IHC grad turns skill into site on poker

[Eric]

If you don't know when to hold 'em or when to fold 'em, Watertown
native William F. Murphy has just the training tool for you.

After a few years of playing poker professionally, Mr. Murphy started
Bluefire Poker four months ago. The Web site offers video training
with professional poker players that explains not just what to do, but
why.

"It trains people how to think about it," Mr. Murphy said. "A poker
pro is telling you why he's doing what he's doing."

The videos are from 30 minutes to an hour long. There are four or five
new videos each week.

"It's like a college for poker," Mr. Murphy said.

The lead pro on the site is Phil Galfond, who has won a World Series
of Poker bracelet and millions of dollars online.

"A lot of people wanted to learn from the best players," Mr. Murphy
said. "Phil is known as one of the top online guys."

If players wanted a pro poker tutor, it would cost hundreds or
thousands of dollars an hour, Mr. Murphy said. But on the Web site,
the subscriptions for videos are $100 to sign up and $30 per month.

Mr. Murphy said the site also has free memberships to access blogs and
articles.

So far, the site has a few thousand subscriptions. The site has a
partner in Europe, www.PKR.com, and recently was featured on Fox
News.

Mr. Murphy said the market for poker training and online poker is
huge.

"Many people assume they can't play poker online anymore because of
some legislation, but poker is totally legal online," he said. "It's
banks funding foreign poker rooms that isn't allowed."

Mr. Murphy is a 2001 graduate of Immaculate Heart Central School and
grew up in Watertown. He went to DeSales University, Center Valley,
Pa., where he picked up poker, playing for pennies per hand online.

By the time he graduated, he was making $25 to $30 per hour. He
quickly realized playing professionally would be profitable. He said
he got good training from other pros as he focused on poker and played
for a few years.

"It was a good way to build capital up," said Mr. Murphy, who now
lives in Tucson, Ariz. He put some of his winnings toward the Web
site.

"We are offering something unique so that people can learn from the
pros," he said.

He compared poker bets to business ventures - knowing the odds is like
understanding the risk of an investment.

"People who don't understand the odds will throw money into it without
understanding the risk," he said. "Winning really is not luck at all.
Over the long term, the good players always win."
Poker For Dummies http://pokermilk.com/7