For the love of the game (of poker)

ESPN staff
May 19, 2016

[+] EnlargeBernard Lee
Courtesy of Foxwoods Poker Since his deep run in the 2005 World Series of Poker Main Event, Bernard Lee has been a fixture in poker -- and despite the shifts in the state of the industry in the last decade, he and many others still find plenty of reasons to love the game.

Poker can be an extremely frustrating game.

I can vividly remember certain moments; flopping top two pair, only to see my opponent catch runner-runner to beat me with an improbable straight. Folding a small pocket pair to a solid raise, just to agonizingly see the matching card appear right in the window of the flop. Getting it all-in pre-flop with an over pair, only to have your opponent hit a set on the turn. Chasing nut flushes to the river in vain, ultimately losing a potentially monstrous pot.

And just when you feel that you have figured out this game, poker karma comes back to bite you, humbly reminding you that you still have a lot to learn.

It extends beyond the action on the felt. Last month, on April 15, 2016, while many people across the United States were scrambling to file their taxes, poker players all around the world recognized the fifth anniversary of “Black Friday” -- the fateful day that changed poker forever, when the U.S. Department of Justice indicted the owners of the three largest online poker sites.

Although there have been some glimpses of hope in Nevada, Delaware and New Jersey, nationwide online poker in the United States is still more of a future dream than a near-term reality.

Poker players long for the days where every television channel seemed to be airing a poker program. Days when numerous magazines, websites, training sites, and podcasts blossomed to capture the burgeoning interest in poker. Major poker tournaments sprouted up across the country, with champions who became instant millionaires.

We instead live in a reality where new poker TV programs are rare, media outlets have been consolidated, and many tournament buy-ins and prize pools have shrunk in the process. Some industry outsiders believe that the poker fad is over.

Seems like a pretty gloomy outlook for poker, right? Many people would question why players like me continue to play poker.

Well, my response is very simple: I still love the game of poker.

Poker is a complex strategic game of imperfect information. To play the game at a high level, one must utilize analytics, psychology, mathematics and intuition to formulate a decision. In tournament poker, the objective is combining enough aggression to accumulate chips, while utilizing just enough passive behavior to survive. Balancing all of these intriguing aspects of the game, along with the colorful personalities in the poker world, ensures that every day at the tables will be different from the next.

Personally, I am constantly discussing poker with fellow players, learning new strategies, betting techniques, and psychological aspects that I integrate and implement into my personal game. With the game constantly evolving, I rarely become bored at the tables and enjoy all the various challenges that game presents. Three-time WSOP bracelet winner, Jason Mercier, agrees.

“The game is always changing so much. I feel that I am always learning, adapting and changing my own game,” said Mercier. “I am often discussing hands with my fellow poker players, constantly trying to get better. I think it’s literally the best way to improve your game. Overall, I still love playing poker, especially the competition, whether in cash games or tournaments.”

Some players feel no-limit hold’em has become too banal. While the game is still the mainstay of poker, especially in tournaments, many players continue to have interest in poker due to the numerous mixed games, including the recent derivations like Badugi and Chinese poker. This growing interest is especially evident at the WSOP with the newly introduced Dealer’s Choice bracelet events, where the players choose from nineteen different games.

Personally, deuce to seven lowball, both no-limit single draw and limit triple draw, have become my new games of focus. Other veteran poker players strongly agree that these novel games have continued their love for the game.

“Hold’em will always be the bread and butter game, but with all of these new games that keep coming out, such as Chinese poker, badacey, badeucy, badugi, it keeps me interested,” said three-time WSOP bracelet winner and two-time WPT champion, Michael Mizrachi. “All of these games maintain my love and passion for the game.”

“After winning the main event, I wanted to challenge myself and try some new stuff to keep the game interesting. Learning these mixed games has really helped me continue to love poker,” recalled 2010 WSOP main event champion Jonathan Duhamel.

When I’m playing live poker, I also enjoy meeting new people and watching the colorful characters that emerge during every poker tournament. I have even met some of my closest friends while playing poker over the years. Although he continues to play in high stakes tournaments, 2003 WSOP main event champion Chris Moneymaker still enjoys playing in smaller buy-in events to meet the fans and play with the every day player.

“I enjoy meeting new people and surprising them at nightly tournaments, which they may have not expected me to play,” said Moneymaker. “I like playing in these tournaments and having a good time, drinking a few drinks with my opponents and just having a few laughs. To me, this is what poker is supposed to be.”

Some players love to turn their travels around the world to play poker into vacations and opportunities for exploration. Fortunately for those players, numerous tournaments are based in some of the most beautiful locations in the world. I attended the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure on Paradise Island in the Bahamas for several consecutive years, and that tournament was the only one that I brought my family to -- they eagerly awaited the trip every year.

2014 WSOP APAC main event champion Scott Davies feels very fortunate to have the opportunity to combine the two activities.

“For me personally, my favorite thing about poker is the travel opportunities,” said Davies. “Poker is now a truly global game with major poker tours making stops on all continents. Poker travel is unique in that it presents the opportunity to meet other local players at the tables. So not only have I gotten to see the world, but I’ve been fortunate enough to meet some interesting people and have made some great friends all over the world.”

Mercier highlights the tangential benefits that serve as a small silver lining to Black Friday for him.

“To play PokerStars’ SCOOP and WCOOP, I have gotten to travel to so many different countries such as Netherlands, Aruba, Toronto, and Dominican Republic. Places I may not have gone to had it not been for Black Friday. It is pretty awesome to think about how many different places I’ve gotten to go to just because of poker.”

Even with the long grind of the poker year, the WSOP is almost upon us. Every poker player, including myself, becomes a little giddy with excitement. This time of the year is the equivalent of the December holidays for kids; the anticipation, the hope, the belief that you can have that run of a lifetime and be the last one standing, holding the coveted gold bracelet. This image is the dream of every poker player, and it’s what keeps the excitement and love of playing poker alive.

“Every year, I just can’t wait for the WSOP to get here,” said 2012 WSOP main event champion, Greg Merson. “Beside the holidays, it is my favorite time of year where I get to play poker every day for two months and hang out with my friends from all over the world.”

In the end, I don’t play poker for the notoriety or the money (well, maybe a little bit for the money) -- I play a game that I love for a living, and I’m so thankful every day for the opportunity.

Duhamel, who’s also the reigning WSOP High Roller One Drop champion, said it simply and said it best.

“I just love playing poker. I don’t know what I’d be doing in my life if it wasn’t playing poker.”

Bernard Lee is the host of The Bernard Lee Poker Show, which you can download at RoundersRadio.com.

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