Good Aggression Vs. Bad Aggression

Former Miss Teen Oklahoma and World Poker Tour Ladies Night champion Clonie Gowen always attracts a crowd. As one of the most recognized female poker players in the world, Gowen has a reputation as a fierce and formidable foe on the felt. Gowen will be serving on the players' committee at the 2009 World Series of Poker.

Card Player caught up with Gowen yesterday to discuss her 2008 World Series of Poker run and her thoughts on the recent changes to this year's main event final table.

Alex Porter: How has the 39th World Series of Poker been treating you so far?

Clonie Gowen: Well, I'm out of the tournament today. I'm just playing cash games. I play more cash games than I do tournaments. I busted out of the $5,000 event pretty early, but I've cashed four times this series and this is the 10th tournament I've played.

AP: Have you noticed any specific trends in your opponents' play this year?

CG: There are more aggressive opponents out there, obviously from the Internet. Typically, the younger the guys are the more aggressive they are. They're fearless, which is a good thing, but it can also be a bad thing. Sometimes they don't know how to use that aggression to the best of their ability. There's good aggression and bad aggression, and bad aggression always gets you in trouble. Good aggression gets you all the way where you need to be.

AP: How do you feel about the postponement of the main event final table?

CG: We'll see. We were all pretty shocked about it at first, and my initial reaction was that I didn't like it. I don't know, we're going to have to see. I think it's probably going to end up being a good thing.

AP: Good in what sense?

CG: It looks like it will attract more players and sponsors. It will attract more of the regular world. The final table could end up being more like a boxing event. You could even sell seats. There are so many possibilities, and I think it's quite smart of them to test it out at least for one year. If it doesn't work, then next year they go back to normal.

Card Player's Live Player Database: Clonie Gowen