Poker faces sunny Bell Gardens; famous players risk huge sums nearby the little guys.

Poker faces sunny Bell Gardens

Famous players risk huge sums nearby the little guys

"There are a lot more people to take money from here than there are in Las Vegas," Stu Ungar said last week between poker games at the Bicycle Club. "The city is becoming a nice place to gamble because there's a constant flow of people and money. There's more money to take out of here than there is in Las Vegas."

Of course most gambling is illegal in California and as a result, most people would think that the major poker tournaments take place in Las Vegas, or maybe Atlantic City.

But that is not true. Players say the second-richest and biggest poker tournament in the world now takes place every year at the Bicycle Club, the 6-year-old card-playing emporium in Bell Gardens.

The sixth annual Diamond Jim Brady Poker Tournament at the club runs through the end of the month with daily games, called "events" in the parlance of the tournament, and estimated total prize money of $5 million, which comes from player "buy-ins," the amount of money it takes to get into each event.

There are big-name players, as well as those who have won a few dollars on a Saturday night and want to test themselves

PHOTO : High roller: Stu Unger cashes in at The Bicycle Club against the pros. Basically, anyone who can afford the buy-in, which at the tournament ranges from $300 to $10,000, can play. By the end of the tournament, up to 2,000 players will have participated, and most of them will have lost money, organizers said.

The tournament and the Bicycle Club are legal in California because the players are betting against each other, not the house, which is the case in casino gambling in Nevada and Atlantic City.

There is serious money involved and the players take the tournament seriously. Players like Ungar, a 36-year-old New Yorker who now lives in Las Vegas. He is a professional poker player who says he wins between $100,000 and $1 million a year in various tournaments.

Ungar is an internationally ranked gambler by The Card Player, a trade publication that polls players and compiles at list from the results. But Ungar says he is really the fourth or fifth best poker player in the world, not the 10th, which is how he is ranked by the periodical.

And gin, not poker, is really his game. Because he is the best gin player in the world, Ungar has not had a competitive game in years, he said.

"My biggest single pot in poker was $550,000 and my biggest loss was $300,000," he said.

Ungar said on an tournament off-day that the Bicycle Club event is becoming one of the biggest tournaments in the country and is attracting the top players because of the number of potential gamblers.

"There are 10 million people around here and, what, a million around Las Vegas? So, there are a lot more people with a lot more money. There's always constant action," he said.

Pools for the 20 events during the tournament range from $43,000 to $800,000.

First place prizes for events start at about $20,000 and go up to about $350,000 and if someone were to enter and win every event, the winnings would total $2 million.

Ungar was not sure how many events he would enter during the tournament but he said part of the attraction of playing in the big events like the one at the Bicycle Club is the side games that go on among players.

Although it is the name players like Ungar who attract the most attention, there are many other participants who play more for the challenge than any real hopes of winning.

One of those players is Carl Paulsen, a 59-year-old accountant from Montclair, who had just been knocked out of the $300 buy-in, 1/2 hold 'em, 1/2 seven card stud event.

The event combined traditional seven card stud with Texas hold 'em where each player receives two down cards as their initial hand.

Paulsen had made his best showing in a tournament, making it to the final 24 players from 289 that entered the event. Over two days, he had spent about 10 hours playing in the event and because he had made it to the finals, paulsen won $500, which meant a $170 profit after the buy-in and the $30 entry fee.

He had lost on two pairs to three jacks.

"Right now I feel like a six-car accident but it was worth it. I had my best finish in a tournament."

Why does he play?

"Basically for the thrill of victory and for the thrill of competition."

And what does it take to be a good poker player?

"To get through a tournament like this it takes skill. It takes a combination of skill and luck to win but to get you through to the end it takes about 70 percent skill."

Paulsen said he was on his way to the main floor of the Bicycle Club to get into another game.

Shawn Strench, a dealer at the club, is also acting as a dealer for the tournament.

"The difference between the tournament players and the players on the main floor is that in the tournament there is serious competition. In the big room the players are there more for entertainment rather than for competition."

He said his job is to deal the cards and act as an impartial observer if there is a dispute between players. Disputes are arbitrated by an event referee who depends on the dealer to tell him what happened.

"The difference between the top players and the lower players is the best players are patient and professional while the lower players grumble and complain a lot."

But it is to the unspectacular players that the Bicycle Club is geared. The 101,000-square-foot facility, just like a Nevada casino, is open 24 hours a day and has 17 acres of parking.

There is one big room with dozens of card tables and a smaller room for Asia poker. A restaurant and bar are open 24 hours a day. There are also a delicatessen, a beauty salon and barber shop, free instruction on playing poker and banquet and meeting rooms.

George Hardie, the club's managing partner, who has also been ranked by The Card Player as one of the 32 best poker players in the world, said the tournament is advertised in trade journals but also attracts participants by word of mouth.

"The key to being a successful tournament player is money management. Win or lose, you have to be under control. We say you can't go on tilt, which means playing with your emotions and not playing smart."

Hardie described the top players as being smart and having big egos.

"Poker players are real quick and can grasp concepts fast. They also have to have a lot of self-esteem. If they lose, they always say it was a bad run of the cards, not bad play."

PHOTO : Hot hands: Tournament pools range from $43,000 to $800,000