By Debbie Zammit

Picture a table of poker players – and what do you see? Any ladies around? Poker, like rugby, darts and football, is a perfect example of a male-dominated world that has existed for a long time. Given the leaps we’ve made for female inclusion, we’re still just rallying on the sidelines. 

The World Series of Poker (WSOP) – basically poker’s ‘World Cup’ – has had less than four per cent female turnout in the last years. And although Barbara Enright managed to get close in 1985, a woman has yet to win the WSOP main event. Statistically, it would be hard – we just don’t have the numbers. 

We’ve normalised playing cards for money, a former ‘degenerate-only’ activity, but still have low female turnout. Partly because women get less exposure. Some of us learn card games from parents and home games growing up. Yet poker, beer, billiards, and darts are more easily presented to guys in their teens and twenties. Society doesn’t expect girls to take on a competitive, mathematical, risky, potentially aggressive game like poker – so we just don’t get invited. 

Then there’s the attached misogyny. From the second a woman sits down at a poker table, they’re labelled as weak. Many men talk down to women, try to ‘coach’ us while playing, and don’t take our actions seriously. I had someone tell me “I always call a woman” (meaning he’d never lay down a hand to me). The gentleman proceeded to lose the hand but that’s a separate story. 

It doesn’t help that women in poker are sexualised – look at the dealers and waitresses. So we work harder to be included, let alone taken seriously. If a woman's sitting at a poker table, she’d better be fantastic to merit that seat – because one mistake and expect some verbal abuse. 

There's even a difference in how some men react to losing to a woman versus a man. I’ve seen men give high fives and say “good hand” after bad beats, but get salty when losing to me. Insisting I must be lucky and should play the lottery. Personally, I try to use this weak perception to my advantage when I play, but many women get put off. 

A way to combat this is playing online because women can use an obscure nickname and avatar and get taken seriously. In fact, around one in three women prefer playing at home. Which, let’s face it, is probably the way to go these days anyway, given the current state of the pandemic. Not to mention you get to play much lower stakes, as low as $1, and see more hands per hour. And with what is arguably the second poker boom happening right now, it’s the best time to play. Still – we’ve only got 10-20 per cent female poker players online. 

Sure, we’ve come a long way, with local communities and Facebook groups for poker ladies, and ladies-only tournaments - but this may not be the solution. I get that it encourages participation and creates a space where we can just focus on playing poker. Without the extra challenge of meandering through patronizing comments and condescending attitudes. But I think segregating tournaments are fuelling the false idea that there’s actually a difference between women and men in poker. We’re good enough to play in the mixed fields and don’t need our own ‘soft’ and safe section of the party. 

Chris Moneymaker was the first to become “world champion” in 2003 and win $2.5 million after qualifying through an $86 satellite online. He admitted that he thought women are better players than men - “You’re more intuitive, you don’t let your egos get in the way. Honestly, the women I’ve played with at the highest levels are always better than the guys.”

I think women should learn to play poker, not necessarily to compete in high stakes, but to practice life skills. Risk management, sizing up strengths and weaknesses, knowing when to call out bluffs. Also, recognizing a no-win situation and getting out is a skill we should master both in poker and the real world.

Unlike other casino games, poker is actually beatable. Although there’s always an element of luck, it requires skill - with no shortage of resources to learn. There’s mathematics involved, there’s aggression, good and bad decision-making, and the ability to read other players. Many times the winning hand is not necessarily the best one, but the right play will get you there. 

The only way to make it less of a man’s game is to get more females at the tables. Women work now, have more disposable income, and more access to tools to learn poker. So let’s deal more women into the game - whether online or live. Because I’d sure like to see a woman win the WSOP main event in my lifetime – it’s about time.