JF: So you survived day one. The number of players remaining gets smaller. Did they make you switch tables?

JY: On day two, I was switched three times.

JF: Can you feel the difference between playing against a professional versus an amateur?

JY: Yes, without a doubt. You fish out info from people over time. For example, the guy next to me on day one had an interesting story. His buddy had died, and he was only was there because his friend had wanted his friends to the play the Main Event. It was in his will. So, he was very nice, but he didn’t really know what he was doing. In general, pros and amateurs play very differently. Pros often make smaller pre-flop bets [Note: bets before any community cards are placed on the table]. Even most amateurs know which cards are good starting hands, but it gets trickier after the flop. When pros know you are an amateur, they are more likely to come after you and put you in difficult spots.

JF: Did any skills you have from being an emergency physician help you at the World Series of Poker?

JY: We work in such a high stress environment and this is just a game, so you can be relaxed. Also, we see a lot of BS. People manipulating us for drugs, not telling us the full story, etc. You learn to observe behavior which you can apply to poker. You can figure out a lot about someone by how they sit or by interpreting their body language. If, all of a sudden, a player is breathing fast or if you can see their carotids or radial pulse just going like crazy …

JF: They are nervous, but is it because they are bluffing or because they have a huge hand?

JY: You have to put that information in the context of their other behavior and actions.

JF: Are you a math-based player or a gut-based “gestalt” player?

JY: Definitely more math, positional. [Note: Positional refers to changing your style of play depending on where you are sitting with respect to the players who have been forced to ante up in a particular hand.]

JF: What’s the highest hand you had in terms of value?

JY: Four of a kind was by far my best hand.

JF: What’s the worst mistake you made?

JY: I truly didn’t feel like I ever made a very bad decision. Overall, I just got whittled down at the end. There’s one hand I did not play that I regretted.