Bernard Lee

Dubbed ‘the voice of poker in New England’, Bernard Lee is a player that has truly immersed himself in the game since 2005. This was the year that he rose to prominence after finishing 13th at the WSOP Main Event in his first ever recorded tournament cash. The deep run earned him $400,000 as he outlasted the likes of Phil Ivey, John Juanda and former winner Greg Raymer.

Following this emergence onto the scene, Lee went on to win back-to-back WPT titles in 2006 and 2007 at the World Poker Finals stop in Mashantucket. In 2006, he earned more than $360,000 for shipping the $5,000 NLH event and in the following year he earned another six-figure score for winning the $2,000 NLH tourney.

Even though Bernard has racked up well over $2,000,000 in live tournament winnings, he fits more into his day than just playing poker. Early into his career, he worked as a writer for the Boston Herald with his Sunday poker column – a position that he still enjoys today. He’s also contributed to ESPN for poker material, and even released his own book, The Final Table, Volume I. An annual compilation of his columns, Volume II followed in 2008.

Currently residing near Boston with his wife and children, Bernard began hosting a radio show dedicated to poker in 2007. He’s interviewed a number of famous players on air including Daniel Negreanu, Phil Hellmuth and Chris Moneymaker. In 2017, he celebrated his 10th anniversary of The Bernard Lee Poker Show with an epic few hours that included more than $10,000 in giveaways.

In 2008, Bernard even took on a commentary role to cover the WSOP circuit event in Atlantic City. He’s also done commentary work for ESPN.com and co-hosted their weekly poker show called ESPN Inside Deal.

If playing, writing about, commentating on and presenting poker wasn’t enough, Lee even teaches it. He’s been coaching privately since 2005 and was appointed to teach at the WPT Boot Camp and more recently at the WSOP Academy. You can get information about coaching over at his website.

A multi-talented individual with an undying passion for poker, Bernard has made significant contributions to the world outside of it. He created a charity called the Full House Charity Program that works to better the lives of those in need. As he stated in a 2014 interview:

‘I created the Full House Charity Program with one goal: to help local families in need. It’s been a truly rewarding and heart-warming experience’.

Impressively, Bernard has been able to manage all of this whilst still being a regular face on the live poker circuit. Let’s hope he continues to share his passion for poker with others in the years to come.