each other to do it. Some people became allies, some people became enemies, and poker…in terms of human relationships, poker was a microcosm for that. And if you know something about American history, poker played a deep part in it, in terms of how men could relate to each other, and how they did business. Maybe now it’s different, maybe now it’s golf. But back then it was men sitting around a poker table talking about business and how to conduct themselves in a new society, and it still happens today. There a lot of home games. Where I live, there are all kinds of home games, particularly in the entertainment industry where you just go other people’s homes and play and make deals at the same time.

RL: Do you feel a poker table is where a person’s true character comes out?

KY: The thing about poker and the thing about acting and relating is that you can suppress so much and hide so much. But the good people can always see the truth about someone. The thing about actors and great poker players is that they can choose … If I understand myself so well, I can choose what I want to show you. I can choose weakness … if I want to show you that, or I can show you victory and strength and honor. You can choose these truths about yourself, and show what you want to show to other people.

RL: Did you find that poker was a big melting pot in the American West during your time working on Deadwood?

KY: We dealt more with gambling. In one of the scenes we talk about the Chinese gambling. A lot of times we would play mahjong … a lot of the pai gow games come from Asia. We made this bridge between gambling among men of all cultures. In times of contradiction in our world and our economy, people become more active in terms of taking chances. Maybe that’s why poker is big in America today and in the world, because people are looking for another kind of outlet as opposed to the general course.


NOTE: Picture of Keone Young on the Deadwood set courtesy of Keone Young.

Most Viewed Articles