Ladies in US Poker: How the Business is Lastly Making Room on the Desk
For years, poker in america has been a male-dominated area. Stroll into virtually any poker site and the stats again it up: solely about 5% of gamers are girls. In keeping with World Sequence of Poker (WSOP) knowledge, simply 350 out of 8,569 entrants within the 2019 Predominant Occasion had been girls — a mere 4.1%. Much more putting, solely 44 of them had been beneath the age of 30. Regardless of this, the tides are slowly however steadily turning. In July 2025, Spanish poker professional Leonor “Leo” Margets made headlines by turning into the primary girl to achieve the WSOP Predominant Occasion closing desk since Barbara Enright in 1995. Margets completed seventh in a record-breaking subject of 9,735 gamers, securing $1.5 million in winnings and as soon as once more proving girls belong on the highest degree of play.
However Margets’ deep run wasn’t only a private milestone; it’s a sign to the broader poker world. The sport is shifting. Ladies have gotten extra seen, extra vocal, and extra victorious. From Hollywood stars who double as expert gamers to female-founded startups utilizing poker as a device for profession development, the panorama is evolving. And eventually, the poker business is starting to catch up.
A New Form of US Poker Room: Inclusivity On-line and Off
One of many clearest indicators that poker is embracing its feminine viewers comes from the digital world. US poker platform Americas Cardroom is taking part in a pivotal function on this transformation. The location has actively labored to create a extra inclusive setting, each by way of illustration and philanthropy. In October 2024, Americas Cardroom hosted a charity poker event that raised $20,000 for the United Breast Most cancers Basis. Led by ambassadors like Katie Lindsay, Ebony Kenney, and Svitlana Dryha, the occasion was streamed stay, permitting the gamers to share not simply methods, however tales of what it means to be a lady within the recreation.
However past charity, Americas Cardroom invests in equity and security, with anti-cheat expertise, superior bot detection, and licensed random quantity era to make sure a degree taking part in subject. That’s not simply good enterprise; it’s reassurance for ladies who may be cautious of getting into a historically male-dominated area. The platform has grow to be a welcoming hub for poker newcomers and seasoned professionals alike by specializing in participant well-being and illustration. This dedication to group and ethics starkly contrasts with poker’s advertising and marketing historical past.
As famous in Vice, poker has lengthy leaned into gendered promoting, usually showcasing girls as fashions or equipment relatively than gamers. That alienation has a price. “When individuals discuss girls in poker, they’re imagining all of the 20-something enticing professionals whose faces they’ve seen, and so they’re not imagining the huge quantities of middle-aged and retirement-aged girls who play,” defined Kara Scott, broadcaster and poker participant. Americas Cardroom’s technique gives a brand new playbook, one which acknowledges the total spectrum of feminine gamers and treats them as equals on the desk.
Poker as a Energy Ability: From the Felt to the Boardroom
Past the chips and playing cards, poker is proving to be an surprising however highly effective device for ladies within the enterprise world. Chicago entrepreneur Jenny Simply, featured in CBS Information and Time, is spearheading a motion to show a million girls methods to play poker, not for high-stakes tournaments, however for high-stakes careers. Her female-founded agency, Poker Energy, believes that studying the sport equips girls with the boldness, threat evaluation, and negotiation expertise usually required in management roles.
With girls nonetheless holding solely 28% of administration positions in america, initiatives like Poker Energy goal to shut that hole. The thought is easy however revolutionary: By studying methods to learn opponents, handle sources, and make daring but calculated choices beneath strain, girls can translate these expertise instantly into the boardroom. Poker turns into much less in regards to the playing cards and extra about management over conditions, stakes, and the self.
This technique has gained traction throughout school campuses, company retreats, and digital lecture rooms. It’s redefining poker not simply as a interest or profession path however as a life talent. Maybe extra importantly, it’s fostering a brand new era of girls who received’t want permission to sit down down at any desk, poker or in any other case.
From Silver Screens to Card Tables: Redefining Femininity in Poker
Hollywood, too, has performed a shocking function in reshaping perceptions of girls in poker. Movies like Molly’s Recreation, based mostly on the real-life story of Molly Bloom, gave audiences a cinematic have a look at what it means for a lady to dominate in a world of high-stakes video games and higher-stakes egos. Nevertheless it’s not simply fictional characters bringing consideration to girls in poker.
Actress and longtime poker participant Jennifer Tilly embodies the proper hybrid of glamour and grit. An everyday on the event circuit with a World Sequence of Poker bracelet to her title, Tilly challenges outdated notions that poker is a recreation for males in hoodies. Her current trend second for the Actual Housewives of Beverly Hills reunion —a liquid gold gown by Michael Schmidt Studios, which turned heads on the star-studded occasion — was a daring assertion that femininity and poker prowess aren’t mutually unique. She’s not the one one. From purple carpets to stay streams, girls are proudly owning their picture, their technique, and their highlight.
This visibility issues. In a world the place poker has lengthy been marketed as a masculine pursuit, seeing girls who’re each modern and formidable helps rewrite the narrative. Poker isn’t an unique boys’ membership anymore; it’s a recreation for anybody who desires to be taught, play, and win.
Closing the Hole, Elevating the Stakes
Leo Margets’ historic WSOP closing desk run was a wake-up name. Regardless of comprising only a fraction of the poker-playing inhabitants, girls are making it additional, louder, and smarter into the highlight. Because of platforms like Americas Cardroom, power-forward initiatives like Jenny Simply’s Poker Energy, and the affect of popular culture icons like Jennifer Tilly, girls are staking their declare in an business that’s lastly prepared to satisfy them midway. Poker is evolving, and the ladies who love the sport are main the cost.