Aaron Johnson on Signature Win and Leading Two Mid-Major POY Races
Aaron Johnson is having a career year and it’s not even halfway through 2018. Not only has the Minnesotan won nearly $230K, he currently leads the Player of the Year races in not one, but two mid-major tours.
On the Mid-States Poker Tour, Johnson has amassed 3,942 points on the Kimo Sabe Mezcal MSPT Season 9 Player of the Year leaderboard, which is already more than Chris Meyers had when he won the title last year. That’s thanks to six cashes, three final tables, and a win in the MSPT Grand Falls Regional.
Meanwhile, Johnson also leads the Heartland Poker Tour Season XIV Player of the Year race with 152 points thanks to a win in March’s HPT Belterra for $86,189 and then finishing eighth in May’s HPT East Chicago for $22,377.
If Johnson looks familiar, it might be because you caught a glimpse of him on ESPN’s broadcast of the 2016 World Series of Poker Main Event. Johnson went deep in that tournament, ultimately finishing 72nd out of 6,737 players for a career-high $96,787.
So, who is this man tearing up the mid-majors?
Son of Casino Exec
Johnson had what he calls a standard middle-class upbringing in Red Wing, Minnesota, which hugs the Mississippi River a stone’s throw from Wisconsin. His mother was city clerk while his father was an executive at a local casino.
Upon graduating high school in 2009, Johnson dabbled in poker, a game he learned during the 2003 “Moneymaker Boom,” for a couple of years while deciding what he wanted to do with his life. Eventually, he wound up in community college where he obtained his Associate’s Degree, and instead of following through on his original intent to transfer to a four-year school, he did what so many others have – he turned pro.
“Although I participated in various sports, I was never great at anything,” said Johnson, who also admitted he played online starting in eighth grade. “Poker was a skill-based outlet that allowed me to compete on a higher level than anything I had done before.”
Johnson got off to a rocky start after turning pro in 2014; in fact, he was close to bust several times before his deep run in the Main Event. Ever since then, it was a steady climb until his recent heater.
“It’s truly unbelievable,” he said of his recent success. “It’s incredibly satisfying to see hard work and effort actually pay off in a game with no guarantees. After several years of running not-so-hot, I’ve been absolutely immersed in this vortex of positive variance. Every successive result only increases my confidence and desire to keep this run going. I’m just trying to enjoy the moment and absorb the tremendous outpouring of support I’ve received.”
Dual POY Destiny?
Being atop two mid-major POY races is unprecedented, and it’s not lost on Johnson.
“Those races are definitely important to me,” he said. “There’s a lot of prestige and fulfillment in winning those kinds of things. Attaining both would be unreal. As an ultra-competitive person it’s the perfect fuel to grind as hard as humanly possible."
"I will undoubtedly be trying to win both and will be looking to control my own destiny by playing as many MSPTs and HPTs as possible. There’s still a lot of work to be done."
Johnson credits regular exercise, plenty of sleep, and a healthy diet (he used to weigh 250 lbs.) as contributing factors to his success, while also putting in the hours to improve.
“I also study quite a bit, constantly strive to play better and learn from mistakes, completely abstain from partying/alcohol, and try to keep phone use to a minimum while playing,” he explained. “Having a positive mindset and avoiding negativity has also worked wonders. To me, poker is a business and I treat it as such.”
It may have taken a few years, but Johnson’s “business” is rocking. Before his HPT win in March, which he says is his proudest accomplishment to date, his resumé lacked a signature win. Not only did he get that monkey off his back, the score allowed him more freedom to do the things that he loves.
“I’m a pretty laid back and easy-going person,” he said. “I enjoy dogs, running, coffee, movies. I also enjoy checking out new restaurants and trying new foods. I much prefer spending money on experiential things rather than material things.”
This summer, Johnson will be grinding a full Vegas schedule for the fifth year in a row.
“I absolutely love the summer grind,” he concluded. “If things go anywhere near as well as they’ve gone so far this year, it could be quite a prosperous series!”
You can follow Johnson on Twitter at @AyeGeeJay.
