Up Close & Personal with MsPoker, Susie Isaacs

By Lucy Kim

 

Susie Isaacs has come a long way since her childhood days in Nashville when she used to serve as a lookout at her older cousin’s poker games, which they played on a Monopoly board because of disapproving parents. Although poker had been a passion all of her young life, Isaacs began to take it more seriously after she moved to Vegas in 1986.

Isaacs’ early success can be attributed to playing in weekly “ladies” tournaments at the Tropicana and the Sahara, where there were many inexperienced players.  Her poker journey began with smaller tournaments to eventually playing in several events at the World Series of Poker (WSOP). 

Isaacs began making a name for herself in the early ‘90s when she took third place in the Women’s Seven-Card Stud tournament in 1993, then returning the following year to finish in fourth place.  A couple years later, Isaacs stunned the poker world by becoming the back-to-back Women’s Seven-Card Stud champion, winning WSOP bracelets in 1996 and 1997.

She may be one of the toughest competitors in women-only events, but this history-maker also does damage in mixed company:  In 1998, Isaacs entered the WSOP $10,000 Main Event by winning a seat in a Super Satellite.  She finished in 10^th place, just missing the final table.  Since then, Isaacs has cashed in dozens of other WSOP and non-Series tournaments, including placing in the top five percent of the field in the WSOP Main Event in 2006.

When she’s not playing in a tournament, Isaacs is busy designing and selling her own line of poker jewelry and writing poker books.  To date, she is the author of five published books:  MsPoker: Up Close & Personal (August 1999), MsPoker: I’m Not Bluffing, Book One and Book Two (both April 2006), 1,000 Best Strategies and Secrets (May 2006), and the very latest, Queens Can Beat Kings:  Broad-Minded Poker for Winning Women (July 2007).

Being that Isaacs is an influential supporter of women-only events, it is not surprising that the very first time I met her was a couple of years ago before a LIPS (Ladies International Poker Series) tournament at the Peppermill.  I was immediately struck by her beauty, charm and charisma.  I had no idea at the time that I would be lucky enough to interview Isaacs for several articles.  Two years later, I again had the privilege to interview this accomplished poker player-businesswoman.

LK:  What were the early days of Susie like?

SI:  I had a happy childhood, although I was in a great hurry to grow up so I could drink, smoke, and play poker without hiding to do so. I married at 16 and had my freedom to do as I pleased. That is when the real world slapped me in the face. It sure was a lot easier living with Mama and Daddy!

LK:  A true inspiration to all, you are a very strong woman who has had to pick herself up and start over in life. 

SI:  Believe me, I haven't always felt like a very strong woman. As a matter of fact, there was a time I didn't think I could make it. I never ever considered suicide, but there days that I honestly thought I was going to die of a broken heart. Fate picked me up and sat me down at the poker table. In my upcoming novel (due to be released this summer) titled, White Knight, Black Nights, Poker is Skill, Life is the Gamble, I go into some detail of my true emotions during the most difficult time in my life and how poker and the poker world saved my life. The novel is fiction based on fact.

LK:  Share with me what it was like being a woman poker player when you first moved to Vegas in the ‘80s. 

SI:  The main poker rooms were more than I could bear with the male intimidation factor. I got interested in playing poker socially when I discovered ladies poker tournaments. In the mid to late ‘80s there were three and then four weekly. With the many friends I made, we often would go in “herds” to play live poker and have each other for moral support. This entry into live poker games made the experience more enjoyable and eventually I was hooked, and it was, “move over guys, here I come!” (With or without female back-up!)

LK:  Tell me more about your being the only woman at a poker table in those days.

SI:  It could get very uncomfortable, but when that happened, I simply changed tables or casinos. The only big problem I ever had with a man was when I smoked. He and I had been sort of "going at it" for several hours. I really was trying to be polite and he really was a grump bucket. I couldn't change tables because it was a tournament. On a break he went somewhere and got a fan. He turned it on and aimed it right at my ashtray which blew ashes all over me and my pretty new outfit. I was horrified! I lost it. I didn't say a word; I just grabbed the fan, threw it on the floor, and stomped on it. I then said, "Oh, I'm sorry," and handed him a ten-dollar bill. Thankfully, our table was next to break and thankfully, I no longer smoke!

On a more serious side, my book Queens Can Beat Kings goes into some detail about women playing in the ‘60s and ‘70s. An example of how the men treated women back then is Vera Richmond. She could out-drink, out-cuss, and out-play most of them and she was richer than all of them. Her daddy owned Neiman Marcus! She was the first woman to win a bracelet, back in the ‘70s. The men hated her so, that they tried to keep her success out of the record books. Few know about her, but they will with Queens.

The few women who played professionally back then were, indeed, strong women! It took me three visits to Vegas before I even sat down at a poker table, and then I was about four sheets to the wind. I had a ball. There happened to be three other women at the table. That is the reason I got hooked on ladies only poker tournaments. It was fun and no male intimidation.

LK:  What was it like playing in your first WSOP Main Event? 

SI:  In a nutshell, I was so nervous I was shaking and could hardly breathe. Everywhere you looked, in those days with fields of three or four hundred, you saw poker superstar power; and that particular year, Matt Damon and Ed Norton—whose movie Rounders had just been released—were playing. I had to do something to calm myself so that I could get down to the business of concentrating on poker. I started taking notes. I wrote of my emotions, what was going on around me and every hand that I played or that was of interest. That calmed me, and I went on to place 10th! I also got one of the best articles I have ever written out of the experience. To this day, if you see me in the Main Event, I will be taking notes.

LK:  What was it like playing in your first WSOP Ladies Event? 

SI:  I had watched for a couple of years and yearned to play. I then diligently saved about $42 a month to be sure I would have the buy-in. It was $500 until 1992. I was nervous and not really ready for that caliber of field. Many consider the Ladies event a “soft field.” I say, pull up a chair and give it a try if you think it’s so soft!

LK:  What was it like this year? 

SI:  My desire to win was as great as—or greater than—ever. I really want to be the first woman to win three bracelets in this event. I got close, placing 35th out of a field of almost 1300.

LK:  Tell me about your involvement with the “Queen of Hearts” team.

SI:  This was a wonderful experience. Being one of two (me and Mary Jones) to make the winners circle is a great source of pride for me, and I hope to do even better next year. We need to do more charitable events, but likewise, the big tournaments like the World Series needs to start putting some sponsorship money into our prize pools, which will allow us to donate even more. 

LK:  Which poker game is your favorite? 

SI:  Seven-card stud. The Ladies event was stud for many years. It changed to half stud and half hold’em in 2002, it went to all limit hold’em in 2003, and then in 2004 no-limit.

LK:  Which poker game is the toughest? 

SI:  HORSE followed by no-limit.

LK:  Do you mostly play in tournaments or in cash games? 

SI:  Over the last three years, I have gotten so busy with writing books, promoting those books, the jewelry line and speaking engagements that I have to be very selective. I like tournament competition the best. I like the overlay and the different strategies in the different stages of a tournament to survive. I should write a book – Oh, that’s right, I did!

LK:  You have written five books on poker, and now you’re working on a novel.  Tell me about your books. 

SI:  The MsPoker series is about my life—how I got from the Bible Belt to Sin City. The red book contains entertaining stories that I have collected in the poker world since 1988, including exactly what happened that caused the poker renaissance. The black book is poker tournament strategy in my three favorite games:  stud, limit hold’em and no-limit hold’em.

1000 Best Poker Strategies and Secrets is exactly what it says. It covers everything poker, including how to go from the kitchen table to the “real” poker room, how to have home satellites for major tournaments, no matter where you live, and nine different poker games. It’s a great book for beginners, as it has game tips for the beginner, the intermediate and the advanced player; however, I can’t see an advanced player buying this book.  One did, just to see what I had to say. He told me that my advanced tips reinforced some things that he already knew, and he gave the book as a whole a thumbs up.

Queens Can Beat Kings:  Broad-Minded Poker has a special place in my heart. This contract from Kensington Publishing gave me the opportunity to profile some women in poker who were pioneers, women who paved the way for the rest of us, women behind the scenes, women who have not been honored in all the hustle-bustle of the poker boom. TV took some sexy gals and made them poker stars. I tell the behind-the-scenes truth of who the true poker stars are. Example: Cissy Bottoms has made her living playing mid- to high-limit hold’em for decades. She was ranked the number one hold’em player in the world by David Sklansky in 1983, but nobody ever heard of her. I have many women profiled in this book, and they all give the female reader and wanna-be players their view on playing against the men. I love this book!

My novel, which I’ve mentioned, is titled White Knight, Black Nights, Poker is Skill, Life is the Gamble. I never thought this book would be published. I actually wrote it in the early ‘90s as therapy as I tried to get over a trauma in my life. After three years of writing at nights and on the weekends, I had a 1000-page manuscript. I let a few friends read it, and they raved about what a great story it is. I put it away and pretty much forgot about it. When the poker boom hit, I thought, hey, I could have a best-seller sitting in the cabinet. I got it out, dusted it off, shortened it, added to it to bring it up-to-date and then let a lot of folks from different walks of life read it. The reviews were all terrific. I’ve had quite a life. I dedicate this novel to all of the women who have had to start life over in midlife because of the loss of a husband.

LK:  How did the idea of being a writer of poker books come about?

SI:  After my "streak" in 1996, 1997, and 1998 many asked about my back story. That, along with many of my wonderful, heartwarming, touching, fun, and funny Chip Chatter Columns that I had written over the years made the time seem right. It wasn't as it turned out; I couldn't find a publisher so I published it myself. How time changes things! In 2003, I had agents and publishers calling me!

LK:  What advantages and disadvantages do you feel women have in the world of poker?

SI:  Women have many of both. The biggest advantage is to be able to recognize what the guys think about you as a woman at the poker table and how to capitalize on that.

LK:  Why are the women-only tournaments important to you personally, and why do you think they are important to other women poker players? 

SI:  I have always been a huge advocate of getting more women involved in poker. Women’s tourneys are a great stepping stone. They are important to me personally because it is a nice break to play and not have to put up with the guys. I know from personal experience that a ladies-only event—large or small—can be a gateway to poker for many women.

LK:  There has been a lot of grumbling recently about the status of the WSOP Ladies Event.  What do you think is the future of this event? 

SI:  I’ll tell you what I know, not what I think. The night before the ladies event, Jeffrey Pollack came up to me at a dinner for the “Queen of Hearts” team. He stated that he wanted me to know that the rumors are not true. There will be a Ladies and a Seniors event on the schedule of the WSOP for as long as he is Commissioner of the WSOP. A few days later, a rumor was spreading like wildfire that these two events would not be bracelet events. I emailed Jeffrey, and his response was that as long as he is the Commissioner of the WSOP, they would be on the schedule and they would be bracelet events.

I don’t know why some of the top pros want this event deleted. I know Annie Duke wants the Ladies event canceled. If she hates it so, don’t play in it. She doesn’t. If she thinks it is such a soft field and easy bracelet, why doesn’t she play in it for a few years and pick up a few “easy” bracelets?

LK:  Where do you think the women’s poker movement is headed? 

SI:  To hugeness! Golf and tennis have ladies competitions as does poker. With what Crystal Osgood is doing with a rating system for women, the sky’s the limit!

LK:  What are your personal goals? 

SI:  I really want that third bracelet. I don’t play a lot of the major events for several reasons, the biggest being money management. If I could play as many as I would like to, who knows what my record might be? I am trying to position myself, through other poker-related businesses to be in a position to do just that.

LK:  What are your professional goals? 

SI:  To become wealthy enough to be able to do what I want, when I want and to spread the wealth (charities, friends who need it, etc.).

LK:  What advice do you have for young or novice poker players who might be considering playing professionally? 

SI:  If you sincerely believe that you have the talent and the heart, then go for it … but always have a real job as back-up! Only a tiny percentage of new players become super-successful. It’s like show business:  a zillion starlets hit Hollywood, but only a handful make the big screen and the big time. It’s the same with poker. There are also the character actors who make a good living doing what they love, but they never become super stars. Be happy with your lot in life – or change it.

Thank you, Susie, for sharing your time and your life with the LPA readers.  We all look forward to reading your latest poker book and the upcoming novel.  Your legions of fans also wish you the very best of luck in future tournaments and particularly winning your third WSOP Ladies Event bracelet.  We will visit your website, www.susieisaacs.com, for updates on your latest activities and accomplishments.