Bernard Lee has racked up $1.35 million in winnings off the game of poker, but he also logs plenty of hours as a swami of the game, educating many aspiring players.
The 13th overall finisher at the 2005 World Series of Poker Main Event co-hosts the ESPN television show Inside Deal and pens a poker column in the Boston Herald, which has led to two book releases.
Lee is also a teacher at the World Series of Poker Academy and has rolled through Michigan to compete in a past Heartland Poker Tour event at Soaring Eagle Casino. That extensive experience in tow, Lee was able to peg down some tangible answers to the open-ended question ‘What can little old me do to improve my poker skills?'
"One, don't play as many hands as you play," Lee said. "People play just too many hands. They decide to get involved with very marginal holdings and they play."
Another strategy Lee suggested is to utilize play position. Players can have more liberties when they are playing in late positions because it forces players in earlier positions to make the first moves.
"The comparison can be made to Black Jack," said Lee, who totes a master's degree in biology from Harvard. "What's the advantage to the dealer? Well, you have to act first. If you bust, the dealer doesn't have to do anything ... Similar to poker, the person who is in early positions will have to act first. If that person checks, you might be able to take down the hand even if you don't have anything."
Lee, who regularly rubs elbows with the sport's elite, welcomes the debate on which player is best, as no exact criteria exists to gauge a player's ability. All things considered, Lee pegged pro Phil Ivey as the top player in the world.
Such is a conversation you can tell John Faarup - a Grand Valley State University graduate - has had often. The 25-year-old, who ditched his journalism gig to play poker online, said it's a never-ending argument.
"It is fun to debate, I suppose, but it is like asking ‘Who is the best football player of all time? Johnny Unitas, Peyton Manning, Barry Sanders, Jim Brown, Joe Namath, Watler Payton,'" Faarup said. "It's just way too subjective."
Faarup recently competed in his first live tournament, a sit-and-go in Las Vegas, where he emerged as champion.
"Don't use any slow play or trickery of any kind," suggested Faarup, who is also an instructor on cardunners.com and stoxpoker.com. "Just try to get paid off with your strong holdings. Position is of utmost importance because being able to act last after the flop is the biggest advantage you can have."
If you're lucky enough to get as far into a big tournament as John Kurfman, a Heartland Poker Champion in 2009, do what he considers being the simplest but most underestimated strategy:
Just relax.
Name-career earnings
1. Phil Ivey - $12,799,787
2. Daniel Negreanu - $12,483,065
3. Jamie Gold - $12,187,854
4. Peter Eastgate - $11,132,939
5. Joe Hachem - $10,670,474
*Source: PokerPages.com
