GPWA Times Magazine - Issue 5 - May 2008

23 She’s afraid of heights, but she keeps Maximum Poker League flying high! OK, let’s start with the two questions ev- eryone wants to know about...What is the back story behind your screen name and your avatar? My sister and I used to love the “Care Bears” (the show with the cute little pastel-colored bears) when we were kids. My sister started calling me Shar- Bear (Shar was short for Sharon). Come to find out there actually was a ShareBear! It has stuck with me ever since. She still calls me that today! As far as the avatar, I have a set of ’50s pin-up women on ace cards. I use them as my avatar for all forums I belong to. How did you become interested in on- line poker? What’s the most you’ve ever won playing online? We used to play card games growing up, but it was mostly Michigan Rummy for pennies. As an adult I started playing blackjack. About three years ago my dad told me about poker that you can play online for real money. He introduced me to poker forums, so I absorbed everything I could about differ- ent types of card games before playing for money. Once I started playing I was hooked. My favorite game at the moment is Omaha, either Hi or Hi/Lo. I’m not a huge fan of limit, but I love a great game of H.O.R.S.E. No-Limit Hold’em will always remain one of my favorites because it was the first game I learned to play online. The most I ever won to date would be a seat into the 2006 WSOP Ladies Event on King Solomon Poker. I won the entry plus travel expenses. It started with a $3 satel- lite. Also, in 2006 I hit a royal flush on 32Red Casino for $4,000. Why did you transition from playing poker online to being a poker affiliate? What about the online gambling industry fundamentally intrigued you? In 2006 I joined the Maximum Poker League (MPL) forum. It was the first forum where I re- ally felt at home. I think it was because the owner was from Michigan and so was I. Right from the get-go they made you feel like a family. Well, one day MPL was looking for a moderator, so I volunteered. As time went by the owner gave me more and more responsibilities setting up games and running different aspects of the fo- rum. The owner then went through some medical issues and had to step back from the forum, so I ran the ship in his absence. Eventually he let me start posting affili- ate links of my own. I approached him in October last year about moving from a free domain to a paid domain for and he agreed. I worked with a friend to get the forum set up. We busted a hump getting the site registered, setting up the forum, setting up link exchanges, etc. After it was all set up and running, Bill (the owner) of- fered me part ownership in the forum. I INTERVIEWWITH Sharon Liss | SharBear613 City currently residing in: Palm Harbor, Florida, USA Age: 40 Favorite food: All seafood (except clams) One book everyone must read: The Hero Within by Carol S. Pearson Site: MaximumPokerLeague.com Continued on page 53 GPWA Affiliate Interview Series | GPWA TIMES