Girls Just Want To Pla...

Friday, Jul. 4, 2008

Girls Just Want to Play Cards

By Rod Stirzaker

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"Poker is a game for men. Women can't play it; you need cojones. They think a big slick is when you spill some vegetable oil cooking some eggs. They'd be better off staying home and ironing their husband's lucky poker socks for when the real game begins!"

Before I receive a barrage of abuse from female readers, this is not my own opinion; just a representation of the archaic, although not completely eradicated, views that male poker players have traditionally held toward women playing poker.

Anyone with a semblance of rational thought and with any experience playing women at poker knows this is not the case - there are some extremely capable, in some cases world-class, female players who have proven themselves at the felt.

Although this year's World Series has been relatively short on female success stories, one player has been a shining beacon of success in the traditionally male-dominated arena of poker, and that is Vanessa Selbst.

Selbst not only picked up a bracelet in the Pot-Limit Omaha competition, but also managed another final table in the World Championship Heads-Up No-Limit event three days later and even had time to pick up one further cash for an impressive tally of over $350,000 in winnings.

Selbst wins Omaha bracelet!

She is a great role model for women players, courting publicity for her innate poker talent rather than trying to attract the attention of the watching media based solely on being attractive or wearing low-cut tops.

Many female players seem to have picked up sponsorships purely based on being photogenic, and flashing cleavage for the eager media to snap seems to have become a replacement for being able to play the game. Vanessa bucks this trend, and male and female players alike should respect her for this.

In general, to be fair, the poker world does seem as if it's starting to accept female players as equals. Broadening the net to encourage more female participation is something that can only strengthen the poker world.

The larger the base of players, the more power poker players will have to stage large tournaments, rally against illogical laws such as the UIGEA and transform the face of poker so that it's no longer seen as being a game for irresponsible gamblers, but is instead recognized for the skilled and enjoyable pursuit it can be in the right hands.

Organizers of tournaments should do all they can to make the game more inclusive for women. Admittedly, various steps have been taken by organizing bodies to make sure women can feel as comfortable as men in poker environments.

Jennifer Harman: A world-class female player.

One misguided facet of this move to include women, though, is the phenomenon of women-only tournaments.

I would suggest that if we are looking to give women equal footing with men in the poker world, female-only tournaments are antiquated.

They propagate the myth that women should somehow be segregated from men, either because they are not of equal skill, or because they don't fit in in the "man's world of poker."

Play Jennifer Harman heads-up for a while if you believe this and once she has taken all your money, you may find you have changed your mind!

Lose these tournaments off the schedule and a big step will have been taken to recognize that incredible pool of talent and enthusiasm that is waiting to be tapped in the female market.

Most casinos these days have been made into places where women are comfortable. They are no longer dingy, dark saloons smelling of whisky where men shoot each other for hitting gut-shots; they are often luxurious, attractively designed locales, catering equally well to both men and women.

We have left so many questionable traditions behind. To abandon segregated tournaments, with their inherent implication of inequality, is one of the last steps we need to take to ensure the talent of female players can be acknowledged and embraced - for the good of male and female players and for the benefit of the entire game.