For $19.95, poker players around the world can have one of the top gifts this holiday season: A copy of “The Final Table Volume II” by author, columnist, and radio show host Bernard Lee. The title, which was just released, incorporates past installments from Lee’s weekly Boston Herald newspaper column of the same name.
The foreword, which was written by poker legend T.J. Cloutier, reads, “I can see that he is both a passionate teacher who inspires his students and really focuses on being a true student of the game. His detailed tournament note taking is impressive. In his Boston Herald columns and his side notes, you can really learn from these hands that he chose to reveal and discuss.” Lee gained notoriety by taking 13th in the 2005 World Series of Poker Main Event for $400,000. That tournament was ultimately taken down by Joe Hachem, who continued the streak of amateurs winning poker’s most prestigious crown.
Lee is a contributor to ESPN.com’s poker club as well as the Herald. In the latter, his “Final Table” column is a hit with readers and incorporates past hands from players on tour. In this book of the same name, Lee adds analysis to each hand. “The Final Table Volume I” includes hands from 2005 to 2006. The second installment features hands from 2007 until June of this year. The idea for the book came from hungry fans of his column, who asked him when he would be releasing archives.
Vivek Rajkumar, who won the World Poker Tour’s Borgata Poker Open, is one of many whose game has been changed as a result of Lee’s influence on the poker world. He beat a star-studded cast at the event’s six-handed final table, including Dan Heimller and Mark Seif. Rajkumar commented on Lee’s influence on his game: “His encouragement and teaching were the foundation for my ongoing tournament career. Without question, The Final Table, Volume II will help improve your game.” Rajkumar also has a final table appearance in the PokerStars Sunday Million, the world’s richest online poker tournament, for $32,000.
Boston residents regularly hear Lee’s voice echoing across the airwaves as part of the Bernard Lee Poker Show, which airs on 1510 AM The Zone in Boston. It is also replayed on Rounder’s Radio throughout the week. A press release distributed on Monday claims that Lee’s is the only poker radio show to air in New England. He has spoken with some of the top minds in the industry as part of the show, including Hachem.
Other entries on his poker résumé include titles in three straight years at the Foxwoods World Poker Finals during preliminary events leading up to the WPT championship event. In 2008, Lee took down a $600 buy-in No Limit Hold’em Shootout event for nearly $23,000. He also finished as the runner up in a $1,060 buy-in No Limit Hold’em event at Caesars Indiana, located just outside of Louisville, for $40,327 as part of a World Series of Poker Circuit Event stop.
Lee became a professional poker player in 2007 after leaving his post at the Boston Scientific Corporation, and for good measure. He has piled up a total of $1.35 million in career earnings, becoming a household name in New England and around the world in the process. Lee is a regular columnist for Poker News Daily, along with Tournament Directors Association Co-Founder Linda Johnson, World Poker Tour Host Mike Sexton, online poker star Eric “Rizen” Lynch, and top female poker pro Annie Duke. Check out Bernard Lee’s latest poker column on our site.
