Playing in the Big Game – Part 1

Interviewing Jennifer Harman is as easy as playing pocket aces on the button behind a small stack. She is accomplished, articulate, bright, interesting, charming, and open (she answered every strategy question in depth). Arranging our meeting was a different story. When we spoke initially, Harman apologetically rattled off a slew of appointments with different poker entities. She half-jokingly added, "And Tuesday night is out because I have to play poker." If our game continues to burn up the entertainment airwaves, I will have to fight through personal assistants when attempting to arrange interviews with world-class players like Jennifer, who must balance competing at the highest stakes played against the best players in the world, maintaining a gorgeous, spacious home, and dealing with the demands of being a celebrity player (Jennifer has co-starred in a movie, written a terrific chapter on limit Texas hold'em in Doyle Brunson's Super System II book, made dozens of appearances on talk shows, helped design www.fulltiltpoker.com, and has several projects in the works).

Poker and music have several things in common. We identify many pop artists by their given names, for example, Madonna, Britney, and Christina. Similarly, poker fans can envision Annie, Kathy, and Jennifer without the use of surnames. That's because the talent level of these six people and the publicity they receive as "stars" in their fields have amplified their recognition ratings.

Talent level? Here's what Doyle Brunson had to say when assessing Harman's ability: "Having played high-stakes poker with Jennifer the past few years, I'm convinced that she's not only the best all-around female player alive, but also ranks as one of the elite poker players in the world." When I spoke with reigning tournament player of the year Daniel Negreanu, he heartily echoed Doyle's sentiments. John Juanda has compiled a terrific five-year record in majors. When I asked him about Harman, John stated, "Jennifer is one of the most competitive players I have ever met. This girl just hates to lose. It doesn't matter if she is playing $4-$8 or $4,000-$8,000, she'll be trying her hardest to beat your brains out, and most of the time she will."

Masters of melody often hang out with their peers because they have commonality of interest and share many of the tribulations they face in life. So it is in poker. On a given night, Brunson, Harman, Chip Reese, Johnny Chan, Barry Greenstein, Daniel Negreanu, Chau Giang, and Phil Ivey may get together for a friendly game of $4,000-$8,000 limit poker at the Bellagio Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas. The only woman ever to have won two open events in World Series of Poker ( WSOP) history more than holds her own in the big game.

Harman, the mini-flyweight member (at 101 pounds) of any game she plays, now resides in Las Vegas and commutes to work at her convenience (usually playing in the big game three or four nights a week when she is home). She is happily married (approaching five years) to Marco Traniello, a hair stylist by trade and an amateur, rapidly improving poker player by avocation. Children are in the future, but for now the couple trades love and kisses with four dogs.

Harman's entry into home-game poker as a prodigy at the age of 8 is well chronicled. In fact, her early days and accomplishments have been captured in many publications. Card Player recently (Vol. 18/No. 2) published an excerpt fea-turing Jennifer from Ron Rose's book, Poker Aces: THE STARS OF TOURNAMENT POKER. In addition, Harman has a website: www.jenniferharman.com. The pages are packed with biographical information, photos, Jennifer's journal, and a few articles. So, since so much background is available within a few mouse clicks and I have so many questions to ask Jennifer, we'll play mostly in the present and future.

Lee Munzer: You've played and won at levels from $3-$6 to $100,000-$200,000. I can't think of anyone who would be better prepared to identify the one trait that is essential for a player to possess if he or she wishes to make a living playing cash games.

Jennifer Harman: I'm not sure a player can succeed without good money management and a sound strategy. By strategy I mean things like hand selection, game selection, and some mathematical understanding such as knowledge of pot odds, but if I had to pick an absolute must, I'd say a player must have the ability to focus. Paying attention to an opponent's actions and betting patterns leads to reading that player's intentions. The best players are the best at reading other players. They know what hands a player will raise with, whether they play loosely from early position, what types of hands they will defend blinds with, how often they check-raise on the flop, if they like to slow-play made hands, whether they will often fold on the flop or call to the river, and stuff like that. You are almost always faced with tough decisions in a hand. The more you focus on your opponent and know about his play, the more you can take advantage of his tendencies. You will be able to bluff him more, make good raises, and make good laydowns. You can also play more hands against him. Pay attention when you're both in and out of hands.

LM: Accomplished players have told me that tournament strategy is so complex and filled with nuances that one needn't be an expert in a particular game to win a tournament if he or she is a superior tournament player. Is that what happened when you won the deuce-to-seven no-limit draw event at the World Series in 2000?

JH: When I played the deuce-to-seven tournament, I knew virtually nothing about the game. The night before, I was having dinner with some friends and they were all talking about playing in the event. I got really excited about it even though I wasn't going to play in it. The next day, I played the seven-card stud high-low tournament. That tournament started about four hours earlier than the deuce-to seven. I continued to be excited about the deuce-to-seven for some reason, and I became really distracted. At one point Daniel Negreanu was sitting behind me at another table. Our chairs were back-to-back and we turned and talked when we were both out of hands. I told him I really wanted to try deuce-to-seven. He told me I was out of my mind because it was a $5,000 buy-in with rebuys, and I had never played the game. Also, at that time I hadn't been really successful playing tournaments. I knew he was right, but I really wanted to play. When I got knocked out of the stud eight, I started telling friends, "I want to play this tournament, I really want to play." Everyone advised against it, but with 15 minutes to go I finally said to myself, "Forget it, I'm playing in this tournament." About five minutes before it started, Howard Lederer (the winner of this event in 2001) walked into the room. I grabbed him, took him out to the lobby, and asked him to give me some starting-hand requirements. Then, I asked him when I should draw two (cards). Finally, I asked him about what type of hands I should play on the button, in the blinds, and after someone raised … all that stuff. So, he gave me a five-minute lesson. The good thing was that the tournament started almost immediately, so I didn't have time to be nervous or think about all the things we had just talked about. I got lucky a few times and survived to the final table. At that point I had logged almost 10 hours of deuce-to-seven no-limit. I was more comfortable and had come to the conclusion that it was mostly a feel game because you don't see any cards (there are no open cards). It's a complete draw game, so it's about reading players, and that's always been one of my strengths. I was able to pick out some of the players' tendencies, and that helped me a lot. It actually carried me through.

LM: It must be a great feeling to win your first World Series title and bracelet. You are diminutive and demure – possessed of a physical appearance and personality that disguise your competitiveness and killer instinct at the poker table. You also have been rated at or near the top in Internet poker forum polls where libidinous players start threads that rank the hottest women in poker. I'd be remiss if I simply ignored your looks. Does your image affect your play and the strategy of your opponents?

JH: I think in the past when I was less known and played lower stakes, some opponents might have played differently because I'm a woman. I'm tiny, I'm quiet, and I look kind of innocent, so maybe they started out playing me differently. But when I play, I am pretty aggressive, so seeing this side of my game, they probably changed their perception. You know, when I play poker, I don't even think about my looks or what anyone else thinks about my looks.

LM: So, men may play differently against women at lower stakes. What are some of the advantages and disadvantages of being a woman?

JH: Poker is a man's world and women have to prove themselves to male players. Men try to bluff women more and, in general, they are overly aggressive toward women. So, if a woman has a good read, she can just call them down and take their chips. Thinking more about your last question, if a woman is extremely attractive, she may throw a man's game off. Some men will soft-play an -attractive woman, while others may show off by splashing chips around. In either case, the man isn't playing his best game. As far as disadvantages, I've seen women get criticized for their play and overreact by getting too aggressive, and then they dump off their chips. They should just shrug off the criticism and play their game.

LM: How do you cope with the financial swings you take in an evening's work – from an emotional standpoint?

JH: I'm a pretty emotional person, but I've been playing for so long that the swings don't really bother me except if I play badly in the game. Then, it feels like I've gotten run over by a train emotionally, and it usually takes me a long time to recover.

LM: What types of things go wrong when you play badly?

JH: I'm talking about making bad reads, missing bets, and losing focus. It's really difficult to stay focused the entire night, especially when you're losing in a game. I don't care what anybody says, you're not going to play as well because you're worried about trying to recover some of your money and thinking about things that have gone wrong. I don't mean when you're a little behind. I mean when you're losing a lot and keep getting beat up and beat up and beat up. Some players handle it better than others, at least on the outside. I don't know how they feel on the inside.

LM: If not playing one's "A" game after falling way behind due to bad cards or bad play is a leak in someone's game, what's the remedy?

JH: Well, Chip Reese once asked me something that has stayed with me: "Why would you ever get upset over things you can't control?" So, I try to look at it this way: If I play the hand well and some weird card comes off, it's like, "Oh well." But if I don't play the hand right, that's reason for me to be upset with myself. I know we can never play perfect poker, so I try to go easy on myself, but when I make mistake after mistake and lose a bunch of money, I just take it really hard emotionally. After the fact, I often think, "I played badly and lost focus, so why didn't I just get up?" Playing poker involves a lot of pressure, and some times you just sort of snap or get stubborn and make a decision like, "I'm gonna play and play until I get even." It would be nice to play like a robot, but I'm emotional and I can't.

LM: These problems would be magnified if one were playing with the rent money. Was your bankroll ever a concern?

JH: Definitely, and it still is. You hit losing streaks and start to wonder if you can play your way out. I started off very small and worked my way up. I put myself in some situations where I could actually go broke. When I played $10-$20 and $20-$40, I'd some times kick it up to $40-$80 and I'd have my whole bankroll on the table. In the early '90s, I was taking shots at $200-$400 and occasionally $300-$600 with a bankroll that was sufficient for a $50-$100 and $100-$200 game. I went broke twice in my career. Every poker player I know has gone broke. Finally, I decided to play no higher than $75-$150 until I had a big enough bankroll to play $200-$400. That was a good decision. Poker is like everything else, the more experience you have, the better decisions you make.

LM: I know you play a mix of games when you play in the big game. What games are spread?

JH: It's different every night. We play some combination of hold'em, Omaha high, Omaha eight-or-better, stud, stud eight-or-better, deuce-to-seven triple draw, and razz. Oh, and high-low regular is thrown in occasionally (a variation of seven-card stud).

LM: We know limit hold'em is your best game and your favorite game. Do you have a least favorite game?

JH: Maybe Omaha high and pot-limit Omaha. I just don't have a lot of experience playing pot-limit Omaha, but I think if I played it more often, I'd catch on pretty fast.

LM: The story of your long, arduous journey to the restricted top level where the big game is played defies a rumor that you might have heard concerning an inheritance. Would you like to clear things up?

JH: Yes, I've heard I jumped from low limits to high limits after receiving a substantial inheritance. Actually, I've never inherited any money. I wish I was as rich as people think I am (laughing). Thankfully, everyone is still alive in my family. The truth is exactly the opposite of what I've heard. When I decided I wanted to play poker for a living, my father got very upset. He said, "If you continue to play poker, I'm writing you out of the will." I love my dad, but I told him, "This is what I like and this is what I am going to do." So, financially I became divorced from my family. I've made my money grinding it out at the poker tables, and I'm sure I hit every limit on the way up. Whenever I had extra money I made investments, and most have done well. So, now I play high-stakes poker, I'm doing well in that game, and I'm still making investments. Actually, when I started playing in the big game it was $400-$800. Doyle, Chip, and all those guys were playing $400-$800. So, when the stakes moved up, we all moved up. I suppose you could say I graduated to $4,000-$8,000 with the game.

LM: What advice would you give players concerning bankroll management?

JH: I think my advice might depend upon the player. Lots of players like to live on the edge of their seats and they play well under pressure, but I do better when I'm comfortable. For the players who think they can play well with a tight bankroll, I'd just warn them that they are going to go bad and have losing streaks. So, I'd say always play at limits that will allow you to survive a losing streak. Losing streaks are the barometers for me. Show me a player on a winning streak and I won't be able to rate him. Show me a player who is in a losing streak and I'll be able to tell you if he can play.

LM: How long was your longest losing streak and how did you get back on track?

JH: Six months, maybe a little longer. I tried not to think negatively or focus on the luck factor even though I knew my cards had been bad. I know this may sound simplistic, but when I'm running bad, I try to clear my mind and focus on playing well. I know if I play well, the money will come.

LM: For newer players, can you provide some suggestions on breaking slumps?

JH: I always recommend taking some time off and getting your head straight, because the psychological effect of losing is so negative that it can hurt your game. Take the time to figure out what you're doing wrong, and look at your game in an objective manner. I always tell players to talk to their poker friends and discuss hands. Talk about theory, talk about poker skills, and examine your play. You'll see things in a different light, your confidence will rise, and you'll actually start playing better.

LM: You played in a "ladies night" event sponsored by the World Poker Tour. What do you think of ladies-only formats?

JH: The only reason I think ladies tournaments are good is that they get women involved, and they can play and gain experience in a tournament without being too in timidated. It makes it easier for them to get into mainstream poker. I've always said, you don't have to lift weights to pick up two cards, so poker should be a non-sexist game.

Lee and Jennifer will return in the next issue as a Special Feature to discuss short-stack strategy, what makes the great players great, tilt (at the poker table and on ESPN), and much more.