An Interview with Lyle Berman

Unless you live in Minnesota (as I do) or are infinitely familiar with the poker world inside and out, chances are you have not heard or seen Lyle Berman. The first time I saw Lyle was in January of 2005 in Tunica, Mississippi. There was a poker table cordoned off with two faces that were very recognizable. Phil Ivey and Sam Farha. In front of each of them were stacks of $1 chips which actually signified $1000 in value. I asked someone who the other gentleman playing with them was. "That's Lyle Berman," he said "the founder of the World Poker Tour." I'd heard the name before, after all Mr. Berman was the owner of three WSOP bracelets and had made the final table of the main event the year Hellmuth had won it, but other then that I knew very little about him.

Over the course of the next year, I would find articles about Berman and read them with interest. After all, this man was somewhat responsible for the job I now held (as a poker instructor/mentor at pokerschoolonline.com), and definitely had a hand in the poker boom that had taken place over the last couple of years. I won't bore you with his biographical details as there are a number of places you can find this information, including his recently published autobiography "I'm All In." As one of the two founders and the main financier of the World Poker Tour, Lyle is one of the most influential people in poker today, so when given the opportunity to meet and ask him a few questions, I was thrilled. This is my conversation with him (Note - I did not have a tape recorder with me so most of Mr. Berman's responses are paraphrased from my notes).

You first thought of a poker player's tour in 1985. Why did it take nearly twenty years for it to become a reality?

Lyle: The timing wasn't right. While poker was popular then - and it always will be, it was technology that enabled poker to hit the big time, particularly because of the Internet. The ability for people to play and learn the game from the comfort of their home is the single biggest factor in addition to the World Poker Tour to the emergence of poker.

Has poker reached it's peak?

Lyle: No, not at all, although at some time it will level off and decline, much like golf did after the Palmer/Nicklaus heyday before Tiger Woods came along. But for now I can only see it continuing to move upwards and the turnout at recent tournaments is a testament to that.

Will poker ever make it to the big networks?

Lyle: I think so, yes. If the WPT wasn't committed to the Travel Channel I think one of the major networks would pick it up.

What are the biggest problems poker players face?

Lyle: Poker seems too easy. A lot of people think they can just start playing and win right away because on television it does look easy. But poker takes a lot of discipline in order to be successful. You have to know how to handle the various situations that come up. The biggest problem poker players face and will always face though is bankroll management. Too many players don't know what to do with the money they win. I won't mention names but I can think of a player who won a WPT event and over a million dollars who is know broke because he made poor financial decisions.

Often the lure of the casino and it's other games (and I have a secret for all of you here, casinos don't take your money because of their huge house edge, they take your money because you like it in the casino, you want to be there, so even when you win you don't want to leave - time is money in the casino industry and the more time you spend in the casino the likelier it is your money will end up with them), and the fast paced lifestyle that comes with quick fame and riches leads to poor financial choices.

The media makes outrageous behavior by players such as Mike Matusow and Phil Hellmuth popular - do you think this is problematic for poker?

Lyle: I think it's good for the game. Tennis has their John McEnroe and Andre Agassi, so why can't poker have their Phil Hellmuth and Mike the Mouth? You have to remember it's television and we need to present to the people entertainment, and like it or not, what Phil and Mike do is entertaining. If we didn't want that image on television we could simply edit it out. I will say, though, that the one negative thing I have seen as a result of television is people over celebrating after winning a hand. It's poor etiquette but more and more people are doing it because of the outlandish celebrations you see on television.

You've backed poker players in the past - good or bad investment?

Lyle: Bad investment, although I've backed three of the best players in the world (two of them being Stu Ungar and Jack Keller), I wouldn't do it again nor would I recommend anyone doing it. If you are going to back someone, I recommend a few things. One, only back a winner, don't back the unknown. Two, never back them in a live game when they've just gone broke (for example, player X just lost all his bankroll and comes up to you asking you to stake him - bad idea).

The World Poker Tour does not allow dealmaking at final tables of it's events, don't you think this is unfair considering the players put up their own money?

Lyle: If dealmaking were allowed it would lead to questions of collusion and this is not something we can allow. Additionally it would affect the play of the event. Once the money has been split up, a player might not play as if everything mattered. They sign the agreement before they play the event, so they know that no deals are allowed.

In your book you mention that you should learn from your failures but not dwell on them. What failures have you learned the most from and what did you take from them?

Lyle: I've learned from all my failures, but probably the biggest lesson I've learned is to try and not do too much at once and to be involved if I am going to invest my money. My biggest financial losses have always been where I simply gave my money and not my time.

If there was one thing you could tell the average poker player who dreams of making it... what would you tell them?

Lyle: Put in the hours and study the game and most of all have passion for the game. If you don't love it, you shouldn't be doing it.