18 Jun
Making poker more welcoming to women is often discussed as a way to attract new players to the game.
After all, participation by the fairer sex at live poker tournaments continues to hover around the 5%-7% range. That woeful percentage won’t likely get any better if certain men continue to berate and abuse ladies at the poker tables, as happened again earlier this month.
Sasha Liu recalled being on the receiving end of two such bullying incidents recently, posting the following on Twitter:
The posts received lots of replies, many from women who recounted their own experiences of abuse at the tables. Such as this one ….
A number of men chimed in as well, some stating that harrassment and bullying is not always directed toward women:
Regardless of who is being attacked and berated – men or women – such abuse shouldn’t be tolerated by other players seated at the table, as well as the poker room personnel. That was made clear by a number of responders to Liu’s social media posts:
Hopefully, calling attention to this issue can bring about change. It’s unlikely that bullying behavior will ever be eliminated completely, but the more that people are aware of the abuse that others have to put up with at the poker table – especially women – the better.
