Even today, when many people think of poker they have a visual scene of a small card room filled with smoke with big burly men seated at the table and playing the game rough and reckless. There are no women at the tables for these individuals since traditionally women were never considered to be poker players. In fact, according to various resources women were considered to be unlucky for poker players and were thus not encouraged to enter the casinos. Fortunately, those days have been left far behind.
Women and Poker
Even today the number of men in poker outnumbers women by almost 8 to 1 at every major event. However, things have still changed quite considerably. Women are not backing down anymore. Women have taken up not just poker but other games like blackjack, craps and roulette and can be seen at casinos today playing these games at the same table as men. The number of women participating in poker tournaments has been slowly increasing over the years.
Being a man or a woman has nothing to do with poker, but there are still some hindrances that both men and women have to face in poker. While women are more patient, men are more aggressive. This could work in a good as well as a bad way for them. Women are very good at reading tells but are also very emotional. Women are capable of staying sober throughout the poker session and can thus make better calls than some men who tend to get trippy by the end of the game.
The Playing Style
Men are quite aggressive in poker and women can be timid and give into their aggression or they can use their own abilities of reading tells and hiding their emotions to beat their opponents. Generally men consider women as weak players at the poker table. They consider women to be incapable of bluffing, consider them to be tight, emotional and weak and women can use this to beat the men at poker.
In the last few years the number of women who have taken up poker professionally has increased tremendously. They are finding the game challenging and exciting and are participating in high profile tournaments. Hopefully, in the near future, more women would be seen at the WSOP final table and would be seen winning the much coveted bracelet. The respect for women players has definitely increased in the recent years but there is still a long way to go if poker has to be made equal for both men and women.
Till then, women should just concentrate on their game and learn to polish their skills. If they manage to beat men at their own game there is no doubt that they would be able to earn the respect they deserve. Women and poker go very well together, just as well as men and poker do. Whether it is a man or a woman, poker is equal for those who are skilled, smart and fast.