Many people know Joanna Krupa from ‘Dancing With The Stars’, or possibly her ill-fated teaming with Terrell Owens on ‘The SuperStars’, or maybe, just maybe you remember her as a Wicked Chops Poker girl of the week.  Whatever your prior exposure to Krupa, you have a chance to see more this week on the PokerStars.net Million Dollar Challenge.

Krupa is not new to poker.  In fact, she played the Main Event of the WSOP in 2006, and has long been fawned over by many a poker player.  I must say I was impressed with Joanna on more than one level.  Sometimes at these celebrity things, the celebrities can show up a hot mess, or completely apathetic and clearly just there to pick up a paycheck.

Joanna, despite having a limo offered to her, chose to drive herself to the set, and showed up to the set made up and ready to go with a smile on her face.  I can tell you that I asked her a few questions, and not only was she welcoming, but actually asked me if I needed anything else at the end.  That’s a first.

Oh yeah, this is a poker show.  There have been some, um, ‘interesting’ plays by some celebrities on some of these celeb based poker shows, but I can tell you I was also impressed with Krupa’s game – at least to the extent that she doesn’t play much, but clearly listens to the lessons she gets, and cares enough to try.

So, Krupa is used to the bright lights, but was she comfortable under at the poker table.

“You always get nervous, especially here.” Krupa said  “I haven't played in maybe a year, year and a half.  I played a little bit online but not in a live setting.  I never played heads up at a live table before. So, it was a little difficult and a little challenging at the beginning.  There were sometimes where I could have folded when my opponent raised and I just went with my gut feeling. So I'm glad cause there was like a couple of times where I could have folded and it would have been sad.”

Krupa held her own at the poker table, and in fact I think it was appropriate that, for the last show with qualifiers on it, the celebrities were Krupa and Tito Ortiz, who were, in this reporters opinion, the best celebrity players (honorable mention to Jerome Bettis). 

So, did Krupa have any help?  Given her limited play, how did it all come back to her so fast?

”I had like a quick like an hour run through with Vanessa [Rousso]” Krupa told me  “She gave me some of tips and like a little bit of her strategy and stuff.  But she seemed really impressed with how well educated I was about poker.  Which I thought was a great compliment for me, because I haven't played poker in a while.  And so she was like, yeah you really have the basics down.  It was great.”

Krupa more than holds her own at the poker table, and looks great while doing it.  You can check out Joanna Krupa on this week’s episode of the PokerStars.net Million Dollar Challenge, airing this Sunday right after NFL football on FOX.

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