Somehow over the course of Canada’s first hockey-less season since the invention of artificial ice, the country turned to poker of all things to fill the void.

Instead of betting on how quickly the Leafs would be eliminated from post-season contention, people began focusing more and more on whether they could land a royal flush or a straight to the ace.

Which has led to an interesting success story for one pair of NDGers who are definitely one of a kind.

Twins Derek and Aaron Lerner, 27, grew up in NDG and were pretty well known as a pair of jokesters in the community as teens in the 90s.

Now the two are tearing up the international poker scene and I had a chance to catch up with Aaron while Derek was off on his latest trip to Europe.

Off-Sidel: How did you and Derek get into playing poker?

Lerner: It used to be a Thursday drinking night which turned into a poker game. We’d play dealers choice – all kinds of games, like wild-card games, follow the queen, draw poker, and we’d usually have just a 25 cent limit, so the big winner or loser would be plus or minus $10 or so.

Now, this was before the big poker boom almost seven or eight years ago, during the time of the movie Rounders, and the World Poker Tour was just coming out.

We were fascinated by the whole idea of the (table) cameras and money and prestige at stake, and I was blown away by the concept of being able to win a hand by holding the worst cards and betting at the pot or bluffing.

I was hooked

Derek came in only a few years later, with him being great at computer games and gaming in general, and me being seasoned in the live aspect of poker, face to face.

We had always been into some form of gambling, be it sports betting, casino blackjack or high risk entrepreneurial stuff, so we were never afraid to go broke.

Off-Sidel: Where are some of the more interesting places poker has taken you?

Lerner: I have been to Costa Rica four times, St. Maarten three times, St. Kitts, the Dominican Republic, the Bahamas, Las Vegas over a dozen times, Los Angeles, Atlantic City, Lake Tahoe, Mississippi, Chile, Uruguay and Australia.

Aside from those locations, Derek has also been to Panama, Argentina and recently Monte Carlo, Monaco, where he is currently playing the grand final of the European Poker Tour Championship, which costs 10,000 Euro to get in and pays a whopping 2.3 million Euros to the winner… I stayed home!

Off-Sidel: What's the most you've ever won at a tournament?

Lerner: My biggest cash so far was $70,000 USD in August 2007 on Full Tilt, and more recently, I scored $65,000 USD two weeks ago on PokerStars in a Sunday major.

I also finished in 302nd place in the World Series of Poker main event last summer, which was a $10,000 buy-in, and paid only $33,000 USD.

First place, however, was a whopping $9.3 million USD. That’s more than first place at the Masters, the Kentucky Derby or the U.S. Open tennis tournament.

Derek has been on fire, having a half dozen $50,000 scores, and most recently finished seventh in the Latin American Poker tour in Argentina, for $49,000.

Last year, he was the second best online player in the world, earning him a $50,000 bonus just like that.

He also made a WSOP final table, which was eventually won by Daniel Negreanu, a Canadian mega-superstar in the poker world.

Off-Sidel: How far can poker take you in life?

Lerner: The sky is the limit, for me the poker world has taken me to a place in Lower Westmount, and an average-to-good car.

I would like it to take me to Upper Westmount, and CL 63 AMG Mercedes.

Basically, there are millions of reasons to get better at poker, but I also take the time to give back to some great charities including a Quebec AIDS organization, the Intrepid Fallen Heroes Fund, and anything else I can help out with.

We are fortunate to be games players and high-stakes gamblers, and I feel that giving back is great way to give back to those less fortunate.



Please feel free to contact me any time at noahsidel@gmail.com.