Poker Cruise Mavens Ditch Retirement, Set Sail on New Venture

^{The LIPS Hawaiian Ice tournament, as part of the Inaugural Poker Player Cruises series of tournaments, delivered fun, laughter and a trophy. (Photo: Ladies International Poker Series / Facebook)}

Two days. That’s how long Linda Johnson, venerated Poker Hall of Famer and WSOP bracelet winner, and Jan Fisher, Women in Poker Hall of Famer, lasted in retirement.

I was at lunch with them eating a lamb gyro when they told me they were partnering up with a new cruise company, Poker Player Cruises (PPC). After 33 years as ambassadors and shareholders with Card Player Cruises, they were setting sail to Alaska on their inaugural cruise with PPC, which ended up selling out.

Aboard the Ruby Princess, 200 poker players enjoyed tournaments, cash games, excursions and everything that a normal cruise would offer. They crowned Sangni Zhao, who typically plays mid-stakes cash games at the Venetian in Las Vegas, their Main Event champion.

“Our partners with Card Player Cruises wanted to retire, but Jan and I weren’t ready to be done with poker cruises yet,” Linda Johnson told me. “It is in our blood.”

Johnson and Fisher have averaged six poker cruises a year in those 33 years, which adds up to just under 200 cruises.

“For each poker cruise, we went the week before to meet with department heads and prepare the ship for our group needs, so that’s another 200 non-poker cruises,” Johnson added. And, “we also take one or two a year just for fun!”

Keeping the Family Together

Soon after finding out Card Player Cruises (CPC) would cease operations, Johnson and Fisher were approached by Tim Krisher and Melanie Gentry, two of their former clients, about joining them and starting a new poker cruise business.

“They said that they wanted to keep the CPC family together,” Linda said. “They had met so many passengers who had become dear friends and the thought of never seeing them again was sad.”

They kept the first cruise at 200 passengers, not wanting to overbook or have customers wait a long time to get into a game. They also partnered with Ladies International Poker Series (LIPS) and Ante Up Poker. LIPS was founded by Lupe Soto, who also created the Women’s Poker Association. Soto held a Hawaiian Ice tournament and made sure everyone participating was “lei’d.”

Ante Up Poker was another partner on the cruise, owned by Joe and Elle Scales. It was founded in 2008 and includes one of the longest-running poker podcasts geared toward “everyday players.”

“I connected on a personal level with them when I did one of their podcasts,” Linda explained. “They are such fun people. Their outreach brought us some awesome customers.”

Bears, Salmon and Whales, Oh My

The cruise had other fun events for their guests with multiple excursions. “We got to see bears, the salmon run and the totem poles,” Linda said enthusiastically. “[Other cruisers] went whale watching, or to see otters and deer swimming and elk.”

Other highlights of the cruise were theme nights, which included Hawaiian tying into the LIPS event and a Lumberjack night.

Players also had the option of playing tournaments other than a standard no-limit tournament. They held a “switch” tournament, a “show-me” tournament and an all-in or fold tournament.

A “switch” tournament is one in which you have a partner and you both start at different tables. At random times during the tournament, the tournament director will yell switch and when that happens you throw your hands up in the air and stop whatever you’re doing. You switch hands with your partner and they assume the hand that you were playing.

In a “show-me” tournament, all players get a show-me card, which requires an opponent to show their hand even if they aren't required to by traditional poker rules. You can use that at the end of any hand, but only once. 

“There is a lot of strategy because you need to decide when you want to use that one-time card,” Linda explained.

'Sun, Sea, and Stacks'

Their next poker cruise adventure is advertised as “Sun, Sea, and Stacks.” They’ll hop aboard the Norwegian Encore the first week of November.

“We are going to some of my favorite ports: Mazatlán, Cabo San Lucas, and Puerto Vallarta,” Johnson said. “The weather in November is ideal, the beaches are beautiful and of course, the poker action will be spectacular!”

Her excitement is still contagious after hundreds of cruises, tournaments and experiences. I always wonder what I’m going to learn at our next lunch. Fisher’s the same way. That love for life, travel and the poker community keeps on cruising.