It’s WSOP de-brief time. And as the world’s poker media pours over stats and winners’ photos, it seemed appropriate to start our updates with a look at how the girls fared in their quests for bracelet glory.
Bracelet Hunting
Disappointingly, we had just two bracelet winners this year, and only one of those was outside of Event #53 (Ladies Championship).
American Carol Fuchs took down Event #52 (Dealer’s Choice) for a cool $127,735. This was by far her biggest Iive cash and doubled her live career winnings to $279,020.
That’s not to say that we didn’t come close in other events:
- Fellow American Natasha Barbour came agonisingly close when she took the silver medal in event #20 ($1,500 NLH) for a not-too-shabby $284,911 and whilst the elusive bracelet found it’s way onto the wrist of her heads-up opponent, she did at least manage to add an enviable cash to a long line of impressive live results.
- Continuing the rush of notable American results, Haixia Zhang, our 2014 WSOP Ladies Champion, nearly took home another bracelet, but fell in 4th in Event #59 (another $1,500 NLH) for $165,492
- Kitty Kuo, one of the most popular ladies on the EPT circuit and a personal favourite of mine, took $82,920 for a 4th place finish in Event #14 (yet another (clearly popular) $1.500 NLH). On that same final table was Elizabeth Montizanti who finished 5th for $61,560
- Closer to home, Shola Akindele Deadman proved to be the cream of the British crop with no less than 3 WSOP cashes, the best of which being an 8th place finish in Event #20 (surprisingly, a $1,500 NLH) for $43,888.
The Ladies Championship
The Ladies Championship was won by American Jacqueline Scott, her first ever WSOP cash for a shiny bracelet and a $153,876 payday. Clearly not bothering with a min-cash to ease herself in gently, she just went in for the win!
Main Event
Since 2008, when Harrah’s Entertainment and ESPN made the decision to televise the Main Event FT live and the November Nine was born, we have not seen a female finalist. This year proved elusive once again and we will not see our first ever female at the Rio on 8 November 2015.
Six female players were left standing at the start of Day 5, each with a dream of making history. Joining the likes of Maria Ho, Gaëlle Baumann and Leo Margets in the list of “last woman standing” was 28 year old american Kelly Minken. It’s a name that people are putting on their “watch out for” list. Like the writer, Kelly juggles a very demanding legal career with her love of poker and is working incredibly hard to complete her rise through the poker ranks. It turned out to be a very happy World Series for Kelly, who added a 29th finish in the Main Event for $211,821, having already taken home a 38th spot and $29,463 in Event #16 (Millionaire Maker) and two other smaller cashes. She finished the series joint 1st on number of WSOP cashes.
2015 National Championship
Last, but by no means least, an honorary mention to New York pro, Loni Harwood. After taking a year out of poker for personal reasons, she returned to Vegas in 2015 with a vengeance. In her breakout year, 2013, she cashed in 6 WSOP events, made 3 FTs and one one bracelet. This was, at the time, the most that any female had ever won in one WSOP. This summer she added the National Championship title to her armoury.
The other side?
So what did your writer achieve in Vegas this summer? Nothing I am afraid to report - just one small cash in one of the Daily Deepstacks that they run throughout the Series (sigh). I am a pretty fearless player, but for some reason I seem to choke in WSOP events. It is something that I am working on with my coach. The trip saver proved to be an Emerald Road and a pair of Ruby Slippers - I made more money playing on Wizard of Oz themed slot machines with a rum and cherry coke in my hand than I did playing poker. Skills.
The dust is settling on DTD, as the 2015 UKPC 6-Max comes to an end. And what a festival.
Much has already been said about the results, the coverage and the wonderful job that the Sky Poker crew did of hosting what has become one of the most prestigious events in the UK Poker calendar. One comment I read this week was how impressed people were that we managed to smash the guarantees across the board; no mean feat given the absentees clearly caused by school holidays, vacations and EPT Barcelona. A collective pat on the back is needed all round I feel.
So how did we do?
High Roller
From what I can see from the coverage of the High Roller, we appear to have had zero female entrants. Sadly, obviously, this resulted in zero cashes. I am interested to see what the figures overall are in High Roller events and it is something I am going to keep an eye out for - I can only really think of Selbst who plays the headline High Roller events? Watch this space so to speak.
£250k Main Event
Within the 514 entries in the Main Event were approximately 14 ladies. That, if my maths is correct, is around 3% of the field. Now if you believe the reports that we hear in the poker press, this represents a bang-on average from open field tournaments. The figures from the UKPC are only approximate (as they are based on a review of press coverage and a guess when it comes to names that can be of either gender), but it is promising - it would have been a huge disappointment to get any less than the average.
Just five of those ladies made Day 2, and only one of those hit the cash. The last lady standing was Joanne Ramsden (a personal friend of the writer), who added a min-cash to (amongst other results) an 11th place finish in the 2014 UKPC and a 4th place in the GUKPT Cardiff just a couple of months ago.
Mini
I am struggling to get hold of data to analyse entries from the Mini, but I do know that just one lady cashed; Melissa Price.
Team Bromley
No cashes for your Bromley of the 023 variety I am afraid, but I had an awesome festival and feel like I played my absolute best poker. The downswing continues, but the turning point is just around the corner. I am sure of it.
It was also lovely to meet so many faces and especially those Sky Poker ladies who travelled down; Irish Rose, AMarie (Mother) and DarkAngel, who we all met for the first time, to name a few.
Lovely read, Natalie, thank you. Was wonderful to see you & The Boy last week. As you so often get stereotyped (all girlies are nits), tell us about the Q-Q pre-flop fold....... Posted by Tikay10
I'm about as likely to fold QQ pre as I am walking past Chanel without going in!
In Response to Re: Pocket Queens : If memory serves correct, it was not YOU that folded it - it was your opponent. And your (5 bet pre) hand was?....... Posted by Tikay10
I think it was only a 4bet that was required for the opponent to fold. I am more interested in the description of his face when you flipped over your hand!
Ahhhhh yes. Apologies, I had forgotten all about that.
So I have just bust the Main and have tilt-reg'd the Mini (terrible strategy; not big and not clever kids).
We're 5-handed on my table and I open 7 9 of clubs UTG.
Folds to the button, who 3-bets quite big (about 4x my open). Folds to me. 3-bet your button Sir? That's so 2010. Have this 4-bet right in your eye.
He folds QQ. He states that I've obvs got AA. I show and smile sweetly. He was literally stunned (mouth fell open and everything). He defends this move to the table by declaring "How was I supposed to know that girls know how to 4-bet light".
It was probably all banter. But it was amusing all the same.
Still, I got naff all through for the rest of the tournament!!!
If it makes him feel any better :P I do the opposite when I play - I'll tilt de-reg tournaments if I make a bad play in 1. Probably not the worst tilting strategy come to think about it although the problem then is I'll be playing less tables than anticipated and end up not concentrating properly on the ones I'm still in!
Nice read Mrs B. It would be good to see the ladies well represented in the HU FA Cup. IrishRose and DarkAngel7 are in already - probably others too - you cant always be sure from player ids though. What do you think about men adopting female names / avatars? Posted by Phantom66
Interesting point.
To be honest, I don't really care either way what avatar/name an online player chooses to use. What I do care about is why.
Let's assume that a male player deliberatly chooses a female avatar because he subscribes to the stereotype Tikay alluded to earlier and thinks it will make him look "nittier". He believes that be doing so he can get away with playing an aggressive game unchallenged. The realiity? I don't really think this strategy is used any more. My experience has been that the gender bias has been pretty much eradicated from the European game and any man who thinks that such a strategy will work should probably look at the vulnerability in his own game!!
Turning to your first point, forgive me but I confess to the HU FA Cup completely falling off my radar (blame UKPC!) Consider Team Bromley subscribed and in the draw.
It was the month that Season 12 of the ever-increasingly popular European Poker Tour (EPT) kicked off in the Catalan capital, Barcelona. Sure, it’s no UKPC, but the EPT is still considered to be the richest and most popular tour on the World circuit (meh, what do they know).
Barcelona is the only location to appear on the schedule in all 12 seasons of the EPT to date, and continues to be incredibly popular. Players get to bask in the late summer sun of the Med. Throw their hard-earned € on yachts, tapas, wine and the designer stores of Las Ramblas. And gaze in wonder at the spectacular sight of Sagrada Familia. Oh, and rise above the seas of Spain on a fly-board.
The players' love affair with Barcelona shows no sign of slowing down. Once again run alongside Season 6 of the phenomenal Estrellas Poker Tour, numbers were getting smashed at every turn. 3,292 players entered the Estrellas €1k Main Event. 152 players entered the €25k Single Day High Roller. 1,694 players entered the EPT €5,300 Main Event. And a staggering 477 entered the €10k High Roller. That’s some serious money.
Player Profile
(c) PokerStars
The best, for me, of the Spanish players is the lovely Ana Marquez. Winner of "Europe’s Leading Lady” at the 2013 European Poker Awards, she has racked up some impressive live results, the pinnacle of which was first place in the inaugural Hollywood Poker Open for a would-get-out-of-bed-for $320,189 (the very event that our own Simon Deadman took down just 12 months later). After 7 years of racking up some serious air miles, she seems to be taking a well-earned break from the poker world, and we didn’t see much of her (if at all) at EPT Barcelona, but hopefully she will be back soon. I know her best friend from us playing together on the EPT Ladies circuit and everyone who knows her speaks very highly of her. We need more of those players in our lives!
Results
€25k One-Day High Roller
By far the standout story of EPT Barcelona was the re-rise of Liv Boeree. Headline results have been a little low for the British PokerStars Team Pro, but she came back with a bang with a third place finish in this event, banking €391,00 in the process. Boeree has been dating Russian High-Roller specialist, Igor Kurganov, for some time now - that’s going to be one **** of a powerful household if this result is the start of her own HR journey!
EPT Ladies
The Ladies event was won by the incredibly popular WPT anchor, Lynn Gilmartin. Ladies - if you do not follow Gilmartin’s Instagram page then go do it now (*disclaimer* the writer can accept no responsibility for the copious amounts of life envy that will follow). Known much more for her incredible presenting than her playing, she seems to be taking to the felt a lot more recently and took down her first EPT trophy, before jumping into the Main Event. Go Lynn!
Main Event
There isn’t a lot of data our there that enables me to assess how many female entrants made the EPT Main Event, but it is believed that these events usually attract a higher ratio of female players than the “norm”. Kitty Kuo, Antonina Anapolska, Liliya Novikova and Natalie Hoff all ran deep and into the money, but no female at all on the FT.
In Response to Re: Pocket Queens : Interesting point. To be honest, I don't really care either way what avatar/name an online player chooses to use. What I do care about is why. Let's assume that a male player deliberatly chooses a female avatar because he subscribes to the stereotype Tikay alluded to earlier and thinks it will make him look "nittier". He believes that be doing so he can get away with playing an aggressive game unchallenged. The realiity? I don't really think this strategy is used any more. My experience has been that the gender bias has been pretty much eradicated from the European game and any man who thinks that such a strategy will work should probably look at the vulnerability in his own game!! Turning to your first point, forgive me but I confess to the HU FA Cup completely falling off my radar (blame UKPC!) Consider Team Bromley subscribed and in the draw. Posted by Bromley023
When I first started on SKY, I had a female avatar because I am useless with technology & pressed a few wrong buttons then didn't know how to change it.
I think this may have been useful 10-15 years ago but online those days are long gone. As you say Natalie, anyone that thinks a female avatar gives them an advantage needs to look at their own game. It did get me into some interesting conversations back in the day though. I got propositioned by several players that assumed I was female & often they gave me their money.
There are still quite a few men who treat women badly in the live arena. At my local casino, there are usually more than 10% female players in tournaments up to £50 but the growth in numbers appears to have stalled.
Both my kids learned poker at university and while my son still plays and plays live most weeks, my daughter gave up after just four live events, despite winning two. She said that she just didn't like it.
"....Both my kids learned poker at university and while my son still plays and plays live most weeks, my daughter gave up after just four live events, despite winning two. She said that she just didn't like it."
For a young lady, a poker table must be a very daunting prospect, especially "Live".
I've played "Live" for a very long time, & generally speaking, I adore it. However, I can rarely remember a table which contained more than one lady. In most cases it is all men. So, for a young lady, it must be an awkward feeling.
Now consider this scenario.
You are invited to attend a Meeting, or a get together (non-poker), & to do so, 10 of you sit down at a round or oblong table, with the knowledge you will be sat there for, say, 5 or 6 hours.
Would you all introduce yourself to each other? Of course you would. Maybe just "hi", maybe a handshake, or even, at the very least, acknowledge everyone via eye-contact & body language.
But in poker, its very often the case that players don't make any effort to acknowledge each other when they first sit down. What school of manners, etiquette or social interaction do they subscribe to? What sort of person would not say "hi" in such circumstances?
This Wednesday, I have the rare opportunity to head up to DTD & and play a PLO Tourney. These are rare beasts, maybe 5 or 6 per year. It will cost me £330 to enter, a 5 hour round trip (assuming I don't make day 2) a few bob in diesel for the motor, & £10 or £20 to buy a few drinks for those I share the table with. Call it £400. Or I can sit at home, in my undies, with endless free cups of tea, & play Online.
Seriously, the fear that I may get a table of people who cba to exchange the normal pleasantries of life might be enough to dissuade me from playing that PLO jobbie.
It's not always that way, of course. I shared a table with Natalie, the author of this Diary, & John Duthie at the February UKPC, & I doubt we could have had more fun in a month of Sundays. But, more often than not, it does not pan out like that.
So yes, there is one good reason why young ladies must find poker unappealing. Who wants to sit in silence with 9 strangers all day?
It's not always that way, of course. I shared a table with Natalie, the author of this Diary, & John Duthie at the February UKPC, & I doubt we could have had more fun in a month of Sundays. Posted by Tikay10
Ah yes, I remember that table well. Was a good afternoon and the time flew by. I had a similar table at the UKPC 6-Max as it goes. Was full of guys who were happy to have a chat and who genuinely wanted to put faces to Sky Poker aliases.
I read an article on this very point by Ana Marquez when reading around for the EPT Barcelona update. Her view is that whilst she should be chatty and friendly at the tables (which indeed she is), she should always remember that her table mates are her competitors and such conversation should be limited and almost business-like. She accepts that, as a public figure, she should be friendly, approachable and professional when she is away from the tables (i.e. in corridors) but she questions whether there is a limit to how friendly a table should be. She agrees with Mr Kendall (albeit I am not sure they have had an actual debate) that there has to be a balance; who wants to sit in silence for 12 hours a day?
On the flip side of this, a table can be too friendly. I am talking of the local casino scene. They, to me, are much more daunting than the headline festival events, as all of the players know each other and play together every Friday night. Those tables are notorious for being unwelcoming and making you feel like an outsider.
I am perhaps too chatty at the table (and in other shock news, water's wet) and I am sure that I must annoy my table mates sometimes. I have a very low attention threshold and get bored easily. This results in me forcing people to talk to me. I like to think that if it works for lady Coren-Mitchell then it can work for me?!
It was Ladies Day this week at Dusk Til Dawn, Nottingham, as our friends down the road hosted the inaugural Pokerfest Live.
And what a great occasion it was. The ladies took over the stage as they competed in a 2-day £330 tournament with a £15k guarantee. There were boxes of chocolates for everyone. And champagne if you wanted it. Spirits were high and the atmosphere was excitable. Well, most people were having a good time. I did hear some old grumpy pants get up off his chair at one point and ask us all to pipe down.
The £15k guarantee at the event meant that Rob and his team needed 50 runners to avoid overlay. That target was sadly missed, with just 27 entries as the clock slammed shut on the rebuy period (24 unique entries and 3 rebuys). Could we have realistically ever hit that guarantee? Perhaps not, but a couple of things struck me; (1) the buy-in and (2) the scheduling. There simply are not enough ladies out there who play and many of those who do are either not rolled to pay out £330 of their own cash or struggle to take time to of work to pay in the middle of the day, in the middle of the week. Let me be very clear here; I am a huge fan of the event and have nothing but positive things to say about its inclusion, but perhaps a lower buy-in of, say £120, run over the weekend would have attracted more runners?
Within the 24 entries in this event were some well-known names. Lynne Beaumont, Eleanor Gudger, Renee Xie, Lauren Render and your writer, Natalie Bromley, all played. There were also some smaller stakes players, and three lucky ladies who had managed to win their seats after they were donated to a freeroll intended to publicise the event.
There were also some complete beginners. Like the lady who sat on my left for most of the day. Her story is a real mixed bag of emotions. After telling me how new she was to the game (this was only her second tournament), I asked her how she got into it.
She has been a netball player her entire life, loved the sport and played regularly. A couple of years ago, whist being treated for a appendicitis, her doctors discovered a tumour in her bowel. They had (remarkably) found it early enough to treat it, but the only way they could remove it all was to cut into the nervous system in her leg, leaving her perfectly mobile, but with no feeling down the front of her leg. It was a no-breainer and she opted for the operation.
The loss of the nervous system in her leg meant her giving up her beloved netball game and desperately searching for a new hobby. A friend suggested she try poker and so here she was, having been bitten by the poker bug right from the off. As she left us, she told me that she was a week away from hearing whether she is now in remission. I will be praying very hard this week for some good news; good things should happen to good people.
Results
For those who reached the final table, they were still not guaranteed a prize, with just five players reaching the money. Lauren Render was our unlucky bubble girl, but the congratulations were reserved for Vanessa Haney who scooped the trophy and the first prize of £5,250. 2015 has proved to be a profitable year for our champ, with her taking 2nd place and £3,000 in the August Deepstack, along with a long list of live cashes. Well done Vanessa.
Comments
Lovely read, Natalie, thank you.
Was wonderful to see you & The Boy last week.
As you so often get stereotyped (all girlies are nits), tell us about the Q-Q pre-flop fold.......
And your (5 bet pre) hand was?.......
I'm fascinated by some of this.
Ice_Tiger wrote.....
"....Both my kids learned poker at university and while my son still plays and plays live most weeks, my daughter gave up after just four live events, despite winning two. She said that she just didn't like it."
For a young lady, a poker table must be a very daunting prospect, especially "Live".
I've played "Live" for a very long time, & generally speaking, I adore it. However, I can rarely remember a table which contained more than one lady. In most cases it is all men. So, for a young lady, it must be an awkward feeling.
Now consider this scenario.
You are invited to attend a Meeting, or a get together (non-poker), & to do so, 10 of you sit down at a round or oblong table, with the knowledge you will be sat there for, say, 5 or 6 hours.
Would you all introduce yourself to each other? Of course you would. Maybe just "hi", maybe a handshake, or even, at the very least, acknowledge everyone via eye-contact & body language.
But in poker, its very often the case that players don't make any effort to acknowledge each other when they first sit down. What school of manners, etiquette or social interaction do they subscribe to? What sort of person would not say "hi" in such circumstances?
This Wednesday, I have the rare opportunity to head up to DTD & and play a PLO Tourney. These are rare beasts, maybe 5 or 6 per year. It will cost me £330 to enter, a 5 hour round trip (assuming I don't make day 2) a few bob in diesel for the motor, & £10 or £20 to buy a few drinks for those I share the table with. Call it £400. Or I can sit at home, in my undies, with endless free cups of tea, & play Online.
Seriously, the fear that I may get a table of people who cba to exchange the normal pleasantries of life might be enough to dissuade me from playing that PLO jobbie.
It's not always that way, of course. I shared a table with Natalie, the author of this Diary, & John Duthie at the February UKPC, & I doubt we could have had more fun in a month of Sundays. But, more often than not, it does not pan out like that.
So yes, there is one good reason why young ladies must find poker unappealing. Who wants to sit in silence with 9 strangers all day?