A Greater Victoria man who has been playing poker for more than 20 years is going all-in after qualifying for the World Series of Poker main event in Las Vegas, which begins July 3.
The competitive poker tournament will see more than 214,600 players from 114 countries play against each other at 99 in-person events at nearly 700 tables at the Horseshoe Las Vegas. The series also features 30 online events.
The winner of last year’s main event took home $12.1 million US, the largest first-prize payout in the event’s 55-year history.
Edward Bergman, who lives in Central Saanich, qualified through playing a $1,200 satellite tournament on GGPoker, an online poker room.
The 37-year-old said he started playing poker as a student at the University of Victoria for social reasons, and won $10 or $20 in his first game. “I was hooked once I figured out I could win money using my brain to buy some beer on the weekend,” Bergman told the Times Colonist in an email interview.
Bergman, who later worked as a poker dealer, playing in card rooms all across Victoria, said his biggest win so far has been $40,000 at last year’s World Series of Poker main event.
While the money is nice for his family, which includes two children, ages five and six, he has his eye on another prize: a World Series of Poker bracelet — considered the most coveted non-monetary token a player can obtain — to show his kids when they’re older “to prove that I’m a great player.”
Having a full time job — he works at a sports data analytics company — and a young family means it can be a challenge finding time to train, said Bergman, who uses an online poker coaching site to practice and study up on the game, fitting in an hour here and there.
He admits he is “hugely competitive” and will play almost any game — from poker to soccer to video games.
He plays intensively for about four weeks in the summer and perhaps another two to three weeks later in the year for some other events. He plays strictly in casinos for tournaments but will sit down for the occasional cash game locally.
“I used to only play cash games but I started taking tournaments more seriously last year to try and win a bracelet. It allowed me to do a bit more travelling for poker,” said Bergman, adding that kind of travel has only been possible with the support of his wife, Kyla.
“Without her I’d probably still be a degenerate gambler living paycheck to paycheck. She and my kids give me the confidence to keep pushing through the frustrations of busting out of tournaments.”
He usually doesn’t play against friends and “barely” plays outside of the World Series of Poker, but “if there’s a good game happening, I’ll play if it fits into my life,” he said.
Many of the poker tournaments involve a trip to Las Vegas. He said that he has been to Vegas ‘too many times to count,” making his first trip at 21. He was in Vegas three times last year and plans to make three to four trips this year as well.
When in Vegas, he said, he tries to keep to a simple routine of eating breakfast as close to the start time as possible and a small snack on each break.
In between hands, he tries to walk around and stretch as much as possible — while still paying attention to opponents and formulating a plan.
“Sitting for 12 hours every day is exhausting on your body — then add constantly thinking about poker situations — and by the end of the day I’m both physically and mentally exhausted,” he said.
Although he describes himself as an introvert, he said he likes to socialize at the table, as it makes everyone more comfortable and relaxed.
“Most people don’t win at poker, so the least you can do is make sure people are having a good time — or what’s going to bring them back next week to lose more money to you?”
He said that most of his closest friends are from his early days playing games around Victoria.
