Barry Greenstein and Linda Johnson Inducted into Poker Hall of Fame

In early November, shortly before the conclusion of the World Series of Poker main event final table, the poker world took some time to honor the 2011 class of the Poker Hall of Fame: Barry Greenstein and Linda Johnson.

The two were each nominated in both 2009 and 2010, but were finally able to punch their ticket after claiming the majority of the vote from the media and the current living members of the Poker Hall of Fame.

In order to be considered, a 40-year-old and above candidate must have played consistently well against top competition for high stakes and have stood the test of time, while also gaining the respect of their peers. Non-players must have contributed to the overall growth and success of the game.

Greenstein and Johnson became the 41st and 42nd members of the Poker Hall of Fame, beating out eight other nominees that included Jennifer Harman, John Juanda, Marcel Luske, Jack McClelland, Tom McEvoy, Scotty Nguyen, Huck Seed, and Annie Duke.

It makes sense that these two poker greats were enshrined together. Outside of their achievements on the felt, both have been instrumental to the growth of poker having tirelessly given their time and effort to promote the game and cultivate its positive image.

Here, Card Player breaks down the two inductees, taking a look at their poker resumés and getting their thoughts on their contributions to the sport.

Barry Greenstein

The 56-year-old poker pro known as the “Robin Hood of Poker” was born in Chicago, Illinois and earned his degree in computer science from the nearby University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Despite more than $7.5 million in career tournaments earnings, three WSOP bracelets, two WPT titles, years spent in poker’s biggest cash games and a widely-acclaimed poker book titled Ace on the River, Greenstein was more proud of the emphasis he has placed on education and the advice he has given to the younger generation of aspiring poker professionals.

“I’ve read some reasons why people thought I should be inducted into the Hall of Fame,” said Greenstein. “Some people mentioned the money I’ve made playing poker and some people mentioned the money I’ve given away, but my proudest poker related achievement has nothing to do with money. I’ve corresponded with young players, explaining why they should stay in school and learn things other than poker. At least once a month, someone comes up to me and says that he graduated from college because he took my advice. That’s my proudest poker achievement and one that fits the definition of success that I was raised with, which is making a positive difference in the world. And to those who think it’s a better idea to play poker than to stay in college and get an education and get that maturity that comes along with that process, I can only say that I’ve never had anyone come up to me and say, because of you, I stayed in school and it was a mistake.”

One of the Poker Hall of Fame’s requirements, of course, is that a candidate must have played for high stakes. Greenstein spent the last two decades competing in the biggest cash games in the world, battling it out with some of the game’s best players while more than holding his own. But since Black Friday, the bigger games have either dried up or reduced their stakes, creating a new definition for those games.

“I noticed that the younger players nowadays differentiate between high-stakes games and nosebleed games, and I’ve certainly played both, but I think the general public has a hard time realizing the difference,” he said. “My definition has always taken into account the amount of money someone could win or lose in the game. If you could win or lose $10,000, then that’s a high-stakes game. Now we’re talking about money that you can actually do something with. If you could win or lose $100,000, then that’s a nosebleed game. Now we’re playing with life-changing money in a game that can actually hurt.”

Greenstein believes that Black Friday has been the biggest culprit in the decline of high-stakes games, not because players are becoming more conservative gamblers, but because there is no longer online poker sponsorship money to carry the game.

“Before the poker boom, the high-stakes games fueled the rest of the poker community thanks to the trickle down effect, but in the last decade or so, we’ve lost some steam because we’ve been reliant on the online sites and their sponsorships to keep players in the bigger games. The online sites put money into promoting their product and obviously a lot of that goes to the players. Now that Black Friday has put a lot of that on hold, there’s a lot less money in poker.”

Though the situation may seem bleak now, Greenstein is confident that there are changes ahead, even joking during his induction speech that all will be well once the United States has a “functional congress.” In fact, Greenstein anticipates a bigger poker boom than the one Moneymaker is credited with back in 2003.

“Best case scenario, online poker becomes licensed and regulated and we have a second poker boom, which I believe will be bigger than the first,” Greenstein predicted. “The only thing really holding us back is the fact that the economy isn’t where it was during the first boom, but I think the fact that the game is more accessible today will be enough to overcome that. The first time around, the problem was that people needed to learn the game before they could play. Now, we have a big pool of players that know the game, but can’t safely play it. Once that is taken care of, we’ll be much better off as an industry.”

Now that he’s in the Poker Hall of Fame, Greenstein isn’t going to rest on his past accomplishments and looks forward to building his already outstanding career.

“As a poker player, I’m not accustomed to having things handed to me,” he admitted. “Most of my accomplishments are the result of successful battles across a poker table. So normally I wouldn’t be that thrilled about getting an award as the result of a vote. However, after seeing what a great year Erik Seidel had since he got inducted into the Hall of Fame, I’m kind of looking forward to some of that Hall of Fame run good.”

Linda Johnson

Linda Johnson, otherwise known as “The First Lady of Poker,” has done everything she could to earn that nickname. Johnson is one of poker’s greatest ambassadors and has had her hand in a little bit of everything during her career, promoting the game as a former owner of Card Player Magazine, current owner of Card Player Cruises, a founding member of the Tournament Directors Association and leader of both the World Poker Industry Conference and World Poker Players Conference.

In 2006, she was awarded the Brian Saltus award, which is given annually to a member of the poker community who brings class and dignity to the game. With a resumé like that, it’s no wonder why Johnson has been one of the most highly regarded figures in poker, becoming only the second female to be inducted into the Poker Hall of Fame.

“I’m honestly ecstatic to be honored and recognized by an industry that I love so much,” said Johnson. “It’s a prestigious group of people, and I although I don’t believe I’m a bad player, I’m obviously not going to match up with some of their accomplishments. I’m just happy that the panel of voters recognized what I have done for the growth of the sport.”

When Johnson first started playing poker professionally in 1980, she faced quite a bit of adversity at the tables and often found herself in some unpleasant situations. It’s a testament to her love of the game for sticking with it through the intolerance.

“In the first tournament I ever entered, I was the only woman. The men were so rude that they sarcastically told me that I would get a free buy-in for life if I somehow managed to win the tournament. When I got to the final table, their attitudes got much worse and they began to gang up on me. They couldn’t possibly allow a woman to win the tournament.
Even casino security gave me a hard time, telling me that I couldn’t have some of the food set out in the room, because it was for poker players only. It was like they couldn’t imagine a woman playing the game at their level. The card room was more like a men’s locker room back then.”

Johnson worked hard to change the atmosphere in poker rooms across the country. Standards for players, floormen and dealers have risen to the point where poker is no longer looked upon as a shady, backroom game and is now one of the focal points of a casino, open to anyone willing to put their money on the line.

It’s no secret that Johnson was inducted into the Poker Hall of Fame because of her contributions to the game off the table, but many might be surprised to find out that she is quite the poker player. In addition to competing in some relatively high-stakes cash games, Johnson also won a 1997 WSOP bracelet in razz, making her one of the few women who have won an open event during the summer series.

“Despite all I have done as an industry leader, my proudest achievement is still winning my gold WSOP bracelet,” Johnson admitted. “I’m still a player first and foremost. I love the game and can’t wait to be dealt my next hand. It’s a passion that hasn’t faded in all of these years. You know, I’m not a nosebleed-stakes cash game player, but I do like to play between $50-$100 and $150-$300 when I can find a game. This summer, I spent almost every day in the $75-$150 Omaha eight-or-better game at the Rio.”

Johnson looks forward to many more years competing on the felt, but she also recognizes that her work off it needs to continue. “My number one goal is to continue working with the PPA to get online poker licensed, taxed and regulated in the United States. Until that happens, I don’t believe there is a greater or more pressing need in the game.” ♠