POKER BOOT CAMP GIVES RECRUITS A CHANCE TO TURN $1,495 INTO A WINNING GAMBLE.

Byline: Fred Shuster Staff Writer

You won't catch me white-knuckling it at the World Poker Tour. But you might see one of my fellow students from poker boot camp narrowing the field and raking it in at some big-bucks tournament in Las Vegas.

I'm not a gambler - to me, money's too hard to accumulate to simply flush away on what's ultimately a game of chance - although my no-risk stance is a minority position today. After all, as card players love to remind each other, three poker-made millionaires are minted each month.

I can bluff, but don't ask me for a double belly buster - unless it involves Cold Stone Creamery. When it comes to big-stakes betting, I'd rather be a rail bird.

Still, I recognized a potential pathway to extra income when I saw it up close at a two-day World Poker Tour (WPT) Boot Camp at Commerce Casino. The growing number of intensive poker seminars across the country is an indication that the former rec-room sport of cigar-chomping beer monsters in the 'burbs has been transformed into something hipper - and financially viable.

For $1,500 per student, the boot camp weekend includes intensive classroom training and playing time. But there are no money winners. Students play only for practice, and no cash betting is allowed.

The full house of 60 students at card school came from as far away as New York, Texas and Minnesota to a plush private room at Commerce Casino, the world's largest card room, to study aspects of the game like flops, pre-flops, belly busters, bluffing, nut flushes, freeze outs and, most important, knowing when to fold.

My fellow students included a criminal defense attorney, an investment broker, a real estate loan officer, a telecommunications worker, the manager of a string of airport gift shops and representatives of the movie and beauty industries. All said they wanted to play poker at professional level for personal gain above all. Fun is fun, but an extra comma every two weeks wouldn't hurt.

``I'd like to retire and play for a living,'' admitted Lisa Ferguson, 43, a North Hollywood loan specialist. ``I like to gamble, and this could be a way to make a living if I get really good at it.''

When you watch on TV, professional poker resembles golf with more dramatic lighting. Emotions are kept close to the vest. The tone is subdued. A whisper is the voice of choice.

At poker camp, through, all bets are off. In the hour before a major losing streak sets in, one student celebrated his fleeting season in the sun by going through an elaborate and ear-splitting set of contortions that had instructors rolling their eyes. Another student who'd seen enough bad hands grabbed her stuff and stormed out of the seminar, only to return when common sense prevailed before she'd hit the elevator.

Some people, it seems, are born with a knack for a game that requires intuition, skill and not a little luck. One of these might be Michael Brand, a Valley Village beauty industry executive who was the WPT Boot Camp's big winner when he came from behind to win the 5 1/2-hour student tournament that capped the two-day course. His prize: a satellite seat at the L.A. Poker Classic worth more than a grand. And if he wins that tournament in February, he'll be granted a $10,000 buy-in at the main WPT event, the last stop before the big-stakes televised final table where last year's winner took away $1.8 million.

``I think I developed the ability to never show emotions, while at the same time reading my opponent, from years working as a negotiator,'' Brand, 57, said. ``I'm not even conscious of it. In that final game, I was utilizing the lessons I learned during the seminar - first of all, you have to be aggressive but very cautious. And you have to reach the final table with a substantial amount of chips.''

Brand's reaction to his 12:30 a.m. win was low key as he quietly accepted the round of applause that met his winning cards and shook hands with his fellow Texas hold 'em players. Afterward, the Israeli-born gambler moved to a live-action cash table at the casino, where he was up $300 by 3 a.m.

``It's really about reading people and working with the facts, with the hand you are given,'' reflected boot camper David Munoz, 37, a Whittier attorney who's been playing hold 'em since the beginning of the year. ``It might be a crude analogy, but it's a lot like working in the legal field. Sometimes you just have to bluff.''

Played at eight tables, student showdowns started early on the first day of camp. Billed as a ``fast track to the final table,'' the seminars offer professional coaching, lectures, archived video footage, game play and tips from poker superstars on all aspects of competitive, tournament-level Texas hold 'em. The main thrust: Don't look like a fish begging to be hooked by the player on the opposite side of the felt.

But even though boot camp instructors are happy to teach the poker novice from scratch, most attendees were already intermediate players. And they looked the part. Students, wearing amulets or clutching lucky charms, were mostly successful in not revealing the slightest reaction to the cards in front of them. A good poker player learns to read the smallest facial tic - a talent that can't be honed in anonymous Internet play.

``Where else can you challenge people in an atmosphere that's so much fun - and maybe make some money at the same time?'' said poker student Jonathan Dennis, 54, a Studio City resident who works in the film industry.

Dennis isn't playing solitaire. Ever since televised poker invested intrigue, personalities, good lighting and intimate camera angles in a game that used to come in second to blackjack at casinos, about 80 million Americans now play. Games take place in private homes, casinos and on the Internet, where amateurs and pros gather to play for real money in cyberspace.

Stakes and pots are also getting higher. Last month, after a marathon final table at Binion's in Las Vegas, Australian Joseph Hachem, 39, captured the largest prize in poker tournament history - $7.5 million - at the 2005 World Series of Poker World Championship after a grueling 14-hour no-limit Texas hold 'em final table.

Part of the allure is that anyone can be a winner with the right cards and some well-tuned intuition. In this psychological game of luck and skill, hold 'em newcomers, like Brand, who switched to Texas hold 'em from blackjack last year, have the potential to win a seat on the pro circuit (World Poker Tour, World Series of Poker) by playing online for as little as $40.

``This brand of poker - Texas hold 'em - is exciting to watch and exciting to play,'' said Scott Fischman, 25, a WPT Boot Camp lead instructor and college dropout who grossed more than $600,000 in his first year of play and has been ranked one of the top 10 players in the world. ``If you're a dedicated player who's willing to spend the time to learn and practice, you can add to your personal income. You don't have to be a high roller.''

Despite enthusiasm and ability, Brand and other boot campers haven't been playing more than a couple years, although most make up for lost time by putting in weekend hours at tournaments in Commerce poker rooms. Along with gaming at Commerce Casino, which is about to add 100 more poker tables, the fiendishly popular pastime is played at three other large card rooms in the area: Hollywood Park in Inglewood, the Bicycle Casino in Bell Gardens and Hawaiian Gardens Casino in Hawaiian Gardens.

Meanwhile, six poker TV shows compete for viewers, including the Travel Channel's ``WPT,'' which features 15 major tournaments a year, ESPN's ``World Series of Poker,'' the centerpiece of the sports network's 10-plus hours of weekly poker, and Bravo's tattooed and pierced ``Celebrity Poker Showdown.''

And poker is about to come to the cineplex.

Due next year, director Curtis Hanson's ``Lucky You,'' billed as the first Hollywood film to focus on aspects of the poker phenomenon, sees more than two-dozen poker icons, including Jack Binion, Johnny Chan, Barry Greenstein and Chau Giang appearing alongside Robert Duvall, Drew Barrymore and Eric Bana in the story of a pro player in the world of high-stakes poker in Las Vegas. Jason Lester, who finished fourth in the final event at the World Series of Poker in 2003, served as consultant.

The final table next year is where Brand wants to be.

``I'll prepare by playing on a weekly basis in low-cost tournaments,'' Brand said. ``I'll go to another seminar, and I'll continue reading (poker) books, watching it on TV and playing on the Internet. If you're patient and know what you're doing, poker can be a financially rewarding game.''

Me? Although I managed to soak up a few good tips, I'll stick with a nice safe game of gin.

Fred Shuster, [phone]

fred.shuster(at)dailynews.com

Take your seat at the table

Ever dreamed of having your own heart-stopping moments at the World Poker Tour Final Table?

The intensive WPT Boot Camp offers a way to compress your poker learning curve into a few days and get coaching from experts associated with the Travel Channel's weekly ``World Poker Tour.''

Reservations are now being taken for the WPT Boot Camp's return to Commerce Casino on Oct. 8 and 9. The lead instructor is ``World Poker Tour'' on-stage announcer Linda Johnson, who also operates cruises for poker enthusiasts and stages major poker seminars.

The two-day camp is geared to players of all skill levels, utilizing a curriculum that takes in lecture, archived footage from the WPT and one-on-one interactive play. Classes are limited to 60 students, who eventually play in a private multi-table tournament with the chance to win a satellite seat at a WPT Main Event.

Enrollment costs $1,495 per person, including light breakfast and lunch both days. Room rates at the adjoining Crowne Plaza Hotel-Commerce Casino are an additional $89 per night. Info at www.wptbootcamp.com or [phone].

Hold 'em basics

In the increasingly popular Texas hold 'em style of poker, each player is dealt two cards down - known as ``hole'' cards - and then five cards are dealt face-up in the center of the table during the course of betting. Each player shares these center or ``board'' cards to make the best five-card hand from the cards in the hole and the cards on the board.

CAPTION(S):

5 photos, 2 boxes

Photo:

(1 -- cover -- color) ON THE COVER: Poker student Lisa Ferguson of North Hollywood says, ``I'd like to retire and play for a living.''

(2 -- color) Lisa Ferguson

(3 -- color) As top boot camper, Michael Brand of Valley Village advances to the L.A. Poker Classic.

(4 -- color) Poker pro Alex Outhred explains the finer points of Texas hold 'em to his new boot camp recruits.

(5 -- color) Practice makes perfect for the recruits at the two-day World Poker Tour Boot Camp in Commerce.

Gus Ruelas/Staff Photographer

Box:

(1) Take your seat at the table (see text)

(2) Hold 'em basics (see text)