All In (30 page)

It was time for the river.

Of the four sixes in the deck, one decided to come out and play. I made my straight!

Just like that, my life changed forever.

Almost two years to the day earlier, I had pointed at ESPN's broadcast of the 2005 World Series of Poker and announced to my wife, “I can do this. And when I win, I will use the money for good.”

At ten minutes till four on a Wednesday morning in Las Vegas, I wrapped my arms around my wife as poker's world champion.

I hadn't done this. We had done it. Together.

9.
This was the last year all seven days of the main event were played consecutively. Beginning in 2008, the final table would take place in November while the rest of the tournament would still be played in July.

In an interview immediately following my victory over Tuan Lam at the final table, Norman Chad of ESPN said to me, “You've said the day you came to America from a refugee camp in Thailand was the greatest day of your life. How does this feel?”

I suppose the answer most people expected would have been something like, “Oh, this day is even greater.” After all, it isn't every day you're handed over $8 million in cash. And those millions were sitting right there on the table next to me. But I couldn't compare winning this title to that day. I simply couldn't.

“That was the happiest day of my life. Winning the World Series of Poker also means a lot to me because I know I can use this money to do a lot of good.”

I took those words seriously. I wouldn't be able to look in the mirror if I didn't live them out.

Of course, that doesn't mean I gave all the money away or
felt guilty when I spent some on my family and myself. Not at all. We did use part of the money for ourselves. My newfound wealth allowed my wife to quit her job so she could stay at home with our children, as she'd always wanted. We no longer have a car payment or a mortgage payment. Right after my victory, we sold our house in Temecula and moved closer to both our parents' homes.

However, neither my wife nor I regarded the wealth as a license to indulge our every desire. Both the title and the prize money I took home from Las Vegas that day represented a great responsibility.

I have read many stories of people who fall into wealth only to blow it all in a short time and end up even poorer and deeper in debt than they were before the windfall. Using my winnings for good meant investing them wisely, making them last for the rest of my life as well as the rest of my children's lives. How could I live with myself if I did otherwise?

I also believe the title of World Poker Champion lays a great responsibility at my feet. Many people automatically assumed that as world champion, I would turn pro. They expected to see me on the poker circuit full-time. I seriously considered the possibility and almost did it, but after much prayer I came to believe that God had a different plan.

I still play tournament poker, including many World Poker Tour events. However, I primarily play charity events where I can use my celebrity to raise money for causes near and dear to my heart. I have also worked to bring other poker players and celebrities aboard. For me, using my title for good means
helping change the lives of others, not adding to my own personal bankroll.

Not everyone believed me when I vowed to use my winnings for good. I encountered a great deal of skepticism over it.

People said, “Come on, Jerry, let's get real. Do you honestly expect me to believe you're going to give away one-tenth of the $8.25 million you just won?”

I guess they thought I'd said it only to look good on camera. My response was always the same: “Of course I'm serious. This will be the first check I write …”

Even before my victory, I knew which causes I wanted to support, in addition to my local church and some local charities I had been involved with.

When my wife and I decided where we should give this portion of my winnings, the choice seemed obvious.

Part of the money went to the Make-A-Wish Foundation. During my graduate work at Loma Linda University, I'd spent a great deal of time working in the hospital. There I'd seen children with no hope of recovery. I'd also seen the hope and joy Make-A-Wish gave them. Having grown up around so much death, so much hopelessness, I thought,
If this group can bring joy to a dying child, I want to support them.

Another part of the money went to the Ronald McDonald House. I became acquainted with this organization, too, while in graduate school. While volunteering here, I spoke with many parents who had no other place to stay while their children were in the hospital. The Ronald McDonald House was
making a tremendous difference in the lives of children and their families. Even as a graduate student, I knew someday, if I were able, I wanted to do something to help this work grow.

Beyond giving the organization a one-time gift from my winnings, in September of 2009 I launched the annual Jerry Yang Celebrity Poker Tournament at the Tachi Palace Hotel & Casino in central California specifically to raise money for the Ronald McDonald House near my home.

Another portion of the 10 percent of my prize money went to a work I had long been familiar with. Back in 1992 while in college, I'd awakened in the middle of the night and couldn't go back to sleep. After tossing and turning a while, I got up and turned on the television and immediately knew why I was awake. There on my television was a man named Larry Jones, the president of an organization called Feed The Children, along with his crew, passing out food to children in a refugee camp in Zambia.

I knew those children could have been me.

I pulled out my checkbook and wrote a check for $30, also including a note that said something like this: “Dear Mr. Jones, thank you for your work with children. I'm only a college student and don't have much money, but I want to support your work. Please take this $30 and use it for the children. Someday I hope to be able to send more.” I sealed the letter and the check in an envelope and went back to bed at four in the morning.

A couple weeks later, I received a nice note signed by Larry Jones thanking me for my gift and telling me it was people like me who made the real difference. I never forgot that letter.

Over the next few years, I'd sent checks to Feed The Children as often as I could. I also did a little research on the organization and found that Larry Jones had consistently operated with integrity and the highest levels of accountability. He was the real deal.

After winning the 2007 World Series of Poker, I called Larry and talked with him for a while. Out of that conversation, I decided that instead of simply writing a check, I wanted to underwrite a Feed The Children food drop in Southern California. On the day of the drop, I would help pass out the food right out of the backs of the semitrailers. I couldn't wait.

As the day of the food drop approached, I did a little more research, made some phone calls, and did some digging on the Internet. That's when I discovered that Larry Jones' Feed The Children had brought food and clothing into Ban Vinai, the refugee camp where I'd lived four years. They had helped feed and clothe me when I was one of the starving children in a Third World refugee camp.

When I was in high school, the woman who paid my tuition asked me to promise to show the same kindness to others that I had received. This is now my life's mission. It's why I fulfilled my vow to use my winnings for good and why I live the way I do today. The highest calling is not to someday be the best or the brightest in your chosen field. No, it is to use one's life for good.

Whatever you have, whether a lot or a little, use it for good.

That is the mark of a true champion.

Someone once said poker is a game you can learn in an afternoon, but it takes a lifetime to master. Truer words have never been spoken. Even though I'm a World Series of Poker champion, every day I realize how much more I have to learn. What follows is a small part of what I've learned thus far through both experience and from the books and advice of players I deeply respect. I hope they will help you as you work to master the wonderful game of Texas Hold 'Em.

1. Play to win.
Anytime you sit at the table, you should play with the determination to come out on top. Playing to win is different from playing cocky. The former means you'll exercise the patience, discipline, and determination to prevail. The latter means you'll think,
I can beat all these bums with one hand tied behind my back.
Cocky players usually lack the patience to wait through hours of bad cards for a good hand. You need to be confident in your abilities without dismissing the others' skills.

2. Learn the game.
Read books by great players. Watch instructional videos. Study televised tournaments. Do everything you can to learn strategies and the subtle keys to success. Remember: it takes a lifetime to master poker.

3. Don't quit your day job.
Poker may look simple on television, but winning consistently is difficult. Even the best pros go through dry spells, losing far more than they win. If you take it up, do it for the love of the game, not because you're sick of
your current career. Who knows? You may have what it takes to make a living at it, but every pro will tell you making this a career demands extremely high levels of commitment, focus, and the willingness to grind away at the table day after day.

4. Never risk money you can't afford to lose.
First and foremost, take care of your family. Pay your bills. Pay your mortgage. Put groceries on the table. Only then can you set aside extra money for a bankroll for entering tournaments. When you do enter a tournament or buy into a cash game, look at that money as the price of admission. If you win it back and more, you will have had a great day. But if you lose it, you will have still had a wonderful time playing a game you love. This attitude allows you to play with greater patience and discipline.

5. You must be patient.
Winning consistently comes down to knowing when to apply pressure to your opponents. It's all about waiting for the right moment to strike. Well-timed aggression takes pots and wins tournaments.

6. Know yourself.
Good players prey upon the weaknesses of their opponents. You need to know your own strengths and weaknesses, both as a player and in your personality. Understand your own emotional makeup. You can't control your opponents' actions, but you can control your reactions.

7. Concentrate.
This should go without saying, yet I find many players are only interested when they have a stake in a hand. The moment they fold, they pull out their phone and begin texting or checking their e-mail. I tell all my students to keep their focus completely on the game. Don't let your mind wander. Watch at all times, especially when you're out. Pay
close attention to how your opponents play each hand. The information you gather will help you later.

8. Control your emotions.
All is fair in love and war … and poker. More than once, I've found myself at the table with a player who does everything he can to get under my skin and put me on tilt. I've had players criticize my abilities and even my habit of praying at the poker table. If I let those players get to me, I will soon lose. Always keeping emotions in check is especially difficult when you endure a bad beat. Remember, they're part of the game. Everyone loses from time to time due to the luck of the draw. That's poker. You can't lose your temper or become frustrated when someone hits a gut shot eight high straight on the river and beats your three aces. Accept the bad beat for what it is, and wait for the perfect opportunity to win back your chips.

This book is not long enough to list all the rookie mistakes I made in my first tournament. I finished in the money that day, which proves only one thing: even the worst players get lucky from time to time. Early success often proves to be a curse for beginners because it can reinforce bad habits, but I made careful notes from my first experience and did my best to master the basics. What follow are the eight most common rookie mistakes every player must correct to achieve long-term success.

1. Playing too many hands.
Experienced players know they must fold many hands to survive long enough to take advantage of a strong hand when the cards fall their way. Rookies don't understand this. They call and raise and stay in nearly every hand because of the mistaken belief that everything in poker comes down to the luck of the draw. Successful players create much of their own luck by knowing when to stay in a hand and when to walk away.

2. Lack of patience and discipline.
Poker on television appears to be a nonstop stream of drama and intrigue. That's because ESPN never shows the endless string of hands when everyone folds to the big blind or someone makes a quick raise to which everyone else drops out, giving him the blinds and antes. At this stage in a tournament, monotony and boredom can push people into playing bad hands and making rash decisions. You must be patient to win. You must also keep your emotions in check as you make your way through strings of bad luck and bad beats. Without discipline, you're doomed to fail.

3. Bluffing too much.
Every player bluffs from time to time, projecting strength when, in fact, they have nothing. However, the more you bluff, the more the other players at the table will figure you out and begin setting traps for you. In the end, you become the boy who cried wolf, and your fate will be similar.

4. An overinflated ego.
The Bible says pride comes before the fall. That is especially true in poker. Many beginning players live in denial and mistakenly believe their skills are greater than they actually are. An early run of luck, like the one I had in my first tournament, often feeds the ego and makes the player think he can beat anyone. You must be humble to succeed in poker. If you believe you can step up and run a table, beating everyone with ease, you'll soon find yourself going home with empty pockets.