Do you ever get that feeling that you have seen someone before but you just can’t quite put your finger on where you saw that person? Linda Johnson is the kind of person that fits that description. If you are a poker player and have attended a few tournaments you may have noticed her calling the action. If you just watch poker on television, then you may have noticed her standing at the final table, announcing. However, Johnson did not earn the name “The First Lady of Poker” just by being an announcer for the WPT. No, her contributions to the game have been among the greatest the game has ever seen and that is why she is the newest member of the “Pokerology.com Hall of Fame”.
Linda Johnson was first introduced to the game of poker from her father. Her father made a fair amount of money from poker while he was in the Army, and tried to stress to his daughter that it was one of the few “gambling” games that you can make money at with a proper skill set. Johnson understood what her father was saying, but as soon as she left for college she forgot what her parents had taught her. Instead of playing poker, she would go play blackjack, and while with basic strategy you can almost make the game break even, her father was still alarmed when he found out her daughter had stopped playing poker. In a heart to heart kind of conversation, her father told her that with poker you can constantly make money, and with any other game in the casino that is not possible. This time, the advice stuck, and so begun Linda Johnson’s decent up the poker ladder.
After having mopped up the competition from her co-workers at her job at the post office, the next logical step was moving to the casino. In the early 1970’s Johnson was considered as a bit of a joke from the casino regulars, all guys. In fact, almost everyone playing poker at the time was a male. Johnson immediately wiped the smirk off their faces, by finishing at the final table of a $44 dollar tournament, where she was also believed to be the first woman to ever participate in that tournament. Linda would go on to become a successful cash game player over the next 20 years, but as the years went by she could not help but feel there was something more she could do for the game.
In 1993 she began publishing CardPlayer Magazine, which has since become the most respected poker magazine on the market today. Up until relatively recently, poker was still regarded as a game played by cheats and conmen, so it was Johnson’s goal to bring poker into a positive light, concentrating on the good of the game, such as the competitive spirit, and the genuinely good people who play the game. People began to see her efforts, and Johnson became very well known within the poker community.
While attending the magazine, Johnson continued to play poker, winning a WSOP Bracelet in Razz in 1997. The cash of $96,000 was one of the highest cashes ever for a woman. Her competitive juices continued to flow, and in 2000 she left her position at the magazine to go back to being a professional poker. However, just a few weeks into her second life as a professional poker player, she was asked by a brand new poker circuit, by the name of “World Poker Tour,” to join them in some capacity. Johnson took the job as an in-studio announcer, and of course the launch of the WPT coincided with the biggest poker boom in history, making it a huge success. Johnson loved her new job, but had remembered a promise she had made to herself – if she ever became even more famous, she would help the game even more. Well, being on television weekly got her that fame, and she used it to her advantage.
Arguably one of the greatest organizations to ever be founded in terms of helping the game of poker grow is the Tournament Director’s Association. Before the TDA, many tournaments, even well known ones like the WSOP, did not have a set in stone rule list, which made it very hard for a poker tournament to run properly, especially considering some tournaments now have over 8,000 entrants. The TDA created a list of rules, and structure they hoped all casinos would follow, and for the most part, any tournament circuit that wants to be taken seriously has adopted these rules. Linda Johnson co-created the TDA, with the help of her best friend and fellow poker professional Jan Fisher, tournament director Matt Savage, and poker room manager David Lamb.
Over the last few years Johnson has also helped direct CardPlayer Poker Cruises, which are cruises specifically designed just to play poker. The idea of a poker cruise was met with funny looks at first, but they have since become great fun for beginners and advanced players alike. You get a chance to sit down with the best players in the world (if you dare) and see some beautiful spots around the world at the same time. Poker Cruises first appeared around 20 years ago, but have only since gained the popularity they have, and much of that can be attributed to Johnson’s experience.
Women of the WSOP: Linda Johnson is the 'First Lady of Poker'. Johnson was a member of the inaugural 2008 class for the Women in Poker Hall of Fame, along with Barbara Enright, Marsha Waggoner and Susie Isaacs. Three years later in 2011, she was honored as a member of the mainstream Poker Hall of Fame, inducted alongside Barry Greenstein.
Last year was a big year for Johnson. She started the charity “PokerGives.org” which makes it easy for professional players to contribute money to their favorite charities. She was also inducted into the World in Poker Hall of Fame for her tireless contributions to the game, which makes it a no brainer that she has been elected as one of the inaugural members of the Pokerology.com Hall of Fame.
Poker Hall Of Fame 2017
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By Robert Jones
Robert lives in rural Virginia, and has been playing poker online since 2004. He enjoys writing about the history of poker, learning as much as he can about the legends of the game.
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| Linda Johnson | |
|---|---|
| Nickname(s) | The First Lady of Poker |
| Residence | Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S. |
| Born | October 14, 1953 (age 66) Long Island, New York, U.S. |
| World Series of Poker | |
| Bracelet(s) | 1 |
| Money finish(es) | 7 |
| World Poker Tour | |
| Money finish(es) | 1 |
Linda Johnson (born October 14, 1953) is an American professional poker player, journalist and consultant, based in Las Vegas, Nevada. She was inducted into the Poker Hall of Fame in 2011.[1]
Early life[edit]
Linda Johnson was born in Long Island, New York. Before becoming involved in poker, Johnson worked for the United States Postal Service and traveled to Las Vegas regularly to play blackjack. Her father, a career service member, convinced her that playing poker was the best way to gamble as it was not played against the house.[2]
Poker playing career[edit]
Johnson began playing poker in 1974 and won a World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelet in 1997 in the $1,500 seven-card razz event.[citation needed]
She also appeared in the Poker Royale: Comedians vs. Pros series.[citation needed]
As of 2010, her total live tournament winnings exceed $300,000.[3]
Other poker activities[edit]
Johnson is known as 'The First Lady of Poker', a phrase coined by Mike Sexton due to her lengthy association with the game, in particular the World Poker Tour (WPT) as she explains in the Ladies Night episode of WPT Season 6.
She worked as the publisher of CardPlayer Magazine for eight years, before selling the company to Barry Shulman. However, she still writes articles for the magazine. She also set up the Tournament Directors Association (TDA), which sets common rules for tournaments such as the WPT. She continues to be involved with the TDA by serving on the Board of Directors.
Johnson was one of the founders of the World Poker Tour and was the announcer to the studio audience for its first six seasons. In addition, she is a partner in Card Player Cruises.
In 2009, Johnson helped found PokerGives.org, a nonprofit organization that makes it easier for poker players to donate to charity.
On Monday, February 27, 2017, the World Poker Tour awarded Ms. Linda Johnson with the inaugural WPT Honors Award, representing outstanding contributions to the WPT and the greater poker community. “We are proud to present Linda Johnson with the inaugural WPT Honors Award,” said Adam Pliska, CEO of the World Poker Tour. “The award represents WPT’s highest honor and will serve as a lasting tradition that allows us to recognize the most important people in our industry and in the WPT’s history. Linda played a unique role in helping shape the World Poker Tour, and she embodies all that the WPT stands for.'[4]
References[edit]
- ^Collston, Bret (October 27, 2011). 'Barry Greenstein, Linda Johnson Voted Into Poker Hall of Fame'. PokerNews. Retrieved October 27, 2011.
- ^Lutynec, Joanne Linda Johnson: First Lady of Poker. September 13, 2005. CardSquad
- ^'Linda Johnson'. The Hendon Mob. Retrieved February 11, 2011.
- ^http://www.worldpokertour.com/news/wpt-honors-linda-johnson/