Why Arent There More Women Playing Poker? – Casino.Org News

One of the best things about poker is that itsa game available to everyone. Regardless of your age, profession, or sex, youcan learn to play poker and enjoy it online and live without any realobstacles.

At least, thats how things are in theory, but pokeris largely dominated by male players.

If you look at any open poker tournament,youll see that the ratio of men to women is easily 20 to 1 at best.

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

Given the fact there is nothing in the game rules to discriminate against female players, its only natural to wonder why there arent more women in poker?

Do women not find the game interesting enough, or is there some deeper explanation for this phenomenon?

The answer to this question is fairly complex, butIll do my best to break it down it today.

The first thing to look at when discussing thisissue is the history of the game.

Poker started as a male-dominated activity, andduring the early days of the game, it was played almost exclusively by men.Rare female players to hit the felt were definitely going against the socialnorms of the period.

Those who decided to break the unwritten (andsometimes even written) rules were branded with not-so-favorable labels bytheir contemporaries.

So, from the get-go, there was this aura of exclusivity surrounding the game.

Poker was a boys game, and girls, even iftolerated, were usually not welcome. Their presence would disrupt the usualsetup, and we can only guess that it could make men feel awkward oruncomfortable at that time?

Of course, things have changed quite a bit overthe decades, and were no longer living in the Wild West era, but the factremains that the game started off on the wrong foot for the inclusion of women.

There is no surprise that some men have no inhibitions, especially when theyve had a few drinks or when they go on tilt.

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

You could say thats all a part of the game but is it really?

Its one thing to try to throw off and confuseyour opponents, but guys sometimes take it too far.

And were still wondering why there arent morewomen in poker?

If you find yourself in an environment whereyou dont feel welcomed or creeped on, wheres the motivation to keep coming back?

Most people who play poker arent exactlyprofessionals who make a living out of it, so its the overall experience thatattracts people to the tables.

When youre a woman in poker and have torepeatedly deal with these unpleasant situations, what it can affect theoverall experience.

Youre wont enjoy yourself, you dont feelwelcome, and at the end of a session, even if you end up winning, youll gohome with a bitter taste in your mouth.

Im not saying that this is the rule and thatit happens all the time, but its quite common.

Many prominent female players, like Selbst, LivBoeree, and Vanessa Rousso, have talked about these issues on more than oneoccasion.

And, if it happens at the highest level, whywould it be any different in smaller local cardrooms?

This is probably one of the biggest reasons whywomen even today tend to stay away from poker and find different hobbies toenjoy.

As fascinating as the game is, for some, its not worth all the additional abuse that comes with playing in a live setting.

Long gone are the days when you had to drive tothe nearest casino or cardroom just so you could play a few hands.

There are countless online poker sites out there, and they dont discriminate in any way. As long as youre of legal age, youre welcome to sign up and play.

Whether you are a woman or a man makes nodifference whatsoever.

Plus, your identity is hidden behind an alias,so other players at the table wont even know your gender if you prefer to keepit hidden.

So, with that in mind, is the number of womenin online poker any bigger?

Although there are no real studies to refer toin this regard, its safe to assume that many more women play the game onlinein a safe and protected environment.

The ratio is still heavily in favor of maleplayers, but the situation is much better than in the live scene.

But even so, there isnt the same level ofinterest for the game among female players, which indicates that there is moreto it than just the fact that women sometimes dont feel comfortable at thetables.

In the grand scheme of things, poker, just likeanything else, is a product. It wasnt by accident the game has become sopopular across the globe.

The 2003 Moneymaker victory was a great catalyst, but if it werent for heaps of money spent on advertising, the poker boom would be much smaller.

But a huge percentage of that advertising wastargeting a male audience.

Women were rarely featured in poker ads back inthe days, and not much has changed since.

Of course, we do have more women in poker whoare signing sponsorship deals and representing poker sites, but we dont seetoo many female poker players in the focus of advertising, as sad as it is.

That said, this approach does make some sense froma business perspective as its much easier and more cost-effective for pokersites.

You cant target and reach everyone, so roomspick their ideal customers and adjust ads to them.

It continues the idea of poker as a boys game and something to do to get away from your everyday life.

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.

If its advertising that sells, then itsreally doing a poor job of selling poker to women. If anything, its almosttelling them to stay away and do something else instead.

Things have changed for the better as of late,which is why there is an increase in the number of female players.

Poker sites now sign more female players asambassadors and we do have quite a few female players creating poker content,but there is still much work to be done.

Another big reason women arent so attracted topoker, even online, is the games very nature.

At the end of the day, poker is a verycutthroat game where you need to do whatever it takes to outsmart your opponentand take their money.

Its all fun and games on TV, but the look onsomeones face after a particularly painful bad beat isnt always easy to see.

Women and men are widely considered to differin terms of their emotions. Although things are never so clear-cut and thisstatement is pretty reductive, in general, men will find much moresatisfaction in crushing their opponents soul than women.

Despite being predominantly a skill game, poker still has an element of gambling.

Gambling means risk, and most men are much more so inclined when it comes to taking risks.

Many studies have shown that women are morerisk-averse, which isnt the best thing if you want to play poker.

Texas Holdem, the most popular pokervariation, is a game of incomplete information. No matter how good or observantyou are, taking some chances comes with the territory.

Players who have done really well have generally been the ones who werent trying to avoid variance but have rather embraced it.

Of course, this isnt a thing set in stone, andthere are plenty of women who arent afraid or reluctant to take necessaryrisks, but we have to speculate if we want to find the reasons behind thisdiversification.

This goes back to the overall appeal of pokerto women.

If a player isnt comfortable with whats oneof the fundamental premises of the game, theyre not going to enjoy it as muchand will not find as much enjoyment in playing it.

As hard as it often is for women to find theirplace in the male-dominated poker world, those who do make it often findthemselves in a rather favorable situation.

With so few female players, especially thoseplaying in a serious capacity, there are plenty of opportunities to be had.

Successful women in poker usually have noproblems getting sponsorship deals and endorsements from related companies. So,in this regard, female players do have it somewhat easier.

I love how Marley Cordeiro illustrates thiswith a bit of irony:

For men, the competition is very fierce, andgetting a good sponsorship deal is usually reserved only for the best of thebest or the lucky few who manage to luckbox their way into a major tournamentwin.

This isnt supposed in any way to justifydifferent types of issues women in poker have to deal with on a daily basis,but its at least one bright point in the whole discourse.

Over the past couple of years, theres been alot of focus on trying to attract more women to poker.

A large portion of the poker industryunderstands that this is very important, as it will help boost the overall playerpool and paint the game in a different, better light.

Sadly, there is still a long road ahead andmany obstacles to overcome before women could see poker as theirgame.

A couple of bad experiences can be enough toturn anyone off, and, unfortunately, women are much likelier to have suchexperiences at a poker table.

A different approach to marketing and campaigns led by successful female pros would certainly go a long way towards achieving this goal, so lets hope we will see this sooner than later.

Lead image: WSOP.com

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Why Arent There More Women Playing Poker? - Casino.Org News