Poker Faces in the Crowd: Sia Layta

This month I spoke with Sia Layta, a pseudonymous West Coast poker pro who’s planning a bold social experiment: to compete in this year’s WSOP Main Event disguised as a man. The benefits, Sia believes, are twofold: (1) she’ll increase her winrate; and (2) she’ll bring attention to gender imbalances in poker. Sia and I discussed gender dynamics in poker, the process of writing her memoir Black Widow Poker, and her plans for the future.

Great interview Ben, like always A few comments though, as I find the subject of women/sexism/gentrification/feminism very interesting in general (am definitely a proponent for women equal rights). While I find it very important to engage a dialogue about the issues raised by Sia Layta, I feel that these apply less in a place like the Yukon in Canada where women occupy roughly 30-40% of the seats at the poker tables. Of course, this is a but a microcosm of the whole picture and a portray of redneck women in a northern Canadian town, but women play very aggressive up there and while sexism is still apparent at the tables (as in the Yukon society), men fold to their aggression.

Another point : poker as seen through the spectrum of GTO and exploitative play (how else can we see it...), I do not see how being a woman at the table is much different than a man who just binked the WSOP ME, for example, and has become known in the public eye... People will play differently against him/her and exploitative adjustments simply need to be made. From a theoritical point a view, it does not matter if people adjust to you because you are a woman at a table. Now if a woman feels bad because there is a gender-raising battle in between a man and woman and she can longer play her "A" game, now that is completely different all together, and no longer implies strategic adjustments, but social dynamics. Anyhow, loved the article and very interesting subject

In sfla specifically there are a few very good female pros that use their femininity to their advantage, with shockingly successful results. Mostly in the talking/live read space but all around they are soft played more in general.

Now, I imagine an ardent feminist would argue that is just furthering the gender divide via continued sexism, but I'm still hard pressed to think of any scenario where women are targeted with more aggression at the poker table. In 5 years and 3k hours, I've seen the exact opposite. (Which is still sexism of course)

Yup, I agree with Alvaritia/the post above.

Sidenote/small tangent : really enjoying the Vanessa Selbst twitter WSOP outrage vs MAGA, even if it is an extreme stance

Mods please update undertitle

Pretty cool that such a high % of women play in Canada. The disparity at the WSOP is just lol.

I agree. Sia’s principle complaint—“men won’t fold marginal hands vs me”—opens the door for some obvious exploitative adjustments. It’s unfortunate (for her) that she doesn’t seem to see that. What she does seem to see, and what interests me most about her story, are gender imbalances at the table.

I think a lot of folks would echo this sentiment. In fact, when I was reading about Sia, I was struck by one female player who declared: “The benefits of being a woman at a live poker table far outweigh the cons.”

Nevertheless, for whatever reason, Sia perceives herself as a target and the subject of unwarranted aggression. Other female players have said the same thing, to me and others, over and over, and I don’t think their experiences are wrong, or inaccurate, or the product of some collective delusion.

+1

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GL to everyone playing the Main!

From my experience (and I'm just sitting in the lowest of the lows 1/3 NL game), there's still a pretty decent disparity. The table I played at for ~10 hours the other day at times had 3 women at the 10 handed table, but this is the exception (not the norm, which I would guess is much closer to 10% - 20%). I doubt we're doing any better up here in that regards.

Buy so long as their isn't any blatant sexism going on preventing from women on joining and enjoying the game, in the end I somewhat question why we should be concerned about the disparity? I'm assuming there are lots of hobbies that, for whatever reason, women partake in at far larger percentages than men; is the same concern there? I'm also assuming a lot of men feel just as picked on by aggressive players as women do, and have also had to put up with a lot of crap at the table (obviously not sexual, but otherwise).

I found it interesting that she thought she was 3bet more often due to being a woman. It's probably different in a tourney when-you-bust-you're-out-environment, but in a cash game (especially the lower stakes) I would expect that if anything a woman's raise is given more respect and less likely to be 3bet (which is obviously totally sexist, but seems to be an advantage). And while I often seen known reg male friends softplay each other, I think overall there's a much better chance of an unknown softplaying a woman (again, totally sexist, but again seems to be an advantage).

GbutI'manoldwhitemale,so...G

I am pretty sure it is very similar to the USA and in the 2-5% range (from what I have noticed). I was just speaking of up in Dawson, which is barely representative of the rest of the country (in just about everything ).

I thought about this, and realized that she is probably correct that aggression rises when a female (in particular, an attractive female) is at a poker table. Regs especially 3/4bet more etc. But usually it isn’t directed at said female. It is to impress her.

So I’d feel safe saying that if you had a live aggression factor stat it would be higher at table with an attractive female.

I asked mrs Ava, who’s only played about 100hrs and low stakes, but she said it is deffo the opposite of aggression. It actually approaches creepy pretty quickly with how much people soft play her. (Humble brag for me?)

Lol men.

Don’t sell yourself short, G. I learn the most about poker while playing 4/8 LOLimit.
Standard American response for me to assume that Yukon = Canada, thanks for the clarification.

Can’t overlook this
And especially this
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I’ve sunk to an even lower low: first player to bust the WSOP media donkament!

Was fun to be around for yesterday’s Day 1C...biggest single-day turnout ever. I know lots of folks still alive and am hoping for some deep runs.

What, you pull a Selbst?

Lol, peacocking?

Gmenaresodumb,Ican'tbelieveIamoneG

Ha, I totally forgot about my Limit days. Actually have ~2000 hours to my credit at 4/8 Limit and below (about ~1350 hours of that at 2/4 Limit), lol @ me, ldo.

Limit game is pretty much dead now in these parts, and I've recently been reintroduced to a whole bunch of old faces who have now been forced into the NL waters.

GenjoyedeveryminuteofLOLimitG

Quads < strait flush


Wow, you're way ahead of me. I only have a few hundred hours.

Did you diligently track results just as you do for NL? I've always wondered what the ceiling is for those low-stakes limit games. I'm convinced that only one reg in our 4/8 pool is definitely a winner.

$1.96/hr (about 0.5 BB/hr) over 1354 hours of live 2/4 Limit.

$0.43/hr over 250 hours of live 3/6 Limit.

$7.09/hr (almost 1 BB/hr) over 466 hours of live 4/8 Limit.

However, almost all of those hours were put in at a very good maximum rake of $3, and the 4/8 game was a kill game (so much better value since every 10th hand was an 8/16 game still at a maximum rake of $3, really wish I made the switch sooner). Simply increasing the rake to a maximum $4 per hour in the 2/4 Limit game would have made me breakeven over that time and devastated my 4/8 Limit results.

Basically, playing 4/8 Limit or lower for anything other than the pure enjoyment of the game / excitement of chasing a BBJ is lol.

GbutIenjoyedthegameandwonaBBJ,so...G

Ben,

I'm curious whether Sia Layta went ahead with the "play as a man" idea - can you tell us or is it top secret?

Also, I've been looking for your by-line on the Pokernews WSOP coverage and haven't seen any pieces credited to you (unless you are writing under a pseudonym

Hope you are enjoying the Main. Stop back by Tucson on the way home?

Thanks for sharing, and nice work eking out some profit. No easy task given rake etc. I have about 200 hours logged and am also profitable, but lolsampelsize for sure.

I feel a weird mixture of pity and respect for the lone 4/8 grinderette who (imo) is profitable.

For some reason, I feel the urge to do a LOLimit volume challenge for a month in the fall...I’m gonna need to get creative to hit my yearly goal.

Haven’t heard anything. I’m guessing this means that she’s still alive (unlikely) or that she meekly busted without making a scene. If I hear anything, I’ll let you know; please do the same.

I’ve been publishing under my favorite pseudonym: UMadBro6969!

Nah, just joking. I’ve been working on the book project and spending time with the Nola crew. And eating lots of sooshi. The trip has been really good so far. I’m WSOPing for five days starting tomorrow. Not exactly sure what I’ll be doing—I think final table profiles and some other features—but will poast the pieces as they appear. By the way, I just submitted my interview with Carl, so hopefully it’ll be up soon. Thanks again for setting that up.

Unlikely I’ll be passing back through Tucson. Games still good, I hope? If I do I’ll let ya know.

Lol, she's not attempting this for a living is she? I've always said that you'd do better picking pop cans out of dumpsters (and likely have twice as much fun).

Although I do really miss playing Limit.

Gonceatea$5000hotdogataNO4/8LimittableG

She’s been playing for a living, exclusively at 4/8, for at least ten years. It can be done. Hustling promos and binking jackpots also helps...we binked a table share together #minraise #idonteatluckydogs

Is it something she wants to do? Probably not, but it’s likely the least bad of a bunch of ****ty options. If my choices were

(A) pick pop cans out of dumpsters
(B) herd goats in Siberia
(C) be Helmuth’s personal assistant
(D) Grind 4/8

I’d go with D, B, A, C. Not sure if her choices are this bad. Hopefully not.

hey man,
I get into lv tomorrow night. Will be in town for at least a week, prolly longer - if you still want to grab some food.

goats are GOAT though

Can't recall if the NO 4/8 Limit is a kill game or not, and what the maximum rake / BBJ drop is? Seems like a tough go.

Course I'm also not aware of what the minimum wage is down there. Up here the minimum wage is $12.65, which will be increased to $15.20 by 2021. Unless conditions are amazing, I would have a hard time believing anyone is approaching anything remotely close to that in a 4/8 Limit game. But if your minimum wage is a lot lower and you're doing everything *ahem* below board, then maybe it's better than the alternatives...

Geez, she's been doing that for a living for 10 years? I would imagine that doesn't wear well...

GcluelessminimumwagenoobG

good stuff. I'll message you Friday to see if we can find a time this weekend.



no kill, standardish rake with $1 for the BBJ. Not gonna speculate on our resident LOLimit veteran, but I think $10-15/hr is achievable for those with enough discipline/skill.

That last part is paradoxical, of course, because, barring special circumstances, skilled players would leave the pool for more profitable waters.

A Conversation With Carl McKelvey, One of the Last Texas Road Gamblers

An old photo from inside Binion's Horseshoe features 38 pioneering participants in the 1970 World Series of Poker. Only three of them--Jack Binion, Doyle Brunson, and Carl McKelvey--are alive today. Unlike Binion and Texas Dolly, Carl has spent most of his career out of the spotlight. I recently interviewed him at the Wynn, where we chatted about a bunch of stuff: life as a road gambler, whether or not to turn pro, how to create a friendly atmosphere at the tables, and knowing when to quit.

My editor decided not to include the Binions photo b/c of potential copyright issues, but it's in Doyle's Super System if you want to check it out...I think in the "My Story" section.

@Squid. Some interesting tidbits about the early blackjack team days. Another funny story (that I didn't include) involved Ken Uston, who cheated Carl and his crew out of some money in the Bahamas or Hawaii, can't remember which. They tossed Ken in a pool and kicked him in the nose! Then they let him go

Thanks to JRR for setting this up.

Solid interview : "What would you tell an aspiring poker pro?

Oh, that's real easy. Go to school, get you another job, get you a career — do anything but poker."

That's funny, as while I do not regret becoming a pro 8 years ago and am forever thankful for what the game (I have a more positive outlook than most seasoned pros, but a lot might be of my game selection/area of grind : online and tournament series and the Yukon), I would almost never recommend to anyone to do it for a living... except if I found a perfect copy of myself, that is