“What was the most fun part of playing with your mom?”
Makena Jordison took a moment to answer.
“The practicing, not really the playing. But, it’s been fun all week learning," Makena said.
Angela’s Jordison is a venerable poker player with more than $1.5 in live earnings (according to the Hendon Mob), two WSOP circuit rings. She is also Makena’s mom and mirrored her daughter’s answer.
“The prep was really exciting – the what ifs – being able to mentor her in something that I love so much," Angela said.
An unlikely gift from Mom (and Wolfgang)
Angela had never wanted to bring poker home to her two children, Makena and Trevor. She kept it a very separate part of her life. She’s been playing since 2008 and was introduced to poker while owning a bar, and one of her customers leased a space in the bar to play poker. She primarily played PLO cash games until 2020, when she became more involved in tournaments.
Makena is based in LA and works for the tech company Genies, focusing on avatars.
When Angela was visiting Nicaragua during Thanksgiving, she was on tilt. Most of her friends had already won Golden Passports for the ClubWPT Gold $5 Million Freeroll.
Angela got to thinking that maybe Makena could enter the giveaway that Wolfgang Poker was running on his socials. All you had to do was signup to ClubWPT Gold. Wolfgang was giving away 90 entries, and Makena was one of the lucky few to get picked.
Mom grinds out a seat
Angela was excited for Makena and kept grinding on, playing until she also grabbed one of the lucky seats, making them one of the few mother-daughter teams in the field.
Angela enlisted Jacki Burkhart and Kyna England’s help to mentor her daughter prior to the event. Angela realized that she’d forgotten all the tiny nuances of poker that a new poker player needs to consider, things that are just second-nature to her at this point.
Burkhart and England coached Makena to play tight, but when playing in a hand, bet big pre-flop and bet large going forward in that hand.
The turbo structure of the tournament didn't allow for a lot of waiting, and Makena busted after losing a coin flip. She seemed equally upset about that as the fact there was no lunch break during the tournament.
Asked if she’d ever like playing a tournament again, Makena answered, “For free...I’m not playing for any sort of (my) money at least.”
Perhaps more valuable than the money, Makena earned a new appreciation for what her mom does all the time.
“It’s a lot," Makena said while looking at her mom. "You’re pretty smart.”
Photo courtesy of the WPT
