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 he Guardian Poker Column |
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| Victoria
Coren |
| Friday April 14, 2006
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How to play poker
(How to play has been running from issue 16) |
The Women's Poker Open was an interesting experiment.
Women are not generally considered to be the best poker players. True, our
results don't compare well with men's in the world rankings. But women make up
a tiny proportion of the field, even today. If only nine women are playing in a
250-runner event, it's daft to draw gender conclusions from an all-male
final.
Also, the rankings relate only to tournaments (which call for
aggression) rather than cash games, which reward the more feminine qualities of
patience and guile. A limited time period and rising blinds demand more
position-bluffing. In tournaments, it is not enough to outthink your opponents;
in the right situation, you have to push them around as well. I am rather proud
to say that this is not a predominantly female characteristic. |
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I sometimes wonder whether poker is a
woman's game at all. Women have the ability to be great players - greater
possibly than men, especially in cash games. It's a question of whether they
want to. The still-high ratio of men to women on the poker scene, despite the
game's new social acceptability and the efforts of casinos and TV producers to
lure ladies in, must mean something. Online poker is a helpful development for
women: aggression is easier, and perhaps more fun, from behind a computer
screen. But in the end - as an addict, I'm not afraid to say this - poker can
be a bit geeky. It's obsessive-compulsive, very mathematical, and involves a
lot of record-keeping. In those respects, it is quite male.
So don't be
fooled by the media: poker is still a male-dominated game, and will probably
stay that way. In the push for female markets, casinos and television imply
that women should be playing, and are missing out if they don't. But the point
of feminism, in all things, is choice. Like drinking pints, watching football
or returning to work after childbirth, women can now enjoy poker without
stigma. And, like those things, there's no shame in refusing the option either.
Victoria Coren is a writer and occasional tournament player .
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