Do you think it's OK to have them? And why? Also, if you think female-only events are OK do you also think men-only events would be OK as well?

I think it's okay to have women only events because we're in such a minority in the poker world, they encourage women to play without having to fear sexism at the table and without ( or atleast with less ) gamblers who haven't showered in weeks around them which gives them a more positive view of the game and is less intimidating for beginners.

I am not entirely against the idea of a men only event but them being a majority I think it's somewhat counterproductive to leave out an audience that poker is already lacking and while I know the existence of womens events have encouraged women to give poker a shot, I sincerly doubt that many men will be that encouraged to try poker just because there is a men only event, which a lot of tournaments generally are somewhat close to already.

Also I think things such as a men only event are often only really brought up because of the existence of womens events rather than because they think its good for poker, which I think is sort of sad.

If you think it could bring new players to the game or get people who already play to get a new spark for poker and play more often I am all for it.

I'd like to apologise for any spelling/grammar issues, English isn't my first language and I'm not very used to typing out long texts.

Yes I do think it is okay do have women only events. If that is what women want. And I think they do.

Would you like to have men only events? If yes then why?

So by your logic it's okay for men to have men-only events if that is what men want, right? And for whites to have white-only events if that's what whites want?

And no, I don't want men-only events and I would not be OK with them - and same goes for women-only. I also wouldn't like to have white-only or black-only or straight-only or gay-only events. Why? Because they are discriminatory and illegal. Poker is a sport where all should be welcome to come together regardless of who they are and be judged only on their merits. It's a meritocracy. Having discriminatory events poisons that. Discrimination by gender, race, creed or sexual orientation is despicable, disgusting and illegal.

A lot of people don't understand this but the reason men were able to play in Ladies WSOP is because it was and still is illegal to ban them. WSOP was forced to let them play because not doing so would be ILLEGAL per anti-discrimination laws and would get WSOP sued for civil rights violations. So they came up with the "brilliant" "90% discount" solution (which many legal experts doubt would actually hold up in court). Do you support anti-discrimination laws only when they serve your interests?

So what you are saying is that women and men should be competing together in all sports, including poker?

General consensus is that women and men should be allowed to compete with eachother in all non contact sports I believe, due to the general physical differences between men and women, meaning women ( as a group ) are more susceptible to injuries, making it considered dangerous for men and women to compete together in a contact sport.

Poker is all about mental capabilities, where the differences are much less significant and dangerous, making it illegal to prohibit men from competing with women and vice versa.

Still I think it's ridiculous to act like you're being discriminated against because you can't play a tournament.

It's a social event before anything and I don't think there's anything wrong with prohibiting men to play on a moral level.

It's good for the game, its a gateway to bringing more women to other events...

When you're new to live poker and your first live experience is being surrounded by 9 men as the only woman at the table with some men acting the way they act when its 9 men and only 1 woman at the table it can be a complete turn off to live poker..

I don't think its despicable or disgusting that women want to be with other women rather than surrounded by men in a social event, especially if they're new to (live) poker and feel unconfident/uncomfortable.

Nice try. Men are physically stronger than women. That's why they don't compete together in physical sports. Unless one thinks that women are mentally inferior to men (and you don't think that, do you?) - women and men should compete together in mind sports.

It's not ridiculous if it's true. It's not "like", men are being discriminated against in this case.

WSOP events are not "social events before anything". They are public sport competitions. If you gather up some girls at your home for a drunken home game - I could care less. If WSOP discriminates against men or women or gays or blacks or whatever - I care.

Honestly, I don't care if more women or more blacks or more whoever play. The game welcomes everyone, no one is being purposefully kept out. Widespread harassment of women by men at the tables is a myth. In my experience it's actually the opposite - women at the table are often able to get away with much more than men. Women in general prefer slots. Let's be honest, on the whole they just don't enjoy poker as much as slots for example. Just like most men don't enjoy slots.

There's no "higher goal" of bringing more women to the sport. The doors are wide open for them or anyone else. If by "good for the game" you mean it brings more weaker players to the game - I don't care about that either. I think poker has become and should be a serious sport, not an easy way to make a lazy buck off the fish. So I don't care about "what's good for the game" which is a code for "whatever brings in more fish for us". I care about fairness, I care about equality.

It's a myth. I've played 5 days a week for close to two years. I've never seen anything like that happen. Women have always been treated with utmost respect. In fact, I have seen women get special treatment e.g. break rules repeatedly and not get in trouble, etc. I'm sure isolated cases of inappropriate treatment happen but there's absolutely no widespread problem.

Some white men felt uncomfortable with blacks so they used to ban them from their events. So that was OK too then, right?

Olaff I seriously hope you are trolling.

It is not like you had a lot of choices to answer this question. Without looking like a discriminator. Which you try not to be really hard.

So making definitive conclusions solely based upon your own experience is adequate? By cherry picking evidence you actually discriminate women in this case.

Look Olaff where we are, people are HOPING that you are trolling.

So you agree with what I said, and you also think there are no other viable answers. Good.

I'm not cherry-picking anything. Over the course of over 500 live sessions (and actually over the course of all live sessions I've ever played which is significantly more than 500) I've seen women treated with utmost respect. But I have seen them get special treatment on a few occasions. I could swear on this statement under oath in court. Also just because I haven't seen it happen doesn't mean it never happens. I'm sure it does happen. It's just absolutely not a widespread problem. Do you have any evidence to the contrary?

So far you have not presented a single logical argument against anything I've said. You have asked various questions attempting to "throw me off" (while avoiding answering some of my questions). You attempted to lessen the validity of my opinions by implying that I might not be expressing them in good faith (I am). These are cheap tactics. Observant readers of this thread can easily see through this. If you disagree with me - address my actual points and present objections that make sense.

Make up your mind. Please.

I think if it would be widespread it would mean that it is seriously out of control. I have played 10 live tourneys and two times I encountered inappropriate behaviour.

But. Most men I have played with are neutral towards me or nice.

http://forumserver.twoplustwo.com/18...table-1179949/

I believe I can ask as many questions as I want. I also believe I can answer only the questions I find important enough to be answered.

So. If there was a sport. Where only mental abilities are tested. And women can have ladies only events like Womens World Chess Championship. Would it be okay for poker players to have a ladies only event.

And yes I know one of the reasons behind the Womens World Chess Championchip. And the situation is pretty same in poker world.

What will you lose if women can have their own poker championship? You say it is illegal. Well what if it was legal to have ladies only poker events? And do not give me this discrimination nonsense. One the world discrimination scale it is like 0.01.

I am bothered by people who don't think it is discriminatory or it is justifiable discrimination. It is driscrimination and two wrongs don't make it right.

If the behavior of some men make women feel uncomfortable, those men need to be sanctioned. All men shouldn't have to pay the price.

Making a case against ladies events in the ladies forum seems a bit ambitious, if not downright trollish. Especially since OP is not a lady.