Poker was and still is mostly played by males and women in poker are actively trying to pave the way for more women to join this game. When you look at it – poker indeed is open for everyone as it is a type of activity in which there are no male and female categories. In other words, it does not require physical strength such as basketball, for example. There is male basketball and female basketball, just because the difference in our bodies would make the competition unfair if it were mixed. However, poker – poker unites us all.
Linda Johnson is a member of Poker Hall of Famer as well as Women in Poker Hall of Famer, and she held a speech of her poker history. Johnson was mostly active during the ‘70s and the ‘80s. During that time she recalled that there were situations in which men would blow smoke in the faces of her and Barbara Enright, uttering something like “you don’t belong here.” However, thanks to Johnson and Enright, many women nowadays feel more comfortable partaking in this activity that sees no boundaries. But Johnson is still not satisfied with the numbers and stated in her introduction of WPT Women’s Poker Summit at the Bicycle Casino on Sunday that the line was not moving in poker. She added that the number of women in poker in the last 40 years had gone up from 1% to 4% which is a very tiny step forward. She asked what they were doing wrong.
The Tour Continues On
The World Poker Tour has always been one step ahead and always wanted to reshape the world of poker as we know it. It is by no accident that they want to increase the women’s participation in this card game as it currently represents a big problem in the industry. Under the leadership of the extraordinary person called Adam Pliska, the female representation in the company has gone over 60% – mostly for the executive positions. This is yet another fact that the company takes pride in.
Angelica Hael, who is a Vice President of Global Tour Manager in WPT, stated that it was not the lack of interest from women that represent the problem. When you take a look at some favorite poker app such as Zynga Poker, which is a free poker app, you can see that the number of women playing this game is around 25%. This is much more than the number of women that we see in poker tournaments.
The reason for this gap to exist is still not known, but some people are actively participating in finding the problem and the solution which could potentially “close the gap.” One such event is the Women’s World Poker Summit which will host some of the best female poker players that will discuss the issue in a roundtable format and try to come up with a solution.