Poker Boom Era Superstar Erick Lindgren is Deep in the WPT Choctaw Championship
Table Of Contents
Known as one of the best in the world during the 2000s, Erick Lindgren is back in the spotlight with a deep run in the $3,800 buy-in World Poker Tour (WPT) Choctaw Championship.
On a Day 3 break Monday afternoon, with 23 players remaining out of 606, "E-Dawg" spoke with PokerNews to discuss the glory days of poker and what he's been up to since he regularly appeared on televised poker shows years ago. Moments prior to our chat with the two-time WPT champion, he rivered a full house and received a full double up when his opponent, Harvey Castro, rivered the nut flush.
At the time of publishing, with the blinds at 20,000/40,000, the poker champion had just over 800,000 chips and a guaranteed minimum payout of $18,900, but his eyes set on winning the $361,600 first place prize.
Is He Back?
Lindgren, a former Full Tilt Poker pro, has over $10 million in lifetime live tournament cashes, according to The Hendon Mob. That includes two WPT titles and two World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelets. But most of those earnings came from 2003-2013 when he was on top of the poker world.
That said, Lindgren is in position to make a run at his first major poker tournament title since he took down the $5,000 WSOP No-Limit Hold'em 6-Handed event for $606,317 in 2013. His last World Poker Tour title came in 2004, a career-best $1,025,000 score for winning the $7,500 buy-in PartyPoker Million III. That was a great era for Lindgren.
"It was a fun time, it was a whirlwind to be traveling and playing all the tournaments with the same guys," Lindgren said of the poker boom era. "There was some big-time camaraderie, you see the young guys running in groups. Before you have families, it's very easy to run around and keep playing."
Poker Pro's a Family Man
These days, E-Dawg can't run around and play poker all the time like he did back in the 2000s. Instead, he's married with kids and coaches his son's flag football team. But he still has a passion for the game and plays frequently. At one point, Lindgren was among the best players in the game, but he admits his inability to play as often does somewhat impact his performance.
"I think it keeps getting better when I play a lot," Lindgren said of his poker game now compared to the 2000s. "The problem is obviously when I take breaks, especially longer breaks, it takes a minute to knock the dust off. But I watch the streams like everybody else does now, and I get my study in, so I'm pretty aware of what everybody's doing and I feel pretty good about some counters that I have."
The game has certainly evolved in terms of strategy since the poker boom era, but Lindgren's adapting and his results show it. At the WSOP last year, he reached two final tables, and now he's deep in another major event playing to join the exclusive three-time WPT champions club.
Lindgren shared some memories of his younger poker days, some perhaps not his favorite memories, such as one involving Mike Matusow.
"I roomed with 'Mike the Mouth' for that," Lindgren said of a 2003 event in Paris. "One of my worst life decisions, and I've made some f*****g doozies."
Lindgren also praised Choctaw Casino & Resort, saying he is enjoying seeing "some old faces" and the staff. At the time of publishing, Lindgren was still standing on Day 3. The session will conclude when the field has reached its final six players. Those individuals will then take a three-week break before returning to action, but in Las Vegas on May 30.
*Images courtesy of the World Poker Tour/Enrique Malfavon.
