{"id":27985,"date":"2021-05-30T17:30:00","date_gmt":"2021-05-30T22:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/blog\/?p=27985"},"modified":"2021-05-24T11:06:20","modified_gmt":"2021-05-24T16:06:20","slug":"why-arent-there-more-women-playing-poker","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/blog\/why-arent-there-more-women-playing-poker\/","title":{"rendered":"Why Aren\u2019t There More Women Playing Poker?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

One of the best things about poker is that it\u2019s\na game available to everyone. Regardless of your age, profession, or sex, you\ncan learn to play poker and enjoy it online and live without any real\nobstacles. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

At least, that\u2019s how things are in theory, but poker\nis largely dominated by male players. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you look at any open poker tournament,\nyou\u2019ll see that the ratio of men to women is easily 20 to 1 at best. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

You can also clearly see this tendency when looking at the All-Time Poker Money List. Vanessa Selbst<\/a> is the only female player to make it to the top 100, surrounded by 99 guys.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Vanessa
Image: YouTube<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Given the fact there is nothing in the game rules to discriminate against female players, it’s only natural to wonder why there aren’t more women in poker? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Do women not find the game interesting enough, or is there some deeper explanation for this phenomenon?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The answer to this question is fairly complex, but\nI\u2019ll do my best to break it down it today.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Poker Was Strictly A “Man’s Game” For Many Years<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The first thing to look at when discussing this\nissue is the history of the game. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Poker started as a male-dominated activity, and\nduring the early days of the game, it was played almost exclusively by men.\nRare female players to hit the felt were definitely going against the social\nnorms of the period.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Those who decided to break the unwritten (and\nsometimes even written) rules were branded with not-so-favorable labels by\ntheir contemporaries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, from the get-go, there was this aura of exclusivity surrounding the game. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"old
Image: News Dog Media via Daily Mail<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Poker was a boy’s game, and girls, even if\ntolerated, were usually not welcome. Their presence would disrupt the usual\nsetup, and we can only guess that it could make men feel awkward or\nuncomfortable at that time?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Of course, things have changed quite a bit over\nthe decades, and we’re no longer living in the Wild West era, but the fact\nremains that the game started off on the wrong foot for the inclusion of women.\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Misogyny And Sexism<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

There is no surprise that some men have no inhibitions, especially when they’ve had a few drinks or when they go on tilt<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

From unsolicited seduction attempts and sleazy comments, to straight-up insults, female players have to deal with a lot of unacceptable stuff.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You could say that’s all a part of the game –\nbut is it really<\/em>? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It’s one thing to try to throw off and confuse\nyour opponents, but guys sometimes take it too far.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And we\u2019re still wondering why there aren\u2019t more\nwomen in poker?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you find yourself in an environment where\nyou don\u2019t feel welcomed or creeped on, where\u2019s the motivation to keep coming back?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Most people who play poker aren\u2019t exactly\nprofessionals who make a living out of it, so it\u2019s the overall experience that\nattracts people to the tables.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When you\u2019re a woman in poker and have to\nrepeatedly deal with these unpleasant situations, what it can affect the\noverall experience. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

You\u2019re won\u2019t enjoy yourself, you don\u2019t feel\nwelcome, and at the end of a session, even if you end up winning, you\u2019ll go\nhome with a bitter taste in your mouth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I’m not saying that this is the rule and that\nit happens all the time, but it’s quite common. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Many prominent female players, like Selbst, Liv\nBoeree, and Vanessa Rousso, have talked about these issues on more than one\noccasion. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

And, if it happens at the highest level, why\nwould it be any different in smaller local cardrooms?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is probably one of the biggest reasons why\nwomen even today tend to stay away from poker and find different hobbies to\nenjoy. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

As fascinating as the game is, for some, it\u2019s not worth all the additional abuse that comes with playing in a live setting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Men
Image: Raul654\/Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

What About Online\nPoker?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Long gone are the days when you had to drive to\nthe nearest casino or cardroom just so you could play a few hands.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are countless online poker sites<\/a> out there, and they don’t discriminate in any way. As long as you’re of legal age, you’re welcome to sign up and play. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Whether you are a woman or a man makes no\ndifference whatsoever.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Plus, your identity is hidden behind an alias,\nso other players at the table won\u2019t even know your gender if you prefer to keep\nit hidden.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, with that in mind, is the number of women\nin online poker any bigger?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Although there are no real studies to refer to\nin this regard, it’s safe to assume that many more women play the game online\nin a safe and protected environment. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The ratio is still heavily in favor of male\nplayers, but the situation is much better than in the live scene.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But even so, there isn\u2019t the same level of\ninterest for the game among female players, which indicates that there is more\nto it than just the fact that women sometimes don\u2019t feel comfortable at the\ntables.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Male-Focused Advertising<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

In the grand scheme of things, poker, just like\nanything else, is a product. It wasn\u2019t by accident the game has become so\npopular across the globe. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The 2003 Moneymaker<\/a> victory was a great catalyst, but if it weren\u2019t for heaps of money spent on advertising, the poker boom would be much smaller.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But a huge percentage of that advertising was\ntargeting a male audience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Women were rarely featured in poker ads back in\nthe days, and not much has changed since. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Of course, we do have more women in poker who\nare signing sponsorship deals and representing poker sites, but we don’t see\ntoo many female poker players in the focus of advertising, as sad as it is.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That said, this approach does make some sense from\na business perspective as it\u2019s much easier and more cost-effective for poker\nsites. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

You can\u2019t target and reach everyone, so rooms\npick their ideal customers and adjust ads to them. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It continues the idea of poker as a \u201cboy\u2019s game\u201d and something to do to get away from your everyday life. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Also, in most countries, men generally have access to more disposable income, and more importantly, they are probably more keen to put that money on the line in the game.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If it’s advertising that sells, then it’s\nreally doing a poor job of selling poker to women. If anything, it’s almost\ntelling them to stay away and do something else instead.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Things have changed for the better as of late,\nwhich is why there is an increase in the number of female players. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Poker sites now sign more female players as\nambassadors and we do have quite a few female players creating poker content,\nbut there is still much work to be done.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Psychology Of The Game<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Another big reason women aren\u2019t so attracted to\npoker, even online, is the game’s very nature. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

At the end of the day, poker is a very\ncutthroat game where you need to do whatever it takes to outsmart your opponent\nand take their money.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s all fun and games on TV, but the look on\nsomeone\u2019s face after a particularly painful bad beat isn\u2019t always easy to see.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Women and men are widely considered to differ\nin terms of their emotions. Although things are never so clear-cut and this\nstatement is pretty reductive, in general<\/em>, men will find much more\nsatisfaction in crushing their opponent\u2019s soul than women.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Despite being predominantly a skill game, poker still has an element of gambling<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Gambling means risk, and most men are much more so inclined when it comes to taking risks. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"An
Image: Shutterstock<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Many studies have shown that women are more\nrisk-averse, which isn’t the best thing if you want to play poker.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Texas Hold\u2019em, the most popular poker\nvariation, is a game of incomplete information. No matter how good or observant\nyou are, taking some chances comes with the territory. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Players who have done really well have generally been the ones who weren\u2019t trying to avoid variance<\/a> but have rather embraced it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Of course, this isn\u2019t a thing set in stone, and\nthere are plenty of women who aren\u2019t afraid or reluctant to take necessary\nrisks, but we have to speculate if we want to find the reasons behind this\ndiversification. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This goes back to the overall appeal of poker\nto women. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

If a player isn\u2019t comfortable with what\u2019s one\nof the fundamental premises of the game, they\u2019re not going to enjoy it as much\nand will not find as much enjoyment in playing it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Are There Any\nAdvantages To Being A Woman In Poker Today?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

As hard as it often is for women to find their\nplace in the male-dominated poker world, those who do make it often find\nthemselves in a rather favorable situation. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

With so few female players, especially those\nplaying in a serious capacity, there are plenty of opportunities to be had.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Successful women in poker usually have no\nproblems getting sponsorship deals and endorsements from related companies. So,\nin this regard, female players do have it somewhat easier. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I love how Marley Cordeiro illustrates this\nwith a bit of irony:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n
\n\n\n<\/span>