Roy Bean came from very poor humble beginnings in Kentucky and left for California and New Mexico at an early age...he killed a man down in Mexico and high tailed it back to California...always running cons and on the move...he ended up in San Antonio selling whiskey and milk out of a tent to locals...he'd water down both to make them stretch further...dipping the water out of a nearby creek...once, a customer found a minnow swimming around in his glass of milk and complained...Bean cursed saying them cows was drinkin' too much creek water.

He married a 15 year old Mexican girl and started a family...but ran off after awhile...he was a rolling stone that craved more action. One day he caught a lucky break...Commissioners in a Texas county made him justice of the peace, and while 3/4 drunk, Bean accepted. He became an even more colorful character...becoming known as the hangin' judge...oddly enough, this probably wasn't true...sometimes he'd stage a hanging, just to scare and intimidate rowdy cowboys...he may have never hanged anyone...

Now, JUDGE Roy Bean, built a small 2 room saloon/courthouse/poolroom...out of which he dispensed justice, based on his 'arbitrary' rulings...one well known story had him fining a dead man with $40 and a pistol on him...Judge Bean fined him $40 for carrying a concealed weapon...'That's my rulin' (his favorite saying) Another case brought before him, an Irishman, who'd killed a Chinese man...friends of the Irishman were hovering around, saying if their buddy was found guilty, that they'd burn the saloon down...Judge Bean quickly found in his lawbook a ruling that said murder was a hanging offense, but it contained no mention of killing Chinese...so he let the Irishman go...'That's my rulin'...another lucky break that he'd 'found' this ruling.

The Judge loved shooting pool and playing poker and selling alcohol to drifters and people passing through, as many would get off a train at this rest stop...(often the Judge was one his own best customers for whiskey)...many train customers wouldn't have the correct change and the judge would linger in giving them their change...when the train's whistle would blow, customers would swear and curse the judge for their change...then the judge would fine them the exact amount for swearing...few would chance missing their train for the change. Lucky for the Judge, the train came by his establishment, as it vastly increased his wealth.

Another possible myth was that the judge had a pet bear he kept....it likely got twisted around and was actually a mountain lion that he kept chained to a tree around to the side of the saloon.
Despite having alot of con in him, the judge often gave 'collected' monies to the poor people around his saloon, as he figured this would help balance the ledger someday in heaven.
Judge Roy Bean had quite a reputation for being tough, much of it only perception and
fake bravado. In his late 70's he literally drunk himself to death one day...they found him dead in his bed in the backroom with the pool table. Bad break to have drunk too much that day.

Lessons for Poker?

1) Everyone can have their 15 minutes of fame...most any on this forum could be at the next WPT or WSOP final table...it just takes the effort, confidence and willingness to try..plus a good run of cards and luck for a few days....we all have runs of good and bad luck...minimize the bad and maximize the good. To win a huge amount at a NL ring or to win a MTT one must play solid poker, get a few lucky breaks, and very few, if any, bad breaks.
2) Don't be intimidated by ANY big name or pro...but don't get crazy or foolish.
3) Caveat - Everyone has their demons that haunt them, poker players included...it often leads to drinking too much...strive to lead a balanced life, and beware excess in anything.