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 I not only consider Kristy Gazes a top player,
but also a friend. I met Kristy when she worked for The Bicycle Casino as a host of one the high limit games. She didn't work at the casino for long, but
she left an impression on me. She had a strong presence (on and off the table) and she looked like the type of person who could hold her own if she needed to.
I never saw her throw attitudes when she was losing, but I saw her speak her mind if somebody got out of line at the table. I saw her do it twice and both
times the men looked as if they wanted to sink down in their chair and hide.
In an industry dominated by men, it is nice to see a woman succeed. Kristy and I feel the same about this and we do what we can to help promote each
other in the game. I was asked to write a book about women and poker and because I was too busy, I suggested Kristy. When she got invited to the
Game Show Network's (GSN) Poker Royale; Battle of the Sexes show, she mentioned my name to the producers in case they needed a woman for future
broadcasts. Since there aren't many successful women poker players, you would
think the women would be cut throat and competitive. Sometimes it is, but with the two of us, it couldn't be farther from the truth.
Kristy started playing poker in 1986 (she was underage at the time) and liked to play mixed games (Stud Hi Low, Omaha Hi Low, Stud, Deuce to Seven, and
Razz). She is a great all around player and became the player she is today by putting the in the hours.
She plays cash games for a living, but she does enter tournaments from time to time (usually the WPT events and larger buy-in tournaments). Some of her credits
include winning the 2003 World Championship of Online Poker Omaha Hi Low event, finishing fifth in the 2002 World Series of Poker S.H.O.E. event and winning
the 2007 World Poker Tour Ladies Invitational.
The tournament where she received some of the recognition she deserves was the FullTilt Championship at Wynn Las Vegas. The show was aired in
real time on Fox television and Kristy bested 23 of the top tournament players in the world including Ted Forrest, Gus Hansen,
Chip Reese, and Daniel Negreanu.
Considering she is successful at a variety of games, I asked if it bothered her that television is so saturated with No Limit Holdem. I also asked
if she thinks it has affected other games negatively. She replied: "No, it doesn't bother me. I don't think it has affected the other games
negatively because it is bringing hordes of new players into poker. No Limit Holdem has changed poker for the better. However, I would like to
see the World Championship be a mixed games format."
Kristy considers Daniel Negreanu to be one of the greatest players because he plays
all games well, tournaments as well as cash games. Some of the other players she respects are Billy Duarte because he taught her a lot about No Limit Holdem and
Bill Gazes (her ex-husband) because he is a great all
around player. Any player who continues to learn as they go has her respect.
As I stated earlier, I consider Kristy to be a friend, so we have discussed her plans for the future (in regards to poker). I have heard her mention
that she often gets tired of playing and I asked her if she really saw herself leaving the game. She said, "Ideally, I would like to retire
from poker within the next five years. I will probably never stop forever because being a player is a huge part of who I am at this point."
Eventually, she would love to have a ranch in Maui so she can surf and ride horses. Hopefully it is after she wins one A World Series of Poker
event. I would love the world to know what a talented player she is before she makes her "dream" move.
Her homepage is KristyGazes.com. If you would like to play with Kristy online, you can find her on
her own Pot Limit Omaha High Low table at FullTilt Poker.
Kristy Gazes: English,
German,
Danish,
French,
Spanish,
Dutch,
Italian,
Norwegian,
Swedish and
Portuguese |
