The Scoop -- Linda Johnson

Linda Johnson is a former publisher of Card Player magazine, former announcer for the World Poker Tour, and a well-respected player, having won a World Series of Poker bracelet in 1997 in the $1,500 razz event. Known as “The First Lady of Poker,” Johnson has been an ambassador for the game for several years.

Diego Cordovez: You won a bracelet in razz, but is it safe to say that if Chinese poker were a regular event at the World Series, you’d have as many bracelets as Doyle or Johnny Chan?

Linda Johnson: [Laughing] I think that Chinese poker is definitely one of my best games, and I would love to see more tournaments. There is one coming at Commerce Casino that I’m planning to play in. It’s in February, and I’ll be there.

DC: People don’t realize that high-stakes players love Chinese poker. Throughout the World Series, on the breaks, the Chinese poker games are bigger than the tournament games or the cash games. There is a lot of skill to it, too. It has kind of a reputation that you just deal the cards and the hands play themselves.

LJ: Oh, there is definitely a lot of skill to it, especially in the deuce-to-seven version of it. In the high, high, high version, pretty much everyone is going to set a hand the same way. When you play the deuce-to-seven version, you have lots of options, and that’s where I think the most skill comes in. But you’re right, they play nosebleed Chinese poker … bet-your-life Chinese poker.

DC: It’d make a good show, a good high-stakes poker show, because people get really passionate about it, and of course there’s criticism of how people are playing. Every aspect of it is really pretty good.

LJ: Yeah, it is. And people who play Chinese poker can play all night long. Even if you don’t play for anything, it’s a game that the viewers at home can learn to play. It’s a great pastime.

DC: When you’re playing, besides setting the hands, are you also reading the other players to an extent, as far as what they’re doing?

LJ: Some people actually have tells in Chinese poker. I played a guy one time for big, big money, much more money than I’m comfortable with playing, but the reason I did is that he had tells. He would always set down his best hand first, so no matter whether he put it down in the middle or the back or the front, I would know where to make my two strong hands.

DC: Did he ever figure it out?

LJ: No [laughing], I didn’t tell him.

DC: Razz is another game that has a reputation for being a card-catching game, but there’s so much more to it. And that’s what you won your bracelet in.

LJ: Yeah, I will say that razz is what I compare to a topless dancer. It’s what’s on top that counts. It’s what’s exposed that counts. So, if you have air in the hole and you’re showing a 2-3-4, it’s very hard for opponents to be calling.

DC: You’ve got to know how to play your board against someone else’s.

LJ: Absolutely.

DC: I know that we’ve talked about this before, but people don’t realize what a good player you are. I don’t want to kill your action by saying that, but you’ve played all of the games for a while. You don’t play a lot of the big tournaments, but especially the mixed games, you’ve played at relatively high levels.

LJ: I love all of the games, and I think that to be a well-rounded poker player, you have to know all of the games. You might walk into a poker room and see that in a particular game, there are eight people who make a living at it, but then you look over and see that there may be a different game that is more appealing. It’s helpful for me to be able to sit down in what appears to be the best game in the house.

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