Girl Club Poker

Enthusiast.

2. Is there any female player playing today that you see as an ambassador to ladies poker?

Linda Johnson

3. Do you see there being any difference between men and women playing poker?

There’s no difference between excellent men or women players although each will have their own style. It’s my observation that with lesser skilled players, men will make more mistakes being too aggressive in the wrong spots and women will be too passive.

4. Big tournaments like the WSOP have recently been under attack for their commercialization of the game. Of the major poker tournaments today like the EPT, WPT and WSOP which are the best?

I am not unhappy with any business that advertises and tries to be profitable, and I enjoy all the major tournaments. But of course the WSOP is the top of the line!

5. What would you say are the biggest differences between online and live poker?

At this point, I don’t play online. I own my own business and I’m at my computer most of the day so when it comes to fun I want live bodies.

-a) Where is your favourite place to play live poker? Why?

The Bicycle Club – I love the $6-12 Omaha game there. Not so many people play in it so I know all the regulars and it feels almost like a home game with friends.

6. From your perspective do you think such a big deal should be made about the men entering the ladies event at the WSOP?

How much room have we got for this answer? I am quite passionate about ladies events and men should be kept out of them! Only 3% of the field at the 2010 Main Event of the World Series of Poker were women. It’s not that women aren’t able players – the excellent professional women poker players can and do hold their own with men. But there are so few of them! One has to ask why?

There are two problems that women must overcome to become good poker players: biology and culture. Women as a group have very particular issues with the two things every good poker player needs: aggression and money. Aggression comes more easily when you’ve got a lot of testosterone, and women are encouraged NOT to be aggressive in most cultures. Hello, we only got to vote in 1920.

In a study about women and money, people were asked to pick a metaphor for negotiating. The men picked “winning a ball game”. Women picked “going to the dentist.” That mind-set is telling. It permeates how women and men treat business, sports, competitions, and games like poker. Visit womendontask.com for more information about how gender affects one’s ability to make money and be successful.

Most women aren’t going to feel immediately comfortable in the dominantly male poker world, where aggression is the key to success. But they do enjoy learning poker in a more comfortable female environment, where they can learn to be more aggressive, and enjoy competition. But when men decide to insist on playing in women’s events as some sort of stand against discrimination, they are helping to prevent a large pool of new players from joining in the poker community and contributing money, talent, and numbers to the game. It’s small-minded and doesn’t serve the interests of either themselves or the poker community in the long run. Many casinos have stopped having ladies tournaments because so many men were signing up that it wasn’t truly a ladies event any more.

7. Vanessa Rousso, Liv Bovree – both have won major EPT tournaments in recent history. If you could win any single event which would it be?

The WSOP Main Event. Of course.

8. And who would you want to play Heads-up on the final table?

Daniel Negraneau because he’s charming and makes me laugh, so it would be fun no matter how the match turned out.

9. Cash games are a different breed of poker. Puggy Pearson said the real value was in playing limit Holdem, others have said that Omaha offers the best value and others say NL Holdem with the right bankroll. In your opinion where is the money on the cash tables?

It’s whatever game you know best and that suits your playing style. I love Omaha because it’s fun, although I tend to make more money when I play hold’em.

10. Do you still see yourself playing poker in ten years? If yes, where would you hope to be?

I will play poker as long as I can sit up at a table!

11. Would you stop or encourage your daughter to become a professional poker player? Why?

If I had a daughter, I would encourage her to find work she loved, that she was willing to work hard at, and where she felt like she was a success. If poker fits that bill for her, fine, but I would also encourage her to find an additional profession or charity where she was giving back and being of service to others. Winning the game of life is not a solo pursuit.

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