Part Time Poker Interviews Linda Johnson
Linda Johnson has, without a doubt, one of the most recognizable names and faces in poker. Whether it’s for her pioneering work at the table as a successful player, with the pen as an accomplished poker author, or as a businesswoman who was among the first to recognize the potential for poker to grow via television and the internet, Linda can lay claim to helping shape poker into the industry it is today. Be sure to check out Linda’s current venture, cardplayercruises.com, where you can get your hands on the poker vacation of your dreams. Linda spoke about the cruises and more in our email Q & A …
Linda Johnson
PTP: First of all Linda, thanks for taking the time to talk with us – it’s appreciated. Also, congratulations on winning the California State Ladies Poker Championship. Why don’t you tell me a little bit about that win and your experience with the tournament in general?
LJ: The CSLPC has been around for nine years and is one of my favorite poker events. It isn’t just a poker tournament…it is a good opportunity for women to meet and enjoy social activities together as well as playing poker. The women seem to play better and better every year and this was no exception. The final table was tough, but I won a few key hands and was able to come home with some beautiful trophies.
PTP: Do you think all-female tournaments are going to become more popular as poker continues to grow or are events leaning more toward completely integrated?
LJ: Ladies events seem to be gaining steam. The fields are getting bigger and bigger which would lead me to believe that they will become more popular.
PTP: There’s certainly an increase in the number of women participating in poker today at all levels – in your view, how has the experience of being female in the poker industry changed over the last decade?
LJ: When I first started playing poker in public cardrooms in the ’70s, it was rare to see more than one or two other women in the poker room. Today, almost 25% of the live games are made up of women. The atmosphere in the poker room many years ago wasn’t conducive to women wanting to play…there was bad language and lots of player abuse. In today’s poker rooms, this type of behavior isn’t tolerated and women can actually have a lot of fun playing.
PTP: I’m sure you’ve answered this question more than a few times, but I’m curious to know your thoughts on the way in which men and women differ in their fundamental approach to poker.
LJ: There really isn’t a lot of difference between the approaches. Women have an edge over men generally speaking because they are usually able to keep an even keel at the table and not let their egos get involved. They don’t go “on tilt” as often either. At the lower limits, women are not usually as aggressive as the men, but at the high limits, there is no difference in aggression.
PTP: In addition to being a successful player, you’re also involved with a number of poker-related enterprises. Tell us a little bit about some of your current projects.
LJ: I am a partner in CardPlayerCruises.com. We put on poker cruises five times a year to various destinations and set up a poker room and run live games and poker tournaments as well. We have a no abuse cardroom and have games of all limits, though most of our players are strictly recreational lower-limit players. Card Player Cruises also hosts the World Poker Players Conference once a year which is a day of poker seminars taught by some of the best poker players in the world.
I also am the studio announcer for the World Poker Tour. I love this job as I get to travel all over the world and meet lots of wonderful people. I host various tournaments around the country and am an instructor for the WPT Boot Camp. I love teaching poker and have taught thousands of people to play on our cruises and in seminars around the country. I also am a columnist for Card Player magazine.
PTP: With all of that on your plate, how much time do you actually get to play poker in a given week?
LJ: I play mostly online these days because I rarely have time to go to the casinos for extended play times. I probably play 25-30 hours a week on average. I still love poker and wish I had more time for it. Now I usually play while answering emails or writing articles.
PTP: I know that you were involved in online poker fairly early on; additionally you’ve been working with the World Poker Tour for quite some time. Did you see the potential for growth in each medium when you first got involved, or were you as surprised as a lot of us were when it all took off?
LJ: Actually I really believed the World Poker Tour would take the world by surprise and turn poker into a very popular game. Being able to see the players’ hole cards was the key, and once people see how much fun it is, they want to play. Once they play, they can’t wait to play again. As far as online poker goes, it is a great way to keep your mind sharp and people love it so although I didn’t think it would ever be as big as it really is today, I did know it would be popular.
PTP: Which WPT destination has been your favorite to date?
LJ: I am probably partial to the PartyPoker.com Million events since they are held on one of our poker cruises each year. We actually charter the whole ship and have 2,000 poker players cruising for a week and playing poker. I like all of our stops, but especially the exotic locales like Aruba and the Bahamas where I can enjoy the beaches and snorkeling.
PTP: Let’s go back to the Poker Players Alliance for a second. How did you get involved with this project, and what role do you see the group playing as the legal climate surrounding online and offline poker becomes more and more heated?
LJ: I met with the chief executives of the PPA and listened to their plan. I was impressed that they were the first true nonprofit organization that was interested in protecting the rights of poker players so I decided to get involved. I am currently on the Board Of Directors. It is scary to read the stories of charity events getting busted, home games being raided, and senior citizen centers shut down because of regulations against gaming. We need to band together and fight the governmental interference in our right to play poker.
PTP: There’s a bit of an ongoing argument in the online poker community regarding the growth cap for online poker. If you were graphing the growth, would you characterize the present as a peak or just another point on an ascending line?
LJ: I don’t think we have peaked yet. The growth can’t continue to grow at the rate is has over the past two years, but I still think there will be continued growth for years to come. And why not, poker is fun!
PTP: In your opinion, who are the three most important names in poker right now?
LJ: I think Mike Sexton is number one. He has always had great vision when it comes to poker and is the voice behind the World Poker Tour. Chris Moneymaker and Greg Raymer are also important names because when they parlayed their online satellites into millions of dollars by winning the world championship, they inspired players to go for the brass ring. I know you only asked for three names but I’m going to give you four…Barry Shulman is another. As the major owner of Card Player, the Bible of poker publications, he has a great influence on our industry.
PTP: Thanks for your time, Linda
LJ: No problem, best wishes.
