Between Hands With... Eleanor Gudger
Monday, 31 March 2014
PKR's newest pro.
31-year old Eleanor Gudger is the newest member of PKR Team Pro. Starting out after winning $1 in a freeroll, Gudger now has over $225,000 in MTT earnings, including 52 wins and 59 four-figure scores. We sit down with PKR’s latest leading lady in the break of the PKR Live Main Event.
Hi Eleanor. Congrats on becoming the latest PKR Team Pro. Can you tell us a little bit about how you found poker?
Poker has always been a hobby for me. I started when I moved down to work in London about nine years ago, and then got on to playing on PKR, mainly because I was really into playing computer games in my spare time and I wanted to play a bit more poker than just pub poker.
I think that's why PKR appealed, because of the cool graphics etc. I did pretty well – gradually the amount of time I spent playing poker increased, and my results got better. I used to work as an operations manager at an IT company and still played about 50 hours per week. Now I've moved away from London and I'm doing poker full time.
How long did it take you to become a winning player?
Online probably took a little longer, but the first pub game I ever played in I came 2nd, and immediately thought “right, this game is really easy”. Obviously, I quickly realised that there maybe is a little bit more to it! It's only been in the last few years where the money I've earned has got to the point where I've thought “well, I really enjoy this and I don't have to do so much work.”
Was a sponsorship deal something you always had your eye on?
Not really. But I've always followed the progress of the PKR Team Pros, so part of me has always wanted to be part of that group. These kind of poker sponsorship deals don't come along very often, so I feel really fortunate to have this opportunity.
It's your first event, are you finding already that people are looking to pick on you now that you're a PKR Team Pro?
I don't think so. I've only shown down good hands so far, people seem to be like “oh, actually, maybe we'll keep letting her get away with it!”
Other than future PKR events, where will we see you flying the PKR flag?
I'll be out in Vegas again this summer, definitely playing a few World Series events. I'll probably also be making it to UKIPT Nottingham. I'm based in Leicester at the moment, so I like to play a lot of the local tours that come by.
You've got the highest winnings on PKR for a female. Is that something that you're constantly aware of?
Yeah, it is. Last year I was introduced into the Hall of Fame at PKR, and it was obviously mentioned then. I'm very competitive, so I've always kept an eye on the PKR money list.
Why should people join you at the tables?
Well, if you like poker, obviously! But more unique to PKR is the software, and also the community. It's a site where you really do feel like you're playing against other people and you can chat to other players. It just makes it a lot more fun!