Poker News Daily: How did you get started in poker?
Leigh: I played $5 sit and go tournaments. It was like sticking a needle in my vein. I was in college and someone transferred me money. I didn’t even want to download the software because I wasn’t yet 21 years-old. It took a lot of coercion by my friends to convince me that I only had to be 18 to play online. I won my first $5 sit and go, which became my starting bankroll.
PND: Explain how you came up with your screen name, Jennicide?
Leigh: I was 11 or 12 years-old. I grew up on the internet. My after school activities were reading Linux manuals and so I became really involved with computers. I used to go online and that’s where the name originated. I was a strange girl and the name sounded good. I started making my EverQuest and World of Warcraft names, but they don’t allow me to have the name Jennicide. People used to tell me it’s offensive. I was 11 or 12. I wasn’t thinking about whether it was going to be offensive.
PND: Explain what led to you signing with Iron Duke Poker. Did you consider signing with a larger online poker room like PokerStars or Ultimate Bet?
Leigh: I honestly feel that there’s so much that I can do in on IronDuke.com. On other online poker sites, they have a set scheme that they follow and already have really good people on their team. I know I can help this site grow. IronDuke.com offers so many different types of games and there are just a lot of things that I can bring to the table.
Pokerstars and Ultimate Bet have so many people already on their rosters. I used to play on both sites all of the time, but right now I don’t think they accommodate my needs.
PND: You’re the first official poker pro to sign with any site on the Merge Gaming Network. Does that add to the allure of signing with IronDuke.com?
Leigh: I was the original young poker chick to enter the live poker tournament circuit from online play. Being the first official pro to sign with Ironduke.com is very flattering. Their software is very clean and the site is really growing. It’s only getting better.
PND: What can players on IronDuke.com expect from you in terms of your play on the site and the site’s promotions?
Leigh: I don’t always play nosebleed stakes. That’s what happens when pros play on other sites. They play 10 hours of high-stakes poker and then you don’t see them again. If people on IronDuke.com want me to play micro-stakes games, they can always ask me to. I’ll also happily give my opinion on any question someone poses to me. There’s also going to be a Jennicide freeroll and I’ll have a bounty on my head. You can always expect me to be online.
PND: How do you think the poker world will react to this news?
Leigh: I think it will result in a lot of people joining IronDuke.com. With a lot of sites out there right now, the Merge Gaming Network is going to take off.
PND: You’ve had success in both live and online poker. What is your biggest poker accomplishment to date, in your eyes?
Leigh: I can’t claim that I have one yet, but being a cash game player and being a tournament player at the same time is unique. I recommend to everyone that they supplement their poker careers by not focusing on just tournaments.
Tournament pros that start playing cash games have to re-learn poker. The blind levels don’t increase and so they have to take a few steps back and analyze the game again. I’ve heard about many tournaments pros having a huge score and then losing it all in cash games. They don’t try to develop their cash game skills because they just won a major tournament. To me, it’s all about setting your pace when you make the transition from tournament poker to cash games.
PND: What’s the lowest point of your poker career to date?
Leigh: I got ahead of myself. I was buying myself into high-stakes tournaments and had large living expenses. At one point, my living expenses alone were about $10,000 per month. Sometimes you get ahead of yourself and have to take a step back. Now, I have QuickBooks and other financial planning software. I’ve had a lot of negative things happen in my life and cutting off those ends was the best thing for me. I stopped lending money and learned my lesson. It seems that people like to receive money, but they hate giving it back. You have to be careful. No matter how successful you are, if you have tendencies to overplay to your bankroll, it’s inevitable that bad things will happen. I was fortunate that I had a good support team.
PND: You’re also a huge computer game fan in general. Talk about what games interest you.
Leigh: I’ve always been involved in that. I was three years-old when I started playing Dragon Warrior, Zelda, and Final Fantasy. I never got into Magic, the card game, but gaming has always been a part of my life. I’m an alpha tester for Leigh: I’ve always been involved in that. I was three years-old when I started playing Dragon Warrior, Zelda, and Final Fantasy. I never got into Magic, the card game, but gaming has always been a part of my life. I’m an alpha tester for World of Warcraft and I’m going to be competing in one of the professional competitions in Dallas. I’m nerdy about that stuff. If I’m running badly, I can get away to World of Warcraft. It actually helps my bankroll.