19 Jan 10

PokerStrategy.com Asks, Leo Margets Answers

We sat down with the "face" of 888.com Pacific Poker, professional player Leo Margets, to find out more about her poker career. This interview has been divided into two parts and we're bringing you the first of these today.

To those of you who don't know her yet, Leo Margets is the professional player representing our partner room 888.com Pacific Poker in both live and online tournaments.

We sat down with her for an interview to find out more about how she got started, how her poker career looks like and her opinion on this male-dominated game.

Also, 888.com Pacific Poker is the official Black Member Party sponsor. On top of that, they have already prepared several promotions for our PokerStrategists:

• Double StrategyPoints in January

• $2,000 + $500 bounty depositors freeroll

• 888.com VIP fast track

• More promotions – coming up!

If you are playing at 888.com Pacific Poker and you have any suggestions for the software, then you can do that in the following thread:

• Feedback to 888.com software

This interview is split into two parts and today we bring you part 1. The second part will follow shortly, so stay tuned. In the meantime, let's welcome Leo Margets!

Hola, Leo Margets!

PokerStrategy.com: Hello and thank you for accepting to do this interview. Can you please tell us how you got into poker and why?

Leo Margets: It all happened in a quite random way. I discovered poker 4 years ago through a guy that used to play when poker was not known at all in Spain. I immediately fell in love (both with the game and the guy) and they've proven to be 2 very strong relationships :).

I started playing at local club and soon participated in my first live event: the University Championships in my hometown Barcelona… and I won it! Then 888.com approached me and offered me the opportunity to represent the brand in national tournaments! It was an obvious insta-call!
That was in 2008 and from that point things have been happening really quickly! I always think you need to find your own luck. In my case it was both really good timing and not being afraid of fighting for my dream, which wasn’t becoming a pro, but simply doing something that makes me happy….and it has happened to be playing poker.

PokerStrategy.com: Poker is a male-dominated game. Why do you think this happens?

Leo Margets: That’s something I wonder a lot… and I came to the conclusion that it must be about their competitive genes! Really, there is no explanation I can find besides this! We are equally skilled, so it might have to do with the will to compete and to be the best. Traditionally women are not so focused on performing and becoming the best in whatever they do. I'm quite a bit manly in this sense! :) I also think that in some European countries, the image of poker is still very much linked to gambling and "the dark side". Misinformation in this sense can pull a lot of people out of the game, and women sometimes being more responsible than men, can explain why they kind of “fear” entering the game.

PokerStrategy.com: What is your opinion on female poker players and their progress within the game?

Leo Margets: I like that most female poker players who have made their name in this world have a strong personality. We are woman who love what we do, and that have decided to put our time doing something still uncommon to us, but that fulfills us in many ways. Currently, being a woman in this world still has its advantages in a way that benefits all of us because we get extra attention, but honestly, even if in my case being “the last woman standing” has helped me a lot in terms of media impact, I hope there'll be a day in which the fact of being a woman in the poker world is not such a big deal! :)

"Come on, Leo, you have to play in the Main Event!"

PokerStrategy.com: Do you respect any of them in particular? What about male poker players – do you have a particular male role model?

Leo Margets: I respect all of them of course!  However I don’t have a particular role model in either the male or female poker player circles. There are many players I respect and whose games I like and admire. Many are friends from whom I have learned lots, but I have never had this one person I wanted to be like.

PokerStrategy.com: Being a female at the poker table can have advantages but also disadvantages. How does this affect your table image in offline events?

Leo Margets: Hmmm… usually I just feel like another guy, but yeah, from time to time it happens that I run into Australopithecus tables, where my table mates seem they haven’t seen a woman in ages. I hate it in these cases. I don’t like feeling over observed or realise that the other people at the table are talking about me. Sometimes though it can be positive; if someone doesn’t know you as a player they'll use stereotypes, and being a woman means they’ll assume you are tight and weaker than a man… that’s great!! Nothing is better in poker than opponents assuming wrong information!

PokerStrategy.com: You are basically the face of 888.com Pacific Poker online and in live tournaments. How did this partnership happen and what do you think of 888.com so far?

Leo Margets: You know the first part of it... I explained it in the previous question. The second important inflexion point was right before the WSOP 2009. I had been positioning myself as a reference in Spanish poker, and had some media appearances even though I didn’t have any outstanding result backing me up yet.

My budget, as I said, was only for national events, but then I got an extra to go to the Ladies and a couple of side events during WSOP, because some journalists were interested in covering a woman-only tourney. I came back home with no success at the tables, but then a friend told me: “Come on Leo, you have to ask 888 to send you back to play the ME, they have to buy you in. How can someone that is positioning herself as a reference in poker not play THE event?!”

I knew this was gonna be a tough task but I had to try, and after a lot of suspense, 2 days before Day 1d of the ME, 888 told me I could go back to play it! I instantly became the happiest person in the world!! I promised I wouldn't mess around there, and it seems I kept my word!!
For all these reasons I can’t but love my sponsor! 888poker has trusted in me from the very beginning, giving me the chance to be a sponsored player when no one knew me, and am super grateful for this!

"I will come to the Black Member Party"

PokerStrategy.com: 888.com is also the official sponsor of our own Black Member Party. We’re sure many of our members would like to meet you. Do you plan to attend this event or perhaps one of the upcoming ones?

Leo Margets: Sure I’ll be in Munich by mid February for the party, looking forward to it!

PokerStrategy.com: What is it like to be a professional poker player? What are, in your opinion, the ups and downs of leading such a life? How do you balance your poker life with your private life?

Leo Margets: From an outsider point of view, the poker pro life is overrated! I'm not saying it is a bad life, actually is great, but its not just glamorous travelling + playing majors + partying all the time. It also carries a lot of pressure and you feel it when you know you have been playing well and results just don’t show. It can happen too often, and then I am one of the very few privileged players to have a sponsor. Otherwise it’s much harder, because at some point you need to stop playing if you see your bank account going down.To be a poker pro you need to be very strong psychologically.

So it's not always easy. At the moment I'm fine with having less time for my personal life, but I some point I know I will really miss it and am not sure how I’ll handle that! Most of my friends have regular jobs that require a standard 9 til 7 timetable, so when they have more time which is at the weekends, I am hardly at home because I'm travelling to play poker. I also miss having more time to do other stuff that I used to enjoy!

PokerStrategy.com: How do you prepare for a tournament? Do you have a specific routine that prepares you for the poker tables?

Leo Margets: I like doing sport before a long poker day and feeling rested and relaxed. I have always felt this helps me keep my concentration for longer at the table. However, after the experience at the Main Event of the WSOP, the myth vanished! I spent 8 days eating once a day, not exercising and sleeping 5 hours when I need at least 9 to feel human. And I still played as focused as ever and got the best result of my poker career!!


To be continued.