The poker world is essentially a male world. This is the summary one could make if one analyzes the representation of the sexes in this game, even if things have started to change in the last few years. And not only in the game but in all our society which is opening up and diversifying little by little, allowing women to be a little more present every day in sectors where they were until then practically absent. And poker has followed an identical evolution, has chosen still unthinkable thirty or forty years ago. But while progress has been significant, there is still a long way to go.
Although poker is a game with a long history, you have to go back to 1977 to find the first poker tournament involving women. It happened in parallel of the World Series and was baptized the Ladies Seven Card Stud. It was Jackie Daniels who had the pleasure of winning this tournament, and thus writing her name in golden letters in the great history of poker as the first winner of a poker tournament at the WSOP. A feat similar to that of Barbara Enrightthe first woman to reach a final table of the Main Event of the World Series Of Poker in 1995. The woman from Los Angeles experienced an exceptional rise that all lovers of this game followed with delight.
This final will be the first of her four known final tables, and she will subsequently manage to win 3 bracelets at the WSOP which have come to garnish her list, although this was only in exclusively female tournaments. Its influence was such that it inspired one of the characters of the famous series “Friends”. And she became a driving force and an example for all female amateur players who began to see poker as a possibility, like the men before them. In 2006, after the victory of Victoria Corin on the European Poker Tour, everyone understood that women were places around the table to stay.
And more recently, Linda Johnson entered, alongside Enright, the prestigious Hall of Fame poker. The names of other players known as Leo Margets we Vanessa Selbst also have resonance in the professional circuits, the latter having won more than 10 million dollars during her career and being part of the Top 25 of the greatest winners in history. And let’s not forget Annette Obrestad who was the youngest participant to win the WSOPE. Not bad for a start, but still not enough.
Indeed, the figures given by the communication companies dedicated to video game tell us that only 4% of poker tournament participants are women. An extremely low figure, but which nevertheless reflects the sad reality of this world. A world where corporations and poker rooms like partypoker have an important role to play in changing the game. And that role is to give women the opportunity to become major protagonists in poker, and not just for the purpose of creating a positive image for the brand, but in every sense of the word.
In our Team partypoker, we have several female members who help a lot in the progression of poker and who are true prodigies of this game. Although men are the majority in our team, we have female players in all our sections and each of they have great characteristics. Between those who already have an impressive CV and who could continue without worry away from our cocoon, and those who will succeed in the hand with partypoker.
It’s a small step, but one that will have to be followed by many others so that women can finally reach positions of responsibility in the world of poker. Thus, beginner players will have more reference models and will be encouraged to enter this environment as well. There are several women who are already reference and who are often talked about in the news of poker. This is particularly the case of Jennifer Harmana veteran player who struggled to make her way among the men, but eventually made it through and has two bracelets to her name and more than $3 million in career earnings.
And even more current is Vanessa Rousso, known under the pseudonym of “Lady Maverick”, and who is recognized as much for her sporting qualities as her intellectual ones. She is an expert in both chess and the Rubik’s cube, and of course cards, since we have seen her take part in poker tournaments in live televised.
