Meet WPA Advocate Mary Darnell!
1. What is your name? Mary Darnell
2. Where are you from? Crawfordville Florida
3. How did you get introduced to the game of poker? Watching Moneymaker on TV. Playing little tournaments here and there for small buy ins.
4. Tell us about an unusual or unique experience that you’ve had while playing poker. While Playing in the Jax Best Bet Winter Series, I played a Tuesday Wednesday and Thursday Event and took 4th in all three back to back. I’ve never done that before! The pay day on those three, was SWEET!
5. How would you describe your poker style/play? Any specific poker experience you are most proud of? What is your favorite poker game to play and why? I’m a patient yet aggressive player. I socialize little when I’m in a tournament to stay focused. Tournament play is my forte and Hold’em is my main game of choice, I keep it simple and stick to one game. I was super excited to have met Linda Johnson and Jan Fisher in 2012 when I won the first LIPS Fla State Ladies Poker Championship tourney in Jax.
6. What were some of the unexpected hurdles that you have experienced in poker? How are you overcoming those? My pride and ego. I didn’t realize how stubborn and prideful I was, and it hurt my play tremendously. Maturity, growth and being seasoned in the game straightened me right up. I notice it is super common in new players that are feisty and know it all mentality. The older we get we realize we know so little because the game especially for women is ever changing. That you are your own worst enemy and your attitude reflects throughout your hands you play.
7. Who is the most difficult player that you have ever competed against? How was that experience? Linda Johnson HANDS DOWN! Difficult is a compliment also. She is SMART SUPER SMART. It’s a gift to read you the way she does and I’ve never in any tournament ever since playing her, had to change my game play up so frequently that it exhausted me. (we were heads up in 2012 when I won my title and BY GOD SHE MADE ME EARN IT) I still feel that one to this day!
8. Looking back at where you were when you started your poker journey; how has your game evolved and what are your poker goals going forward? I have made it further in tournaments that go past a single day now confidently. I now get the max out of pots I win, and my chip growth is something I am proud of obtaining early on. I was too restless initially, to where I either got lucky or went home in between. My goals have been that I have focused more on lifting others up and being a mentor to new players. I seem to feel that my role is more of a momma bear then a competitor and I have been blessed with meeting and helping all kinds of new people. The greats are the greats, they do not need my help, but the newbies need a shoulder someone to listen to the goofiest of stories and just listen to them and encourage them. Not lecture them either take their gifts they have told you about and help them see their strengths! I could bow up and compete to eliminate them in tournaments but that is not what I want them to Remember when they hear my name. And besides a lion never has to announce they are a lion, so I’ve always tried to remain humble and with a servant’s heart.
9. What is your favorite hobby or passion outside of poker? College Football! Die Hard Texas Longhorn Fan! Hook Em Horns! ……. And cooking!
10. What are your plans for poker in the future, if any at all? I’m what I am. I’d love to play all the time but I think I do as well as I do because it’s actually a HOBBY not a JOB. When it becomes a job it’s no longer fun and I lose the passion for it. But for me, when it’s a hobby, I’m ready to rip into it with authority! I play when I can but I have this little guy called my grandson (Easton) that thinks I’m more important than any tourney. It’s all about balance.