Are Women Underrepresented in Poker?

Poker is one of the few professional games where there is no division between males and females, and both genders can compete with one another. The game is available to everyone, and the online world has improved its accessibility. Unfortunately, though, the top rankings in the world are dominated by men. Indeed, the first woman to appear on the all-time money list is the now-retired Vanessa Selbst in 77th place.

These figures are since records began, and they could include more women over the next few decades. However, right now, it seems that female players are underrepresented in the poker scene.

Hard to Tell the Exact Demographics Online

While the celebrity poker scene may be heavily dominated by men, it’s much harder to judge the demographics in the growing online game. This is the most popular way of playing, as players of all levels are welcome to get involved.

According to research into the booming online casino industry, there is a close split between men and women in terms of the number of gambling accounts held. Men have 3.6 on average, while women have 2.8. Both genders have been encouraged to play online and get more bang for their buck by making use of some of the best online casino bonuses, such as no deposit free spins and deposit matches. Besides bankroll management, sites like these allow users to get an unbiased view of the best options out of the plethora of online gaming sites.

Gaming sites all offer a vast game variety, with poker being one of the more popular offerings. But it’s hard to determine how many people play each game. An educated guess, however, would say that the split between men and women is much closer online than in the real world because of the figures mentioned here.

Plenty of Women Have Made it to the Top

There are many women who have made it to the top of the poker world and can serve as inspiration to others. Before the poker boom, it was predominantly played by men. There were a few women, though, and the Ladies-only event at the World Series of Poker was established in 1977. Since the game boomed online, women have found more opportunities to make it to the top of the business.

Selbst is the best-known female player, and she has frequently cut it against the greatest in the business in televised events, like the World Series of Poker. She also achieved a number one ranking in the world on the Global Poker Index, becoming the only woman to do so. There are many other famous female players. A few women worthy of mention here are Liv Boeree, Maria Ho, and Jennifer Harman, but there are plenty of household names that could join them on this list.

Female players may also be interested in reading The Biggest Bluff by Maria Konnikova. The author was a psychologist who wanted to learn the intricacies of the game. Through expert coaching from Erik Seidel, she won the PCA National event at the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure No-Limit Hold'em Championship.

Ladies Event Should Inspire More Women to Start Playing

The WSOP in Las Vegas is clearly making efforts to market the game to women and enhance their representation on the world stage. The Ladies-only tournament has been going for over three decades, and it has grown even bigger in recent years.

There’s also the WSOP Academy Ladies Only Poker Camp, which has been running since 2007. It has helped many women make it to the final table of the Ladies-only event, with at least one entrant every year. The popularity and accomplishments of this should encourage more women to try to make it to the top level in the game.

It's fair to say that women are underrepresented at the pinnacle of poker right now, but this could easily shift over the next few decades. Online poker and highly skilled famous female players are inspiring more women to follow the card game as a career.