Female Poker Player

There are many different poker tournaments out there, and while all of them are open to women, some of them are specifically women-only competitions. These tournaments have brought up some interesting issues over the years from both men and women – so you may want to think about them carefully before you decide to play in one.

Of course, all the major poker tournaments are open to women. This includes the World Series of Poker – which is perhaps the most well-known poker tournament in the world. Many women, including Annie Duke, Kathy Liebert, Sabyl Cohen, and Cyndy Violette, have won huge amounts of money at these tournaments. In fact, Annie Duke won the first World Series of Poker Tournament of Champions in 2004 – an event that invited the top ten best players in the poker world to compete together. At the time, Duke was the only woman at the table.

So what’s so bad about women-only tournaments? After all, there are women’s divisions of sports at every level, women-only gyms, and even entire television stations aimed exclusively at women. Well, unlike other sports, poker is primarily a game of the mind. Many of the top female poker players find it insulting that they’re being told their minds aren’t as good as those of the male poker players. And if Annie Duke can defeat nine of the top ranked poker players in a tournament, then why hold women-only games? There’s no physical reason for it.

Many men are opposed to the idea, too. There aren’t male-only tournaments, they say, and there would be a huge stir if anyone even suggested the idea. These men welcome the challenge that playing against women represents. Many studies do suggest that men do think differently than women – differently, not better – and these distinctions can be seen in how men and women approach the game of poker. Mixed gender games can therefore be more challenging, which many players welcome.

One good thing that can be said about female-only tournaments is that they encourage more women to become involved in the sport. Women who are just starting out may be intimidated by more experienced male competitors, causing them to shy away from highly-publicized tournaments. Women-only tournaments allow these women to build their skills in a more comfortable atmosphere before making the leap to traditional mixed-gender tournaments.

Despite this controversy, many women-only tournaments still exist. Since some women prefer to play against women only, organizations exist to cater to these groups. Strictly female poker associations, like the Women’s Poker Club, sponsor women-only tournaments on a regular basis. The prize money is generally on the same level as open tournaments, but these ladies-only games don’t garner quite the attention that tournaments like the World Series of Poker do, because of their lack of history and prestige and since some women players refuse to play in them.

No matter what the future of poker, one thing is certain – wanted or not, women have a seat at the table and there’s nothing anyone can do about that. As to whether every seat should be filled by a woman, only time will tell what happens to women-only poker tournaments.

Say you’ve found friends with two rare qualities – they’re women and they love playing poker! Now it’s time to take a page out of the boy’s manual and set up a women’s poker night. It can be quite difficult to find enough interested ladies to put together a women’s poker circle, but once you have four or five ladies who are serious about sitting down and playing some cards, it’s time to start planning your event.

First of all, if you’re planning a serious game, you’ll need a serious table. While your kitchen table or a folding table can work, it’s not an ideal solution for the long-term. A nice felt-covered table made specifically for playing cards on is – of course – your best bet. And although these tables can be quite expensive new, it’s not that hard to take a nice table from a garage sale and covert it into a poker table. Sometimes, all it takes is creating a smooth felt top, while other times you may need to be a little more skilled – you might need to add longer legs or redo the top. If you’re really good with tools, simply build your own poker table.

Next, you’ll need to think about cards and chips. It’s always a good idea to have several decks on-hand and to replace older decks as the cards get worn. If you’re going for the look and feel of a professional table, you’ll want cards with nondescript backs. If you’re just playing for fun, then any deck will work. As for chips, just be sure you have enough of them. Most chip sets you buy come with a good number of each color, but if you’re playing with chips you’ve had for some time, some may have gotten lost.

Do a quick assessment of the room you’ll be playing in. Can everyone get up from the table without needing to squeeze behind someone else? Is there plenty of room between seats so that no one can peak at another’s hand? Is there good lighting? Are your chairs comfortable? You’ll be sitting in them for a few hours or more, so you’ll definitely want to invest in some padded seats.

And while it might seem not that important, be sure you put some thought into planning your snacks and drinks. You don’t want food that’s going to be hard to eat one-handed. Likewise, messy foods like nachos can ruin your nice poker table – and you certainly don’t want that after all the effort you’ve put into building the table! Be sure to have coasters for all drinks and napkins for anything that could potentially get on the cards or chips.

Finally, do some family planning before your women’s poker night. You don’t want to be interrupted by the kids or your spouse, so find things to entertain them. Even better, get them out of the house for the evening. Ensuring that every member of your family has some outside activity to keep them occupied is a good preventative way to keep interruptions to a minimum.